AN: Feedback is adored - TYSM! Rick's POV coming later. Enjoy!
Chapter - Heartbeat
ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟLISA ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ
Lisa spins the gold band around her finger anxiously as the shuttle taxis to a stop in the cold Alaska wind. There's a hiss as the cabin depressurizes and the door opens and Lisa tilts her face up to suck in the first breath of fresh earth air she's been able to enjoy in months.
On the tarmac, her father stands in the shadows and waits for her with a broad smile.
"Lisa, thank god you're here," he calls up to her as she stands at the shuttle door. "You finally got off that terrible ship. Come on down, we've got a lot of talking to do."
Lisa clutches her coat against the cold and descends the stairs. At the bottom she stands ramrod straight and salutes sharply.
"Admiral. Lieutenant Commander Hayes, reporting sir-" briefly she wonders if one day she might go by Hunter. They hadn't had the chance to talk about it before she left. "I'm carrying a special dispatch from Captain Henry Gloval, commander of the SDF-1."
Her father salutes her back with a stiff, "Welcome home," that tells her he's displeased with her overly formal greeting. She can't find it in her to regret it, her stomach churning in a way that isn't entirely due to the nausea that's been plaguing her.
They ride the jeep in silence as it carries them underground and into the bowels of the base. In the biting frigid air, she shoves her hands into the pockets of her coat, unused to the weather extremes after the carefully controlled environment of the SDF1's halls. It's not until later, when she has divested herself of her coat and fur trimmed boots that her father snatches her hand.
He stares down at the gold band that adorns her finger, his eyes tight. "Lisa," he growls and Lisa's heart thumps behind her ribs. "What is this?"
"It's my wedding ring," she says simply.
Her father's eyes widen then narrow dangerously. He releases her hand like it burns him. Tension lines his shoulders. "I didn't even know you were seeing anyone."
Lisa smiles thinly. How could he? Communication between the ship and the population in its belly was restricted purely to military communicates and even had there been the time, Lisa privately doubts she would have told him anyway.
Before she can find the words to answer him, the admiral ploughs on. "He's military, I hope."
"Yes," Lisa nods, unsurprised where her father's approval lies. She tilts her head and wonders how much of her initial report he remembers. "In fact, he's the one that rescued me from the alien ship."
A slow smile curves her father's mouth. He seems immeasurably pleased by that and he softens.
"Well, then," he says gruffly, folding his arms across his chest. "I'm sure you made a beautiful bride. I'm only sorry I wasn't there to see it."
The retort burns on the tip of her tongue but she's too well trained to lash out. If he hadn't banished the SDF1 back into space, maybe he would have had a chance to see his daughter be married. Lisa conjures up Rick's face, thinking about their brief, private ceremony. It hadn't been lavish or fancy but it had been intimate… and maybe if she had been willing to admit it to herself, a small part of her might be sad she didn't have the chance to wear a delicate white dress and hold a bouquet of flowers but the outcome would have been the same. That's all that mattered. She was Rick's wife now. She belonged to him, and he to her. They're a team, no matter how many millions of miles lay between them.
"It was only a small ceremony," she says instead. Her father glances at her then clears his throat.
"I, ah. I don't recall his name."
"Lieutenant Rick Hunter," she hears herself say his name with pride and warm with the love she has for him. "He's the pilot of Skull One, and he has numerous commendations, including the titanium medal of valor."
Her father's smile becomes smug with satisfaction. "I see. Then you chose well."
"I like to think so." Lisa smiles to herself, thinking of Rick, of the blue of his eyes, the sound of his voice. A wave of longing washes over her. She misses him already. "And I hope one day soon you will have a chance to meet him," she says earnestly as she turns to the man whose approval she had sought for her entire life. For a moment, she allows herself to be the daughter he wanted to see when she disembarked the shuttle. "If we can stop this war with the Zentraedi, if we can find a way to broker peace talks-"
"Lisa," he says her name sharply. Dismissively. His gaze slides away and he busies himself with a puff on a cigarette. Lisa has the urge to snatch it out of his hand and stomp it to the ground. Instead she does her best to lean away from the smoke.
"Father, we have to try."
"I'll talk to them, Lisa. But I can't make any guarantees."
Lisa grows quiet and thinks of the child she carries, along with all her hopes for a world to grow up in. "I understand."
ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ
She blames her uneasy stomach on the shuttle re-entry but she's shuffled away for a routine physical anyway. Lisa realizes the merit of it. There had been so little time on board the SDF-1 that an official visit to a doctor hadn't yet been forthcoming – what little time she had she spent at her station, preparing her report and the rest of curled around Rick.
Lisa sits in the plush grey chairs across from a stern faced medico and regrets that fact now.
Rick should be here for this.
"How far along are you?" the doctor asks without looking up from the bloodwork report in her hands. She's an older woman, with hair the colour of straw and lines between her brows that speak of a lifetime of disapproval.
"About twelve or thirteen weeks as near as I can surmise," Lisa answers, her hands clasped in her lap.
The doctor makes a small noise of agreement. "Yes, that would seem accurate according to this. And the father… your husband? Where is he right now?"
Lisa's throat is tight. "He's on the SDF-1."
"Enlisted?"
"Yes. He's a pilot."
"I see," the doctor says quietly and the sympathy that colours her tone is almost more than Lisa can bear. There's a slight softening of the doctor's gaze on her. "I'm sorry he can't be here to share this with you."
Lisa rubs the band around her finger absently as she swallows. "So am I."
The doctor goes through the rest of her bloodwork, pleased to note that things seem to be travelling along well. Lisa listens intently and with an aching heart, making the mental notes she needs but there's little she can do this early on but continue much as she has been.
"No more coffee, though," the doctor says as an afterthought. "And certainly no alcohol."
Lisa gives her a tight smile. "Neither of those things will be a problem."
"Good," the doctor says in satisfaction. There's a beat of silence as she turns her assessing gaze on Lisa. "Now, would you like to see your baby? Hear the heartbeat?"
Lisa's breath catches. "Yes," she exhales. Her vision swims with the dampness that fills her eyes but it's nothing compared to the torrent that unleashes down her cheeks when she finally sees the fluttering changes inside her body. A rapid thump-da-thump fills the space around her, the cold jelly smeared across her skin and the gentle pressure as the transducer moves over her stomach.
"There you have it, Commander. There's your baby."
ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ
She doesn't tell her father about her pregnancy, hoarding the knowledge close to her chest like a precious jewel. The secret makes her feel closer to Rick somehow, and she lies on the bunk of her new quarters with her hand on her belly and tries to imagine what a tiny version of Rick might look like. She wonders if their child will have Rick's wild hair or his same blue eyes, if they might have the same aptitude for flight that came so innately to Rick. She wonders if the two of them will be good parents, if she can be the mother she wants to be when she hardly remembers her own and hasn't got anyone to guide her.
Then the most hopeful news of all comes… the SDF1 and the Zentraedi fleet reach a cease fire agreement and Lisa almost weeps with the strength of her hope.
ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ ゜ﾟ* *ﾟ