"Robotech - To The Stars: Aftermath - The First Year"
Part 2


Claudia awoke to the feeling of something lightly slapping her on the face. Slap-pause-slap-pause. She opened her eye slowly but her vision was still blurred from sleep. Then she heard a two giggles and then a shout, "Auntiiiieeeee!" Claudia finally managed to open both her eyes and stared into the smiling faces of her nephew Bowie and his best friend Dana Sterling. Then, Bowie slapped his aunt on the cheek again and Dana gave out one wicked giggle before she proceeded to slap Claudia on the cheek, much harder than Bowie had. Stunned and faintly annoyed, Claudia was in the process of getting up out of bed and away from the little wicked toddlers when Max came through the already open door.
"Claudia! I'm so sorry! Come on kids, leave Aunt Claudia alone now," said Max rather meekly.
The two kids laughed at Max then hit Claudia again and broke into laughter.
Max finally took the appropriate action this time and scooped up the two troublemakers, one in each arm and called back over his shoulder as he left the room, "Oh Claudia, I think you're late."
Claudia's mouth dropped open as she looked at the clock on the nightstand, she had only half an hour to get herself out the door. Her brother Vince was suppose to give her a wakeup call before he left for the base but apparently he had forgotten. Then all of a sudden she heard the smoke alarm go off and she ran out into the living room. There she found Dana and Bowie jumping up and down on the couch and Max fumbling with a fire extinguisher as Miriya was shouting at him to hurry up. Max caught sight of her and gave her an embarrassed smile.
"Don't worry, this has happened before," Max said matter-of-factly, and then ran into the kitchen.
Claudia sighed and wondered if every morning was going to be like this one, then she remembered she had to get ready for work and she ran back to her room with a giggling Dana and Bowie running after her, managing to close the door on them in the nick of time.

* * * * * * *

Kim woke up and it took her a moment to process where she was. She looked up at the plain white ceiling then sensed that someone was in the room with her. She looked over to her right and saw Vanessa sitting in a wheelchair, her head bandaged.
Vanessa adjusted her glasses before saying, "How are you feeling?"
It took Kim some time to evaluate how she was feeling at the moment but she finally managed to reply, "I'm alright I guess, nothing seems to be hurting as far as I can tell. But what about you? What happened to your head?"
"Just a small concussion, nothing to worry about. I'm going home later on today," answered Vanessa.
There was a few seconds of silence then Kim asked, "Everyone is alright, right? I asked the doctor to tell me about how my friends were doing, he doesn't know all of you by name though. I know Claudia, Sammie, and you are ok, and I saw Lisa last night. I asked the doctor about Rick but he didn't seem to know who Rick was. Max, Miriya, Jean, Vince, the kids?"
Vanessa smiled at her, "Everyone's fine Kim." Then Vanessa remembered that that wasn't exactly true and sadly started, "Except..."
"Except Gloval," stated Kim sadly as she turned away from Vanessa.
Kim tried to push the image out of her mind but couldn't. She remembered only part of what had happened, rather happy that she couldn't remember the entire scene.
Vanessa and Kim's escape pod had been hit by debris and the two women had been thrown into the water and were encircled by flames and drenched in oil. The flames were becoming hotter and hotter and the two women had to constantly dive under water to escape the searing heat. On one of her dives, Kim was momentarily trapped by a large piece of metal and had to swim for quite some time to get out from under it, just as she was almost clear of the metal's circumference, she came face to face with Admiral Gloval, or at least what was left with him. She could tell it was him by his uniform colors. His eyes were open and she found herself staring into his death stare. She started to remember more of the details which confirmed for her that she was staring at a dead man and suddenly she felt panic and fright overtake her body and she threw her bedsheets off her as if they were on fire.
"Kim?!"
Kim looked at Vanessa with a haunted look, then lay back down on the bed and turned away from her saying, "I don't want to talk about it, don't worry, I'll be alright."
That didn't stop Vanessa from worrying and she scrambled to find something that might distract Kim from her trauma.
"Hey Kim, guess what! Lisa got promoted to Admiral! And not only that, she and Rick are a couple now!"
This brought Kim around, "No way!!?"
"Yes way!" exclaimed Vanessa. "And not only that, we are sharing a house with them and sneaky little Sammie put them in the same room, and the heat's out and Sammie isn't going to bother to call anyone to come and fix it!"
A shadow of Kim's famous mischievious smile started to appear and Vanessa was relieved that she had managed to see the old Kim start to resurface. She then went on to tell her about the various promotions and assignments and Kim was greatly relieved that she was going to be Lisa's aide and not have to be in charge of anything.



* * * * * * *

Lisa shot straight up out of bed. Her heart was pounding and she was momentarily confused as to where she was. She looked around and saw that she was safe in her bedroom and took a deep breath before lying back down. She had had a nightmare full of scenes from what had transpired over the last twenty-four hours. She dreamt she was in the water again, then that she was on the doomed SDF-1, then that she was trapped underwater, then that Maistroff was berating her for being a failure and that she would not be allowed to touch the SDF-3 since he blamed her for the demise of the SDF-1 and SDF-2. Then, worst of them all, she dreamt that she was back at Rick's house, on his front porch, telling him that she was leaving, and he in return, had told her that he and Minmei were getting married and that there was no place for her (Lisa) in his life anymore. The thought of that scene scared Lisa so much that before she could do anything else that day, she needed to find Rick and make sure what she dreamed of hadn't come true.
She remembered she had last seen Rick asleep on the couch and decided to go downstairs to make sure he was still there. She got out of bed and headed towards the door when she noticed that Rick was asleep on the small couch there in the room. She stared at him for several moments, wondering if she should wake him up just to make sure he wasn't planning on leaving her and going back to Minmei. She hated herself for being so insecure and jealous but she just couldn't help it, after all the disappointments she had been through the past several years, she was already programmed to feel like that.
She looked at the clock on the wall and suddenly realized that she should be getting ready to go back to the Command Center and so she pushed aside her doubts about Rick, gathered the things she needed, and headed towards the bathroom.

Rick was awoken by the sense that someone was standing over him, but when he opened his eyes, no one was there. He sat up on the couch and rubbed his sore neck and looked around the room to see that he was alone. He remembered waking up during the middle of the night and quietly making his way up the stairs to go lie down on the couch in the room he was suppose to share with Lisa. When he opened the door he could barely make out Lisa's figure, fast asleep on the bed. He took his blankets and went to lie down on the couch that was too short for him and had the intent to stay awake for a little while to make sure Lisa didn't wake up from any nightmares but as soon as he laid his head down he was fast asleep, but he didn't escape his own nightmares along the way.
He dreamt about the day Lisa told him that Roy had died, about the funeral, about the time when he and Lisa were prisoners on Dolza's ship, then he dreamt that he and Lisa were on Mars Base and Lisa told him she was going to stay and die on Mars Base so that she could be with someone who loved her. Then he had a final nightmare about Minmei telling him that she and Rick had to get married because it was their destiny.
Rick remembered some of these details and determined that he needed to see Lisa just to make sure the last of his nightmares hadn't come true. He wandered out the door and heard the shower running when he heard the phone ring. He went back to the room to answer it, it was Claudia.
"Rick, this is Claudia. I hope you don't mind, but I've asked Reinhardt to free you from patrol duties so that you can help me with the relocation. I'm having such a terrible time with the civilian pilots in Monument that I think it will be best if we used RDF pilots, this will also alow me to bypass all the red tape that Monument is throwing up at me."
Rick knew the importance of wasting no time getting the citizens of New Macross relocated as soon as possible and told Claudia he was more than willing to help out. After receiving directions and orders, he hung up the phone and grabbed some fresh clothes and went downstairs to take a shower.

Lisa left the bathroom and went back into the bedroom with the intent to wake Rick up so that he wouldn't be late for work, but when she re-entered the room she found that he wasn't there and once again a wave of panic seized her. She made herself calm down and then went downstairs to see if he was there.
Once downstairs she walked into the kitchen but saw no sign of him, then she thought she should check the bathroom and when she got to the door she heard the water running and sighed a small sigh of relief and decided to sit down on the couch and wait for him.
After about another 15 minutes Rick finally emerged from the bathroom. Lisa stood up and the two looked at each other across the room. Neither was sure what the other was thinking.
Rick was now suddenly worried as he remembered how he had kissed Lisa on the neck, twice, the previous day and was wondering if she thought he was some kind of lecher and whether she was mad about it. They hadn't been able to speak to each other since they left the meeting many hours prior and Rick had been meaning to explain his actions to her as soon as he could.
Lisa was still unsure what Rick was going to do or say and she wasn't sure what to say herself, so she waited for Rick to speak.
Finally Rick spoke, "Lisa, listen, about yesterday..."
Lisa's heart stopped beating and a chill ran through her entire body.
"Lisa, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."
Lisa stopped breathing and waited for him to finish.
"Lisa, what happened in your hospital room yesterday, before Sammie came by..."
Lisa let herself breath again, happy that he hadn't mentioned the word 'Minmei' or 'mistake' so far, but still was afraid of what he might say.
"I...I couldn't..I mean...please don't think I'm some sort of lecher or that I was taking advantage of you, there were so many emotions and feelings going through me at that time...I let my heart rule my head and that's why I kissed you the way I did. It's so hard to explain it, I..."
Lisa cut him off, "It's alright Rick, don't worry about it." She let out a sigh of relief and continued, "You don't have to apologize at all Rick. Please don't ever feel like you're taking advantage of me. If I didn't feel comforatable I would've stopped you." She saw him breathe his own sigh of relief and decided to take the risk of finding out the validity of his profession of love for her from the day before and pressed on, "I mean, it's only natural right? Since we are together now, I don't think that will be the last time it will happen, don't you agree?" Lisa waited anxiously for his answer, meanwhile wondering what other way she could've worded her question differently, feeling uneasy that she had perhaps used the wrong words. She didn't want to say the word 'couple' because she knew that that word had a tendancy to scare men, especially men like Rick Hunter, so shehad chosen 'together' as a less powerful word. She waited impatiently, but quietly, for Rick's reply.
Rick took a few steps towards her then smiled at her.
Lisa's heart started to beat fast for two reasons. One, she was almost sure that he agreed with her, and surely he had not run back to Minmei so far, allowing her to start to believe that she wasn't still in a dream. Two, she was reminded of one of the many things that had attracted her to Rick, one of them being his smile.
Lisa was struck with an idea, something that she couldn't ever have imagined herself doing up until today, and it somewhat shocked her, but she was suddenly instilled with a new confidence and happiness, as she stood there sharing a smile with Rick. She walked up to him, looked at him for a moment, then moved in very close to him, paused, and the kissed him on the neck twice, like he had done to her the previous day.
"You see Rick, my heart can rule my head too."
Rick's heart started to beat faster as he heard her pleasant voice utter those words and felt her breath on his neck as she said them. He was trying to recover when he heard a car horn honk outside and Lisa quickly saying that it was her driver waiting and that she had to leave.
"I have to leave, Rick, goodbye."
Those words confused him and he suddenly had a flashback to the day before and the last time Lisa had said that she was leaving. Time blurred and he wasn't sure what was going on. Lisa gave him a quizzical look and then managed to set the record straight.
"Rick, I'll be back later on tonight, I have to go now, the driver is waiting."
Rick finally caught on and nodded as he waved to her as she went closed the door behind her.
'Not very sharp I suppose...but oh is he so damn cute!' Lisa thought to herself as she stepped into the military jeep. Little did she know that what caused Rick's mental lapse was not a matter of sharpness, but that he was afraid that she would leave him, the same fear that she had that he would leave her. Once she found this out, most of her insecurity over the thought of Rick leaving her, would be put to rest.



* * * * * * *

"What do you mean General Maistroff is too busy right now? This is a serious matter, I need to speak to him ASAP or we might be facing another Zendtraedi attack!" Sammie was ready to throw the phone against the wall. She needed to pass along information about four dozen Zendtraedi battlepods that had been sighted by a Cat's Eye recon plane out in the jungles of what used to be the country of Costa Rica.
She first thought to ask Reinhardt for help but he was no where to be found, then she had tried speaking to General Carruthers but he had waved her off and told her that intelligence was Maistroff's responsibility, so she tried to get a hold of Maistroff but he couldn't be bothered because he was having brunch with the City Council in Granite City. After more of the same old runaround by Maistroff's aide, Sammie let out a growl, something she picked up from Gloval and Maistroff both, and threw the phone down on the floor.
The air controller seated off to Sammie's left looked at her with a surprise look, then turned thoughtful as he offered, "Captain Porter."
Sammie sighed tiredly, "Yes Lieutenant what is it?"
"Captain ma'am, why don't you ask Admiral Hayes to help?"
Sammie stared at the man and then the lightbulb flashed on, "Of course! Admiral Hayes! It's been so chaotic around here that I forgot she was promoted. Listen, get the Skull squadron prepared immediately. Then that way they will be ready to go once Lisa...I mean, Admiral Hayes, gives us the greenlight."
"Yes ma'am"
Sammie left the Lieutenant to his duties and started to pace around, trying to figure out contingency plans on how to deal with these 48 enemy pods.
After about 5 minutes, the Lieutenant interrupted her, "Captain Porter, Captain Grant says that she needs the Skull Squadron over there in Monument."
Sammie was surprised that Claudia hadn't released the Skull and got on the phone to find out her reasons why.
"Look Sammie, the Skull has already been a favorite of the people for some time now. The citizens completely trust the Skull Squadron. The main reason why I called them in is because the people were fighting with the regular civillian pilots and demanding that a military squad handle the situation, not to mention that we can now bypass all the red tape we had to go through with non-military pilots. Some people had already started rioting before I was able to get the Skull over here, if we don't keep the Skull on this then I could have a full-scale riot on my hands. Sammie there are only 48 pods, double up two squadrons to take them out."
"Claudia, I think it's important to leave several squads as they are right now. We don't know if Khyron has reinforcements hidden somewhere and I'd rather be safe and have some squads on standby. I wanted Skull for this mission because they can mop up those pods the quickest and most effectively. Claudia can't you spare them for a few hours?"
"Sammie, look honey, I really really wish I could, and you know I would if I were able to, but it's either the Skull stays here or there could be widespread riots. The people are very angry and questioning why we weren't able to see Khyron coming from miles away. No doubt there is going to be a huge inquiry into how and why Khyron succeeded in his surprise attack. Sammie do you understand?"
Sammie heard someone shout in the background on Claudia's end, "I demand to speak to whoever's in charge here, are you going to just let us sit around over in New Macross as the radiation levels rise? If you're not going to do anything then we--"........
"Alright Claudia, alright. I have to go now, and try and find a squad that can handle those pods on their own."

Sammie looked at the Lieutenant and asked him if for the active duty list. She looked through the list and saw that the Ghost Squadron looked like it would be a good choice for the mission. "Lieutenant, alert the Ghost to prepare for launch. Tell Captain Maiers that he can launch as soon as I get the go ahead from Admiral Hayes."
"Uh...begging your pardon ma'am, it's my sad duty to inform you that Captain Maiers passed away last night."
"What?" said Sammie feebly. She had known Maiers and his family since the start of her SDF-1 assignment. "His poor wife..." but she was interrupted by the lieutenant again.
"I'm sorry Captain, I guess no one told you, their house, and several others on the same block were hit by one of 'Khyron's Kocktail' bombs."
Sammie wanted to start crying but she knew she couldn't. So much more was expected of her now. She had to be strong, if not for herself then for the people who depended on her and looked to her for leadership. She now understood Lisa's position. When they were all first assigned to the SDF-1, the Trio would joke behind Lisa's back about how serious and unemotional she was. Now she understood that it was duty that had necessitated Lisa's demeanor. She heaved a deep breath and forced herself to continue on.
"Ok...uh...well then, tell the squadron leader to be ready."
"Yes ma'am."
"Who is the new leader anyways."
"Some guy who just transferred from Granite City, he has a long record, fought in the Global Civil War they say, pretty good soldier, seems they picked him out of the rubble of Alaska Base....what was his name....ah, Edwards. Thomas Riley Edwards is his name."
Sammie shrugged, "Hmm, never heard of him. Well, hopefully we will all be able to work together well, I think Ghost will have to do quite a bit of work for awhile, with the Skull being needed for other things."
"Yes ma'am."

* * * * * * *

Max rounded the corner of the hanger and heard someone shouting angrily, "No! We refuse to go with you! Now get us someone else and get out of our sight!" He walked a few more paces and saw a group of about a dozen people on one side and Miriya standing on the other.
"You there!" shouted the same angry voice and pointing at Max. "What's the big idea of sending the enemy to help us? For all we know she might deliver us to the Zentraedi!" With that the crowd yelled their agreement. Then someone recognized Max as being Miriya's husband.
"Hey waita minute! That's her husband! You're the one who married a Zendtraedi!" With that the crowd broke into shouts of objection and jeers, and Miriya looked at Max as to what to do next.
"What the hell is going on here?!" The voice was booming and the crowd instantly shut up. Claudia Grant, her hands on her hips, walked slowly but purposely and intimidatingly towards the crowd until she stood near the instigator and stared down at him. "Do you have a problem here, sir." The stern look on Claudia's face and the fact that she was several inches taller than the man, rendered him silent. Claudia looked at everyone making sure no one was going to speak before she did. Rick arrived on the scene as Claudia was staring everyone down and she told him, "Rick, will you please transport this group of ungrateful people over to South Monument City." Rick looked at her nervously as she stared down the group of citizens again. He waited until he thought she was finished with her staredown and then escorted the group to an awaiting shuttle.
Miriya stood silently off to the side, watching as the crowd moved further and further away. Max on the other hand was in front of Claudia as soon as the crowd was out of earshot.
"Claudia! How could you give in to them like that?!" exclaimed an angry Max Sterling as he quickly glanced at Miriya.
Claudia was already exhausted, mentally and physically, and it wasn't even past lunchtime yet and she surely didn't have much patience left to get into a tiff with Max. "Please Max, the primary goal is to get everyone to their assigned areas as soon as possible."
Miriya came to Claudia's defense and put a restraining hand on her husband's shoulder, "Max please, Claudia's right, let us just disregard the incident and get back to work."
Max shook his head and continued, "No Miriya, what's going to happen the next time something like this happens. Are we going to have to give in to everyone who's afraid of Zendtraedi? You're a soldier committed to protecting the people, just like every human soldier. If we keep giving into people's fears then it's never going to end. What happens when-"
"Max please stop it! Let's just forget about it for now," pleaded Miriya.
Max sighed and took off his glasses to rub his weary eyes. "Claudia, I'm sorry, it's just-"
"It's alright Max."
"It's just that it's so tiring how so many people can be so ignorant."
"That's the way the world works Max, unfortunately. Listen, why don't you two go take a lunch break, then report back to me when you're done."
Max saluted Claudia then took Miriya's hand and headed towards the makeshift cafeteria for a much needed break.



* * * * * * *

Sammie had gotten Lisa's approval to launch the Ghost Squadron and many hours later, the mission was nearly over when Major Edwards radioed her informing her that he wanted an officer to come over and help him setup an observation post so that they could occupy the region for awhile to monitor any further Zendtraedi activity. Sammie hesitated and was at a loss as to who to send or even if she could fulfill his request. She wracked her brain for several minutes then thought to call Lisa.
"Uh...Lisa...I mean, Admiral Hayes, ma'am. Ghost Squadron is nearly done mopping up in old Costa Rica, but now they are requesting someone to help them setup an observation post. Did you want me to go out there or..."
Lisa thought for a moment, there really wasn't anyone she could think of to send. However she did feel that it was a good idea to put up a observation post to monitor and deter against any possible future Zentraedi uprisings. She estimated that it would only take a day or two to set up a small post of about 30 or so personnel. She gave her approval and told Sammie that she would meet her in Sammie's office to go over the personnel assignments.

Some three hours later Sammie and Lisa finished their meeting and there was only the question left of which ranking officer was going to make the trip over there. Lisa volunteered to go, figuring that she would only be away for two days. She had wished she could stay in Monument, close to Rick, but she knew that this outpost needed to be setup and Sammie was needed where she currently was.
Lisa stood up from her chair and stretched and told Sammie, "Inform Captain Maiers that I will be there tommorrow evening."
Sammie quickly covered her mouth, "Oops...I didn't to tell you about Captain Maiers..." and then started to get tearful.
Lisa's shoulders slumped, "I see...who's in charge now?"
"Someone named Edwards."
Lisa thought for a moment, she knew an Edwards, the one that was stationed with her father at Alaska Base, but she hadn't heard of any survivors from that base besides herself and a few others and Edwards wasn't ever mentioned. She shrugged it off and decided to call it an evening.



* * * * * * *

Lisa arrived home and found Vanessa seated on the couch and Rick seated in a chair opposite her, a coffeetable in between them and a checkerboard laid out on the table. Both Rick and Vanessa stood up as Lisa set down her bundles of papers and keys.
Rick stood off to the side with his hands in his pockets as the two friends hugged.
"Vanessa, I'm so glad you're back home!"
"So am I Lisa. I felt useless sitting there in that hospital room. I need to get back to work as soon as I can."
Lisa held up her hand, "Just make sure you don't try and rush back before you're all well."
"I know, I know," replied Vanessa with a smile.
Vanessa, already in on the conspiracy to leave Rick and Lisa alone together as much as possible, faked a yawn and told Rick, "Thanks for letting me pound you at checker's Rick, I think I'm going to call it a night, goodnight you two."
"I'm just a little bit rusty that's all, and don't forget, I want a re-match tommorrow!" said Rick defiantly.
"You like to lose don't you?" countered Vanessa with a laugh.
Rick made a swatting motion with his hands, "Shoo! Go to bed, stop bugging me."
The three friends laughed as Rick and Lisa watched Vanessa head up the stairs.
Rick and Lisa stood there in an awkward silence, again.
Lisa was the first to break the silence, "So...how was it over in Monument today?"
Rick grimaced and replied, "Not very well, but at least things are moving along. Claudia really has her hands full over there."
"How is Kim, did you see her today? I wonder if I should go over there and see her," pondered Lisa.
Rick shook his head, "She's fine, don't worry about her, she's probably asleep right now anyways, it's already past midnight. I spent some time talking to her before I brought Vanessa home and I think Kim is getting back to her old self again. The doctors even say that she might be able to go home next week."
Lisa smiled tiredly and Rick continued.
"You've had a long day, can I...uh, get you something? Tea or something to eat?"
Lisa was exhausted and didn't feel very hungry. She had spent a good part of the morning driving back and forth between New Macross and Monument to supervise the relocation of the very valuable and defensively crucial radar array grids, and also, to help in the investigation as to why they had not picked up Khyron's ship ahead of time. Then after Sammie had called her for help, she spent the rest of the evening going through the Costa Rica plans with Sammie. It suddenly dawned on her that she had to tell Rick that she was leaving and she wondered about how and when would be a good time to tell him, because, knowing Rick so well, she anticipated that he would want to go along with her. Lisa realized that Rick was waiting for her answer and broke out of her mental conversation with herself.
"I...," Lisa tried to think of an answer for him, but her mind had gone blank that even a simple 'yes' or 'no' was impossible for her. With all the work she had done today she had scarcely had one second to think about Rick, and now with him standing there looking at her, she lapsed back into the argument of whether she was in a dream or not.
Rick looked at Lisa and waited for her to answer. He had been thinking of her ever since he had gotten home and had been anxious for her to walk through the door. Now that she was here with him he felt himself growing shy, the way he had felt when he was first starting to fall for Minmei. Even though he had known Lisa for the past five years, this new shift in their relationship made it seem like they had just met each other for the first time. He saw that Lisa looked very very tired, in fact, she looked rather pitiful and it tugged at Rick's heart, so he did the only thing he could think of, he stepped up to her and hugged her.
Lisa was glad that Rick was there to hold her upright or else she thought her legs would give out on her. Everytime Rick showed her a sign of genuine affection, it made her feel weak. After so many years of wanting him to pay attention to her, to show her some sign that he cared, to finally receive gestures of his affection was almost overwhelming for her. She felt so safe in Rick's strong arms, and wanted to stay there forever. She was so happy she wanted to cry, but she was too tired to do so, so instead she used what little strength she had left to tighten the embrace.
Rick picked up on it immediately and was still a little surprised at her forwardness. He had been surprised at the kiss she gave him earlier in the day but had realized that this was a different Lisa than he had previously known. He never could imagine her, 'the old sourpuss,' as being a passionate and even a rather sexy woman. All he had witnessed from her previously was her composure and conservatism, but he now realized that deep down she had a fiery and loving heart and he felt all the more honored that she had chosen him to reveal her heart to.
Lisa wondered what Rick was thinking, because neither of them had said a word to each other once they began their embrace. She knew she was going to have to tell him about the upcoming mission and reasoned that it was probably better to tell him right away, rather than put it off until she was leaving, because then he might get upset or hurt that she kept it from him for awhile. She wanted to stay in his arms for however long either of them could hold out, and she now regretted taking the assignment but had to perform so she decided to tell him, not using any pre-meditated speech, just letting the words come as she spoke them.
Lisa made the first move to slowly part from Rick, "Rick..."
Rick cut her off, "Lisa, I'm glad you're home, I've been thinking about ever since I got home, maybe that's why Vanessa beat me at checkers. I couldn't stop thinking about you, there's so much I want to tell you, I don't even know where to begin." Then he hugged Lisa again and she knew she was going to have a much more difficult time of telling him of the mission than she had originally thought.
Lisa knew that she had to tell him now, there was no other choice. "Rick, tommorrow I have to leave on a short mission down to Central America," she said in a rush. Rick made no motion or sound for a couple of seconds, then he slowly pulled back to look at her.
"Short mission? How long will you be gone?"

Vanessa was in her room, watching the news when she received a call on her cellphone.
"Vanessa, it's me Sammie! Where are you right now?"
"Where am I? I'm in my room watching the news. Where are you?"
"I'm outside in the driveway."
"What are you doing out there? Why don't you come inside the house?"
"No! Wait, where's Rick and Lisa?"
"When I left them they were in the living room, why?"
"Because!"
"Because what?"
"Because, I don't want to interrupt them."
"Sammie, what are you talking about?"
"I don't want to interrupt them again, I interrupted them at Lisa's hospital room yesterday and I dont' want to interrupt them again! You know, remember, we have all agreed to try and leave them alone together as much as possible!"
"Sammie, you're being silly. Come on, it's not like they're going to jump into bed the first moment they are alone..."
"I know that Vanessa! That's not what I meant, I mean you know, like letting them hug each other and kiss each other!"
"Sammie..."
"Vanessa, go downstairs and see what they're doing, if they are just talking then I'll come in the house, if they are hugging or kissing then I'll wait till they are done."
"Sammie!"
"Vanessa just go look!"
"Alright alright, hang on a minute."
Vanessa quietly went to the door and opened it as quietly as she could then tiptoed to the stairs and peeked towards the living room....

Lisa quickly said, "It will just be for a few days, Rick."
"Ok, so that means I can come with you."
"Rick, you don't have to come, besides, Claudia needs your help."
"Lisa, it's dangerous there in Central America, there's problems with Malcontents out there, you need someone who can protect you, so I'm coming with you."
Lisa knew this would be his reaction and made an extra effort not to let her voice raise too many decibles, "Rick please, it's ok, I will be fine."
Rick was adamant and raised his voice, perhaps a little bit too much, to show her that he was not going to back down on the subject, "No Lisa, you need me there, now I am going to go on that mission with you!"

Vanessa, from a hidden vantage point, suddenly heard Sammie holler for her on the cellphone and quickly rushed back to her room so that she wouldn't be detected by either Rick or Lisa.
"Vanessa, what are they doing?"
"They're arguing," Vanessa dead-panned.
There was silence on Sammie's end then an angry, "Don't play games with me Vanessa, I'm in no mood for them right now!"
"I'm telling you the truth Sammie, why don't you just open the door if you don't believe me."
"But...but yesterday they were..."
"Come on Sammie, don't get so upset just yet, you know how stubborn the two of them are and you know that there's a lot of work to do on both their parts before they finally get used to being together, now let's just wait this one out. I'm sure that it's just fatigue on both their parts and that they will work this out, now come on inside, it's freezing out there and you need to get some rest."

Lisa was so tired, that she had no strength to try and rationalize the subject with Rick and blurted out, "Please Rick! I'll be fine! You don't need to come with me! I don't want to fight with you..."
As she said the last sentence, dread flooded into her mind. So this was what they were reduced to again, arguing. Hadn't she and Rick spent most of their time together over the past five years arguing? What happened to this new start that she and Rick were suppose to build for themselves, what seemed like security a few minutes ago was now withering back into the same old feud between the two of them that Lisa felt devastated and could think of nothing to do but sink down on the couch and start to cry.
Just then Sammie walked through the door, she took a moment to take in the entire scene. Already a live-wire from her tiring and stress-filled day, coming onto the scene of Rick and Lisa's recent argument made her lose it and she stormed up to Rick.
"I hate you Rick Hunter!" yelled Sammie, and she hit him with her small handbag. "All you ever do is make Lisa cry, you're such a jerk!"
Vanessa had run down the stairs when she heard Sammie's first outburst and was now hurrying to try and pull Sammie up to her room before she could say something that would really make things difficult for Rick and Lisa.
"She's just had a very bad day," apologized Vanessa. "Come on Sammie, you're just really tired, let's go upstairs, it's none of our business."
"What do you mean none of our business--" Vanessa managed to cover Sammie's mouth before she got to finish her sentence and continued to drag her upstairs.
Lisa had been surprised by Sammie's outburst that she had momentarily forgotten all of her current troubles and had gotten up from the couch to watch Vanessa drag Sammie upstairs. Then she turned around and saw that Rick was standing a few feet from her, looking down at the ground.
Lisa had no more energy left and was actually rather embarrassed by her own tearful outburst and so just decided to say nothing and head upstairs to her room to start packing.

Lisa pulled a small suitcase from under the bed and turned around to head towards the dresser when she saw Rick standing in the doorway. She couldn't read the look on his face, but the fact that he was there, and that he hadn't left the house by now, made her feel somewhat relieved.
Rick looked like he wasn't going to immediately say anything so she continued to the dresser and carried some clothes back to the suitcase. Rick then heard the muffled voices of Sammie and Vanessa, apparently Vanessa was still trying to calm Sammie down so he closed the door behind him and walked closer to Lisa.
"Lisa..."
'Here it comes,' Lisa thought to herself.
"Lisa, I'm sorry. I just want to protect you and with everything that's gone on, I'm just a little bit on edge right now."
Lisa put down the bundle of clothes in her hands and turned to face him, "It's alright Rick, I understand. And I'm sorry too. You know it's not because I don't want you there with me, it's just that at a crucial time like this, Claudia really needs your help. Had it been any other time, I would've jumped at the chance to have you come with me. Also, I apologize for my outburst, do I sure feel like a fool now."
Rick shook his head and said, "No. You have nothing to apologize for, I should've let it go. You're tired and the last thing you needed was for me to go off like that."
Rick looked down at the floor for a few seconds then continued, "I was wondering...if maybe you could finish packing tommorrow? I know you're tired and probably ready to crash but I really wanted to talk to you, at least for just a little while. I have so much I want to say to you, that it's driving me crazy. I know, it's really selfish of me but--"
Lisa quickly stopped him mid-sentence by giving him a quick kiss on the cheek then telling him that she was going to take a shower and change and asked him to make them some tea while he was waiting for her.
Lisa turned around and had gotten her hand on the doorknob when Rick came up from behind her and held the door closed. She turned and saw Rick looking at her intently, then he said to her quietly but sincerely, "I love you." She saw the sincerity in his baby blue eyes and it took all of her strength not to throw herself at him and start crying like a baby. She couldn't speak any words in return, all she could do was lean closer to him then kiss him. His arms wrapped around her and they shared their first real kiss. No Zentraedi staring at them, no other onlookers, no orders.
When Lisa finally released him, Rick took a moment to catch his breath and then said rather smuggly, "So...I guess that means the feeling is mutual then..."
Lisa, seeing an opportunity to humorously joust, faked a thinking pose and said slowly, "Well...maybe..."
The two shared a few seconds of laughter then Lisa headed towards the bathroom and Rick headed out into the hall, stopping in front of the Trio's room and knocked.
Vanessa opened the door with a slightly surprised expression.
"Hi Vanessa, I wondered if you girls want anything to drink, tea coffee? I'm heading downstairs to make some tea for me and Lisa."
Vanessa still wore a slightly surprised expression and Rick decided to clear up the situation for her.
"Lisa and I have worked out the situation now. I'm sorry you guys had to get an earful of it."
Vanessa shook her head, "No actually, we are the ones who should apologize to you and Lisa." Vanessa yanked Sammie out from behind the door and said forcefully, "Isn't that right Sammie?"
Sammie, looking dead tired, shook her head for several seconds before finding her voice, "Yes, I'm very I called you a jerk, Rick. And I don't hate you at all. I think you're a nice guy, and how you've been helping Vanessa and Kim, that's really nice of you."
Rick shook his head, "No need to thank me ladies. It's what friends do for each other right? And you girls and Claudia, well...you are sorta like family to me. I'm sorry I never told you that before. I'm sorry you girls had to almost die before I finally realized it."
Rick looked so sincere and remorseful that Vanessa and Sammie instinctively gave him a group hug and then Rick took their orders for drinks and went downstairs with a smile on his face.

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Authors notes:
1. Thank you to those who reviewed the story! It always helps a writer when they get some feedback because at least they know what the readers like and don't like and whether to continue or not. Thanks to the person who pointed out the problem with the dialogue. My storywriting skills have been in disuse for a great many number of years so I need all the helpful corrections I can get! :) I've modified the dialogue structure in this part, however it might make the story length (physically speaking) seem a bit longer, do let me know if this is a better format or give me an example if anyone has any ideas!

2. For Max and Miriya fans, I will try my best to pay more attention to them as best I could but as seen in the first part, I am a Rick-Lisa, Claudia and Terrible Trio fan, but that is not to say that I don't like Max and Miriya, it's just that I never really paid attention to them that much. However, I can forsee some funny scenes with Miriya and the burning of kitchen appliances. Yes... it seems she still has that bad habit, even after 3 years. And Max will be a good supporting character player so Max fans don't dispair, everyone's favorite nice guy will not fade from view. :)

3. Speaking of Max and Miriya...I never had read The Zendtraedi Rebellions from cover to cover, I probably havent even read half the book because it just didn't hold my attention so I skipped over to just the Rick and Lisa parts of the story. (shame on me!). So if there's any type of scene involving Miriya and her Zendtraediness that seems similar to the book or any other story you've read, IT ISN'T INTENTIONAL!! I don't mean to plaigerize, it is just coincedence. But if something sounds too similar, please point it out to me, thanks!