AN: I wrote this to celebrate Mother's Day 2021 with the prompt idea of 'pregnancy' by adena022 but it sorta took on a life of it's own... If you think I should continue it, please let me know. Feedback is adored!
And as always, thank you to Adena for sharing your love of Rick & Lisa with me 3
┌─── ･ ｡ﾟ : *. .* : ﾟ. ───┐
Until Then
└─── ･ ｡ﾟ : *. .* : ﾟ. ───┘
Chapter 1 - Free Fall
ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ LISA ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ
"Still feeling a bit under the weather, huh?" Claudia says, sliding into the seat beside her.
Lisa stares at the cup of peppermint tea in front of her and rubs her temple. The mess hall on the SDF1 is busy today, full of chatter from the enlisted men and women taking a break and filling their stomachs. The air is tinted with the scent of strong coffee and something that might be bacon and it makes Lisa feel queasy, just like it had every day for the past two weeks. She picks up her tea and tries to inhale the peppermint tones in an effort to block everything else out.
"A little," Lisa sighs. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I just can't seem to shake this stomach bug. Some days I'm fine, some days I wonder how I'm going to keep anything down but it never lasts long."
Claudia props her chin on her hands and leans close. "You don't say. Anything else or just the upset stomach?"
Lisa shrugs. "Not really. A little dizzy sometimes, but it's nothing I can't handle. I guess it's all the stress."
"Unless it's something else entirely."
Lisa frowns tiredly and takes a sip of her tea. She's not sure if it's the peppermint or just the warmth that settles the queasy roll of her insides so well but she's grateful for it. "What else could it possibly be?"
"Perhaps it's not a bug at all," Claudia eyes her like she knows something Lisa doesn't. "And maybe it's not stress either."
"I don't follow."
Claudia shakes her head and leans close. "Lisa," she starts in a low voice. "Could you be… you know…"
"What?" Lisa lowers her cup as she wrinkles her nose in confusion at her friend. "What are you talking about, Claudia?"
The other woman rolls her eyes. "Please don't tell me I have to give you a talk about the birds and the bees, Lisa? Tell me you're smarter than that."
Heat flames across Lisa's cheeks as Claudia's inference finally breaks its way through Lisa's nausea. "Of course not," Lisa says sharply. She shakes her head. "But I have an implant. I've always had one, you know that."
Claudia lifts an eyebrow. "Those things don't last forever you know. When was the last time you, ah… Oh, dear. Lisa? Are you alright?"
Lisa's hands around her mug grow white knuckled as she does the mental calculations. Her stomach twists in an entirely new way as she finally connects the dots to Claudia's prompting.
"Oh," she whispers and her eyes grow wide. "Oh my god."
"Congratulations, mama," Claudia teases lightly. "But, you'd better tell Rick."
ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ
Four hours trapped with him in the hulking corridors of the SDF-1 after a modular transformation was all she needed to solidify something that had been lurking at the edges of her thoughts for months.
She was in love with Rick Hunter.
Four hours more, while walking hand in hand and with the taste of Petite Cola on their lips, she learned he was in love with her too.
It had been the start of something beautiful and Lisa had lived the past few months on the battle fortress in a fluctuating state of fear and bliss. Every time Skull One appeared on her screens, her heart raced with dread. Skull One had already lost one pilot, and Lisa prayed daily to a god she wasn't sure was even listening that Rick would return to her after every skirmish. So far he had, falling into her arms after each exhausting clash, allowing her to exorcise her fears in the loving space between their bodies. Losing a love once before had taught her she would never know which moment could be their last so every time she loved him as though there wouldn't be another.
But now she stands in the centre of her quarters, staring down at the small stick in her hand as the blue plus sign grew brighter and the tiny screen flashed with the confirmation of something she already knew in her heart.
She's pregnant. With Rick's baby. Stationed on a battle fortress in the depths of space, caught in the middle of an intergalactic conflict and a fight for the very existence of the human race.
Rick had returned from his duty roster to find her crying on her bunk. Without hesitation, he had bundled her up in his arms the instant he had stepped through the door. She wonders briefly how he knew she needed that, the tactile comfort of his arms around her. She sobs into his shirt, staining it with her salty tears.
"Lisa," he murmurs as he strokes her hair. He doesn't seem surprised to find her like this and a tiny part of her wants to know why. They've all been on edge for so long, riding that thin line between insanity and peace they all understood couldn't be sustainable. And as though he had been waiting for her to eventually shatter, he holds her tightly and softly whispers her name.
"Rick," she cries as her heart throbs. Suddenly their future is all the more terrifying for the unknown, all the more heartbreaking when she knows what she must do. "Oh, Rick."
When her shuddering sobs ease, she draws back and shuffles towards the bathroom. Water splashes cool across her cheeks and when she returns, Rick is waiting for her with something small and familiar in his hands.
"Lisa," he rasps as he holds it up with eyes wide in shock. "What… Is this… Is this what I think it is? Is it true?"
She has to fight the urge to cry again. This wasn't supposed be how it goes, she thinks wildly to herself. This moment was supposed to be precious and special and full of joy and hope. Fear wasn't supposed to be the overreaching emotion that colored the space around them.
She nods once, with a bravery she doesn't feel. "Yes, it is. I'm pregnant, Rick."
He grows impossibly still. His lips barely move as he speaks. "That's why you were crying?"
She nods again, and raises a trembling hand to swipe at the dampness pooling her eyes again. "Yes."
His expression is guarded. "I… How? I mean…"
In spite of herself, her lips twist with unexpected dry humor. "The usual way, I suspect."
Rick doesn't laugh. Instead he places the stick down on her tiny desktop and looks away. "So what happens now?"
The harshness in his tone surprises her. The tears threaten to build up again. God, she was barely halfway past her first trimester and already she was an emotional wreck and there was still so much more to go. She shrugs weakly. "We'll have a baby."
He turns back to her and Lisa wonders suddenly why he's so far away. She steps close, seeking out his comfort again. She needs him to hold her, she needs to know she's not alone in this. "Are… are you angry?" she asks suddenly. The thought that occurs to her is an ugly one.
Rick's eyes widen and his response is vehement. "Angry? No, god. No, Lisa-" She's suddenly pressed against his chest, his hands gripping her tightly and his face in her hair. "But I thought-"
"What?" she whispers through dry lips. "What did you think?"
He holds her shoulders as he leans back to study her face. She has to blink away the moisture that threatens. "I thought that maybe you didn't…" he shakes his head, as though throwing out the thought. "I'm not angry, Lisa. I… I never could be. God, a baby," he laughs then but it's shaky with disbelief. "We're going to have a baby."
His awe struck smile briefly chases away her fear and she relishes his joy before reality crashes in, loud and violent and ugly. Another sob makes itself known and she buries her face into her hands as despair swells over her like a wave. "But we're in the middle of a war, Rick. What kind of life is that? How can we raise a child in the middle of a battleground?"
There's a moment of silence as Rick holds her close.
"There are other babies on the SDF1, Lisa," Rick says, but even he seems unconvinced. She can sense the hesitancy in his voice. She loves him for his attempt at assurance, but it makes her decision all that much harder.
"Rick, there's… there's something else."
He leans back, his gaze troubled and wary. "What is it?"
She strokes her hand down his cheek tenderly, her heart full of love for him and for the fluttering hope that is their child in her belly. Once she might have convinced herself she could stay with him here, within the small space of her quarters where they had spent so many nights exploring each other, taking solace in each other's arms, savoring the joy they had found together despite the terror all around them. But now her mission was even more important. And there was no one else who could go.
It had to be her. For the future of their child, and for the whole of the human race.
ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ
Captain Gloval spins slowly in his chair to face her and for a heartbeat, Lisa wonders if he might reject her proposal even though they all know it's a hail Mary, a last ditch attempt at trying to broker peace.
"It's risky, Lisa. You might not be allowed to come back to the ship."
It's a thought that had plagued her nights. Nights with Rick's head cradled between her breasts as he slept, exhausted after the constant fighting. She lay there in the dull glow of her room's strip lighting, staring up at the smooth metal bulkheads and wondering how on earth she could bring herself to walk away from the man who held her heart. How on earth can she force herself to leave him? She had toyed with the idea of requesting that Rick be allowed to accompany her on her mission to Earth, but his leadership and skill was too desperately needed where he was.
It would be selfish to ask it of him, she tells herself. Selfish to take him away where he was needed most. She wonders what he will say about her returning to Earth without him when she finally summons the courage to tell him that it's more than just a nebulous thought he had steadfastly refused to acknowledge.
At least it would be safer for her and the baby if she was on Earth. That might be the only thing that will allow him to let her go.
"I'm aware of that, Sir," she says. "But it has to be me. At the very least, I can get my father onside, and he may be able to sway the council."
"It's a risk we have to take I suppose…"
"Yes, sir. I believe it to be so, sir."
"And Hunter?" Captain Gloval climbs to his feet and eyes her shrewdly now. His hands are clasped behind his back. "What of your little romance?"
Lisa blinks. "You know about that?"
"Of course I do! I have eyes, don't I?"
Lisa's face flushes hotly. She wonders how much more he knows and she has to fight not to lay a protective palm against her stomach, reminding herself he couldn't possibly know about her pregnancy. She wasn't showing yet, although her uniform waistband was starting to feel more snug with every passing day.
"Rick will understand," she says with a confidence she doesn't entirely feel.
ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ
The night before her departure from the SDF-1 has her casting her eyes over the report one final time. Once it's tucked away and secured, there's only one thing left to do and she waits for Rick in the silence of her quarters.
Would she ever return to this space, to the bunk that held so many blissful moments, to the walls that had heard her gasping passion and his whispered words of love as he touched her? She runs her eyes over every surface, committing it all to memory and fortifying her hope that these won't be her last hours here.
The door finally opens and Rick's eyes light up to see her.
"Hi," he says warmly and he crosses the room in three long strides and gathers her up against him. He plants a kiss against her lips then lays one hand against her stomach as he looks into her eyes. "How are you?" he asks softly. "Both of you?"
His sweetness makes her throat thick and she realizes for the first time what he's going to lose if the UEC don't allow her to return. He won't see her body change, her waist thicken as their baby grows inside her, he won't feel the kicks or the flutters Lisa is sure she already imagines on the inside. Her eyes well and her resolve wavers.
"Rick… Rick, there's something I have to tell you."
He's immediately alarmed. "What is it? Lisa, are you alright? What's wrong? Is it the baby?"
"No," she shakes her head and grips the hand on her stomach. "No, the baby is fine. I'm fine."
Rick looks puzzled. "Then what is it? Why are you so upset?"
She stares up into his eyes, worried and blue and soft only for her. It was a miracle, she thinks sadly. A miracle that brought him to her when her heart had been so closed off, a miracle that he had slipped past her defenses so easily. A miracle that he loved her back. How many more miracles can she rightfully hope to ask for?
She takes a deep breath.
"Rick, I have to go away. I have to go to Earth, to convince the council to make peace with the Zentraedi…"
ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ
It goes as well as Lisa had expected it would. Rick is furious and stubborn and vehement in his refusal to allow her to leave without him at her side. They argue, they cry and they plead but Lisa is steadfast in her convictions. She has to do this, and she is bolstered with the knowledge that she is doing this to ensure the survival of an Earth for their child to grow up in. The child still protected inside her body and even Rick can't deny that Lisa would be safer under the blue sky and fresh rolling breezes of the earth than she could ever be on the SDF-1.
He holds her as the fight slowly dwindles out of him. She feels his tension easing with every breath and his voice grows rough and pained with resignation. "I hope you'll be safe."
"I'm sure I will be," she whispers.
"Will you do one thing for me before you go?"
She holds his hand to her cheek, heart sore and already missing him with every fiber of her body even though he sits so close to her. The weeks and months and possible years without him yawn before her, dark and lonely.
"What do you need?"
Rick shifts then, rising from her side on the bunk and kneeling on the floor before her instead. He takes her hand swallows once as a determined intensity fills his stare from under his unruly hair.
"Marry me before you go," he says. "I love you, Lisa. And… and if anything happens… I want our baby to know how much I love their mother."
ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ
Captain Gloval performs their ceremony in his ready room a short time later. He was roused from sleep in the hurried rush to pull together a wedding before the shuttle was due to depart and although Lisa had worried, he doesn't begrudge it, not even hesitating at Lisa's tearful request to marry them but he draws the line at allowing it to become common knowledge along the lines of the ship. Too many questions, he murmurs and Rick and Lisa glance at each other in understanding. They know the stakes and they don't bother to argue.
Rick stands in front of her, both of them in their uniforms and their hands clasped tight. She doesn't have a veil or a bouquet but there's an expanse of stars twinkling in the black through the viewport beyond. There is no sign of their blue planet in this orbit and for once, Lisa is grateful. She doesn't want to be reminded of the separation that's waiting for herself and Rick in just a few short hours.
She grips Rick's hand like a lifeline and he smiles as he makes his promises to her in a tremulous voice that's thick with emotion. Lisa is lost in the love that shines in his eyes as he slips the hastily sourced plain gold band onto her finger and presses his forehead to hers.
"I'll get you a better ring one day," he whispers ruefully but Lisa brushes aside his comment. She's happy with what she has and all it represents and she admires the way it glints in the light. She laughs softly, hardly believing what's happening and her heart unbelievably full despite all that looms.
"This one is just fine," she whispers back and Rick leans in to kiss her briefly.
Captain Gloval clears his throat to pull them back on task and Lisa hears Claudia's light chuckle from where she stands to the side, the only other witness to their secret ceremony.
When Gloval announces them as husband and wife, she throws her arms around Rick's neck and pushes aside all thought of the dwindling hours with her new husband. And later, she makes love to him like it's the last time… Even though they swear to each other it's not.
ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ
"Shuttle will now return to normal mode of operation."
The shuttle pilot's whistle is low but Lisa hears it clearly over the com in her metallic bubble in the cabin.
"Wow, I've never seen anything like it. That armored veritech really is something, huh? Commander Hayes, we have a communication coming through from Lieutenant Hunter who's now guarding the shuttle."
"Thank you," Lisa says breathlessly. The cabin light returns to normal and the shielding unfolds from around her seat. She turns to the viewport and sure enough, a still bristling armored veritech hovers alongside, close enough that Lisa can see the red hue of her husband's helmet through the canopy.
"Lisa," he says urgently. "Are you alright?"
Lisa cups the radio mouth piece in her palms, a relieved smile on her lips. "I'm fine," she says in a soft, reassuring tone as she touches her belly absently. What she really means is we're fine, confident that his hot ride to her rescue prevented the worst of the jostling of the shuttle by the enemy.
Rick's sigh of relief on the line is palpable before his tone grows regretful. "Thank god. Lisa, the shuttle has just entered the Earth's atmosphere. I… I have to turn back."
Her heart pangs with loss and longing. "I understand," she says softly.
"Before you go… Look out the window."
"What is it?"
"Here," he says and there's a smile in his voice when he continues. "Just something between you and me."
She looks out to see the veritech's red lights flash rapidly in a code she hasn't had to use since her days in the academy. She's rusty but it comes back to her quickly. She whispers the message under her breath. I will always fight to get back to you. I love you. Both of you.
Tears prick her eyes as he salutes from his cockpit but he has one last message for the shuttle pilots.
"Take care of her," he tells them. "You have some very precious cargo aboard."
There's puzzlement in the pilot's voice as he answers. "Yes, sir."
ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ