Hopes and Dreams
A/N: Ok well I have gotten some positive feedback for this story and have also had requests to continue the story so I have decided that I will. Thank you everyone who has reviewed this story and giving me encouragement.
Lisa opened her eyes and looked about for a minute trying to get a bearing on where she was and how she had gotten there. Her eyes adjusted slowly and Lisa felt someone next to her. Thought her eyes where not fully adjusted to the dark Lisa could tell just by placing a hand on the un-ruly mop of hair she could tell that it was Rick.
Lisa smiled slightly as she played around with Rick's hair hearing him breathe. She started to think about what had happened last night and she remembered that she and Rick had come back to his place after he had come to her quarters after fighting the fire that had raged in Macross after Khyron's failed attempt to steal the Protoculture Matrix.
He had come to her and pounded on her door a few times and waited for her. She had come to her door still in her rumpled uniform. She had come home after Admiral Gloval had ordered her to go home and sleep, thought she hadn't wanted to. She remembered him telling her that if she didn't go home he was going to take her home himself.
But she hadn't come home happy, she came home and when she looked around her quarters she felt a horrible sense of lowliness and sadness well up in her. She didn't even bother to get out of her uniform, she went and lay down on her bed and started to cry. She cried so hard she was surprised that she had so many tears. She hadn't cried this hard sense Riber had died.
But as she felt herself dry up and the tears stopped falling Lisa heard a knocking at her door. She didn't really want to answer the door, but she got up and answered it anyway. She went to the door opened it and was surprised to see a cold, red-faced Rick Hunter standing outside her door.
As she stood there looking at him she thought for a moment that he had come for her, to come and tell her that he loved her. But she dismissed it and looked at him with, what she was sure was a horribly ugly face. But as Rick started to talk and Lisa listened she realized that Rick had come for her and that all the things that she had seen weren't for Minmei, but were for her.
Then she remembered Rick and her standing in her living room holding each other, and she heard Rick stumbling for words and then he said the words and stopped himself short of saying, "because I love you," and Lisa felt her heart sink a little and then she decided to tell Rick how she felt.
An as she said that she felt Rick tighten up and then she heard him utter the words that she had been wanting to hear him say for three years. She looked at him and felt her eyes water up and she hugged him tightly. Then he invited her back to his place for dinner, or what was left of it.
Again Lisa smiled, Rick had cooked a nice dinner for her, but because of the attack and ensuing fire, the roast had become a blackened hunk of meat, and Rick was somewhat angry at himself and Lisa had to calm him down and they ordered a pizza from one of Lisa's friends.
Then after they had eaten the pizza Rick and Lisa curled together and watched whatever was on TV and after a while ended up falling asleep in each other's arms. To Lisa it was the happiest Christmas Eve Lisa had had in years and she was happy to spend it with someone she loved.
Lisa got up and looked at her watch, it was half past eight and she looked out the window and saw why it was so dark. The cloud was heavy with dark clouds that threatened snow. Lisa silently hoped it would snow so that she could have a "White Christmas."
Under normal circumstance, it wouldn't be this dark, but this was not a normal circumstance. The world had been devastated by Dolza and the environmental patterns and normality's had been changed beyond anything that anyone who knew Earth before the holocaust, would ever be able to comprehend.
Lisa walked over to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator and looked around at the food that Rick had. She had to admit for a man; Rick had a lot of food around, so she assumed that he could cook. She smiled, 'I nailed the perfect man, he is sweet, caring, and can cook, he may not be the brightest, but he is still a good man,' Lisa thought.
Lisa started to pull out food and went over to the stove and turned on one of the burners and put a pan on the burner and started to crack eggs and cook them. Lisa moved quickly over to the coffee pot and pulled out one of the many blends that Rick had and picked one of the Colombian blends, 'This should be good,' Lisa thought while still trying to play enough attention to the egg and also trying to cook the bacon and sausage.
As the food cooked Lisa had lost track of things around her and she had become oblivious to the noises around her and when an arm slid around her waist she gave a slight jump before she remembered that it was Rick as he nuzzled his head into the crook in her neck. She leaned her head on his head as he buried it further into her neck and shoulder.
"Good morning," Rick said with his head still buried in her shoulder and neck. Lisa could feel Rick kissing her neck and she let out a groan of pleasure and noticed that the eggs were done and turned the burner down just enough to keep them warm. Lisa moved her hand to the back of Rick's head and started to play with the hair on the back of his head.
"Good morning to you too," Lisa replied sweetly as she continued to play with Rick's hair. Rick pulled his face out of Lisa's neck and shoulders and put his face next to here, cheek to cheek with his arms still wrapped around her waist. An he inhaled deeply and let out a approving sigh.
"Does it smell good?" Lisa asked, gesturing to the food. What she didn't know was that Rick had his eyes closed, "Yeah, smells like lavender," Rick said without thinking and he felt Lisa pull away and turn in his direction and he opened his eyes and was greeted with a puzzled look on Lisa's face.
"Lavender? Are you on drugs or something?" Lisa asked him. Rick's eyes widened a little and then understood that she was talking about the food, and Rick gave a little laugh and smiled.
"Oh the food? I thought you were talking about something else. Oh, your hair smells nice too," Rick, said with a smile on his face. Rick looked at the food and realized that he was very hungry and went to one of the cabinets and pulled out two plates and handed one to Lisa.
As Rick let Lisa get her food first, since she had cooked it, he was a bit surprised to see that she could cook so well, "Lisa," Rick began hesitantly not wanting to make her mad, "I had no idea that you could cook." Lisa looked up from her food with a hurt look and gave him a sad look.
"Well most people don't seeing as how I usually have been by myself," Lisa said as she went back to eating and Rick nodded his head with a shrug of his shoulders. He set his plate down and walked behind Lisa and put his hands on her shoulders and lowered his head to her ear, "Well this is a wonderful thing to find out, but you don't have to worry about cooking ever again, because I can do that from now on," Rick said as he moved back around to his seat.
Lisa couldn't help smile as she finished her food. Neither one of them talked much while they ate, which suited Rick just fine because he was too busy watching Lisa's every move and wondering just how a woman like her would want to be with some loser pilot like him, how a woman with such a caring heart would hide it. Rick hated himself for the way her had been so blind to the way that Lisa had felt for him, and now that he thought about it more he began to see the signs that he had missed over the years on his blind quest for Minmei.
An as Rick thought more about this he began to lose his appetite and stopped eating. This didn't go un-noticed by Lisa as she finished her break fast. She set down her fork and looked at Rick with concern, "Rick what's wrong, is it not good?" Lisa asked.
Rick looked at Lisa and felt like an asshole that he had put her through so much and he had never noticed all the signs that she had made clear for him. Rick closed his eyes and looked away from Lisa. He couldn't bear to look at her because he had hurt her so much over the last few years.
Lisa got up and moved over to Rick, "Rick! What's wrong," Lisa asked getting worried. It wasn't the food, Lisa was sure of that. Something was bothering Rick and she wanted to know what it was she wanted to help him.
Rick looked at Lisa with a dejected face, "Lisa, can you ever forgive me?" Rick asked her with a serious tone. Lisa reeled back a little and put her arms around him and lowered herself to his level.
"Rick what is there to forgive?" Lisa asked him with her wonderful emerald eyes full of concern and questions.
Rick looked at her and noticed that she was worried about him again, 'Damn it, I am such a blind jerk!' Rick's mind shouted, "Lisa, over these years I have been completely blind to how you have felt for me. An now as I look back I see all the hints and all the times you would help me and talk to me about my problems and then all I would ever talk about were my problems with Minmei." Rick started.
"I won't pretend to try and know what that must have been like for you, an I don't want to know because I think about it now and it makes me hurt on the inside like I have never hurt before. An just a minute ago as I say you doing all this for me it made me think that I have never done anything for you." Rick said with his eyes beginning to shine with tears.
Lisa hugged him and stroked his head like a mother would a frightened child. She had never seen him so emotional since Roy had died, an even then he hadn't really had the same look as he did just a second ago, a look of pure sorrow and sadness. Lisa knew he meant it and she didn't blame him for it, she was just happy to have him now, that was what counted.
"Rick, Rick, listen to me, all that is in the past, an there is nothing to forgive. You and me are together now, and that is what counts now. So don't let what has happened before hurt what we have now," Lisa told him surprised at herself for saying it. She felt him go still for a minute and felt his arms return the hug.
Lisa released Rick and stood up and picked up her plate and his and walked over to the sink. Rick caught up to her and took the dishes from her and told her that he was going to do the dishes and that she should go back to her place because she had to go ready, an when she asked what for he just smiled and told her to just go.
Lisa did what he asked and got her coat and made the quick walk to her place and started the shower and pulled out a pair of jeans and a green sweater. Lisa got dressed and looked at herself in the mirror and saw that for the first time in longer than she could remember she smiled every moment. It was the look of a "happy woman in love," Claudia had told her once before.
Lisa was about to put her coat on when she heard someone knock at the door and wondered who it could be. She had expected maybe Claudia, but she remembered that she was with her brother and sister-in-law.
She opened the door and saw Rick standing there with a gift in hand and a smile on his face. She backed away and let him in and he came in with a rush of cold air. He smiled when he saw how she was dressed and handed her the gift that he had in hand. Lisa took it hesitantly and went and sat down on her couch.
Lisa looked at the gift in the red and green wrapping paper and looked at Rick who motioned she should open it. Lisa waited for a moment and started to open the gift. When she was done she found a box and gave Rick a puzzled look and he told her to open the box, and she did.
Inside was a small black box that made Lisa's heart skip a beat. She picked it up carefully and with a trembling hand opened the black box and inside found a heart-shaped diamond and emerald encrusted pendent hanging at the end of a long elegant necklace. Lisa looked at it and her breath caught in her throat.
Rick sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulder, "Do you like it?" Rick asked smiling at Lisa who was still shocked. She turned her head to him and with her jaw still hanging slightly agape nodded her head.
"Rick it's the most beautiful thing that anyone has ever given me, how could you afford this? It must have cost you an arm and a leg." Lisa looked at Rick and thought she tried to stop them the tears feel down freely, she had never received anything so wonderful.
Rick took the necklace and moved Lisa's long hair out of the way and put the necklace around her neck and fumbled with the clasp for a moment and finally got it closed and moved his hands away from her neck and Lisa let her hair come cascading down.
Lisa turned back to Rick and he looked at how the necklace brought out the beauty of Lisa's face and accentuated it also. He smiled and grabbed her hand and held it. Lisa still overcome with the gift lunged at Rick and brought him into a bear hug and kissed him all over his face.
"Oh thank you Rick, I don't know how to thank you," Lisa said between kisses and she finally stopped kissing him and laid her head on her chest letting her hair flow all around. At this moment in her life she had never been happier than she was now. She felt Rick stir and she got up off him and sat back up right.
Rick got up off the couch, "Well Lisa, we better hurry, we got to get all those gifts in the car and over to Claudia's, they're expecting us in an hour an I wanted to get there early." Lisa bolted up and looked at Rick and she realized how much thought Rick had put into this.
"You mean we are going to spend Christmas with Claudia too?" Lisa asked her voice full of excitement. Claudia had spent almost every holiday alone since Roy had died and the thought of bringing Christmas to Claudia made her smile and gave her a good feeling.
Rick smile again, "Not just Claudia, but Sammie, Kim, Vanessa, and I think Claudia even managed to convince Admiral Gloval to come too. So we are spending Christmas with your family this time. An I think that the Sterling's might even come over too," Rick said with a note of pride at having engineered all this for Lisa.
Lisa got up and grabbed Rick's hand and pulled him towards the door and grabbed her coat, "Well we have a lot to do, so we need to hurry if we want to get to Claudia's in time." Lisa stopped.
"I just remembered that I didn't get anyone anything. What am I going to do? It's Christmas and I haven't gotten anything for anyone." Lisa wailed she had just thought of this, she had never planned on spending Christmas with anyone other than maybe a few hours with Claudia.
Rick wrapped his arm around her wait and started to walk her out the door, she protested, "Rick I didn't get anyone anything, not even you. An after all you've done for me," Lisa lowered her head and Rick continued to smile.
"Lisa, you've already given me the best Christmas present I could ever get, and that is you, an besides I put yours and my name on all the gifts anyway, so you don't have to worry about anything." Rick saw Lisa look up at him and saw her beautiful face break into a slight smile.
"I knew I fell in love with you for a reason," Lisa leaned into him and kissed him and wrapped her arm around his waist and they walked out of her place and over to his and started to put all the gifts into the trunk and Rick and Lisa got into his car and started over for Claudia's.
When they go there they saw that everyone had wanted to arrive early and that it seemed that they were the last one's to arrive. Rick stopped the car in the street and got out and went to opens Lisa's door but she had already gotten out, "Well damn, now I see why chivalry is dead, you women don't give us a chance to be chivalrous," Rick said with a smirk and Lisa hit him on the arm playfully.
Rick laughed as he popped the trunk and started to get the bags out that he had put the gifts in, "Oh I'm sorry, how sexist of me to think that you needed any protecting, I guess that's Universal Suffrage for ya." Lisa rolled her eyes.
"The only thing that I am gonna need protecting from is you Mr. Hunter, cause you drive me crazy," Lisa said in a sultry voice and leaned up and kissed him and held it for a few seconds and when Lisa broke it Rick let out a groan of pleasure and followed her as she made for Claudia's door, and opened it with her spare key.
As Rick and Lisa walked in they were greeted with a room full of wide- eyed people staring at them, then they realized that they had witnesses the little display out in front of Claudia's house. Max was the first to speak, "Well look who's the ladies man, eh?" Max said playfully nudging Rick.
Henry (Gloval), spoke next, "Did I just see you kiss Lisa out in front of Claudia's house?" Rick looked at him.
Rick decided to lay up the moment and wrapped a free arm around Lisa's waist and kissed her again and smiled at the room's reaction. "Yeah, so?" Rick asked and the room smiled and everyone started to talk at once. Rick and Lisa started to mingle into the conversation mostly about them but they smiled and talked nonetheless.
A/N: Well another chapter, I didn't expect it to be this long and I was kind of expecting to get to the actual Christmas festivities in this chapter, but this works too. Anyway thanks for reading and R&R as always.
A/N: Ok well I have gotten some positive feedback for this story and have also had requests to continue the story so I have decided that I will. Thank you everyone who has reviewed this story and giving me encouragement.
Lisa opened her eyes and looked about for a minute trying to get a bearing on where she was and how she had gotten there. Her eyes adjusted slowly and Lisa felt someone next to her. Thought her eyes where not fully adjusted to the dark Lisa could tell just by placing a hand on the un-ruly mop of hair she could tell that it was Rick.
Lisa smiled slightly as she played around with Rick's hair hearing him breathe. She started to think about what had happened last night and she remembered that she and Rick had come back to his place after he had come to her quarters after fighting the fire that had raged in Macross after Khyron's failed attempt to steal the Protoculture Matrix.
He had come to her and pounded on her door a few times and waited for her. She had come to her door still in her rumpled uniform. She had come home after Admiral Gloval had ordered her to go home and sleep, thought she hadn't wanted to. She remembered him telling her that if she didn't go home he was going to take her home himself.
But she hadn't come home happy, she came home and when she looked around her quarters she felt a horrible sense of lowliness and sadness well up in her. She didn't even bother to get out of her uniform, she went and lay down on her bed and started to cry. She cried so hard she was surprised that she had so many tears. She hadn't cried this hard sense Riber had died.
But as she felt herself dry up and the tears stopped falling Lisa heard a knocking at her door. She didn't really want to answer the door, but she got up and answered it anyway. She went to the door opened it and was surprised to see a cold, red-faced Rick Hunter standing outside her door.
As she stood there looking at him she thought for a moment that he had come for her, to come and tell her that he loved her. But she dismissed it and looked at him with, what she was sure was a horribly ugly face. But as Rick started to talk and Lisa listened she realized that Rick had come for her and that all the things that she had seen weren't for Minmei, but were for her.
Then she remembered Rick and her standing in her living room holding each other, and she heard Rick stumbling for words and then he said the words and stopped himself short of saying, "because I love you," and Lisa felt her heart sink a little and then she decided to tell Rick how she felt.
An as she said that she felt Rick tighten up and then she heard him utter the words that she had been wanting to hear him say for three years. She looked at him and felt her eyes water up and she hugged him tightly. Then he invited her back to his place for dinner, or what was left of it.
Again Lisa smiled, Rick had cooked a nice dinner for her, but because of the attack and ensuing fire, the roast had become a blackened hunk of meat, and Rick was somewhat angry at himself and Lisa had to calm him down and they ordered a pizza from one of Lisa's friends.
Then after they had eaten the pizza Rick and Lisa curled together and watched whatever was on TV and after a while ended up falling asleep in each other's arms. To Lisa it was the happiest Christmas Eve Lisa had had in years and she was happy to spend it with someone she loved.
Lisa got up and looked at her watch, it was half past eight and she looked out the window and saw why it was so dark. The cloud was heavy with dark clouds that threatened snow. Lisa silently hoped it would snow so that she could have a "White Christmas."
Under normal circumstance, it wouldn't be this dark, but this was not a normal circumstance. The world had been devastated by Dolza and the environmental patterns and normality's had been changed beyond anything that anyone who knew Earth before the holocaust, would ever be able to comprehend.
Lisa walked over to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator and looked around at the food that Rick had. She had to admit for a man; Rick had a lot of food around, so she assumed that he could cook. She smiled, 'I nailed the perfect man, he is sweet, caring, and can cook, he may not be the brightest, but he is still a good man,' Lisa thought.
Lisa started to pull out food and went over to the stove and turned on one of the burners and put a pan on the burner and started to crack eggs and cook them. Lisa moved quickly over to the coffee pot and pulled out one of the many blends that Rick had and picked one of the Colombian blends, 'This should be good,' Lisa thought while still trying to play enough attention to the egg and also trying to cook the bacon and sausage.
As the food cooked Lisa had lost track of things around her and she had become oblivious to the noises around her and when an arm slid around her waist she gave a slight jump before she remembered that it was Rick as he nuzzled his head into the crook in her neck. She leaned her head on his head as he buried it further into her neck and shoulder.
"Good morning," Rick said with his head still buried in her shoulder and neck. Lisa could feel Rick kissing her neck and she let out a groan of pleasure and noticed that the eggs were done and turned the burner down just enough to keep them warm. Lisa moved her hand to the back of Rick's head and started to play with the hair on the back of his head.
"Good morning to you too," Lisa replied sweetly as she continued to play with Rick's hair. Rick pulled his face out of Lisa's neck and shoulders and put his face next to here, cheek to cheek with his arms still wrapped around her waist. An he inhaled deeply and let out a approving sigh.
"Does it smell good?" Lisa asked, gesturing to the food. What she didn't know was that Rick had his eyes closed, "Yeah, smells like lavender," Rick said without thinking and he felt Lisa pull away and turn in his direction and he opened his eyes and was greeted with a puzzled look on Lisa's face.
"Lavender? Are you on drugs or something?" Lisa asked him. Rick's eyes widened a little and then understood that she was talking about the food, and Rick gave a little laugh and smiled.
"Oh the food? I thought you were talking about something else. Oh, your hair smells nice too," Rick, said with a smile on his face. Rick looked at the food and realized that he was very hungry and went to one of the cabinets and pulled out two plates and handed one to Lisa.
As Rick let Lisa get her food first, since she had cooked it, he was a bit surprised to see that she could cook so well, "Lisa," Rick began hesitantly not wanting to make her mad, "I had no idea that you could cook." Lisa looked up from her food with a hurt look and gave him a sad look.
"Well most people don't seeing as how I usually have been by myself," Lisa said as she went back to eating and Rick nodded his head with a shrug of his shoulders. He set his plate down and walked behind Lisa and put his hands on her shoulders and lowered his head to her ear, "Well this is a wonderful thing to find out, but you don't have to worry about cooking ever again, because I can do that from now on," Rick said as he moved back around to his seat.
Lisa couldn't help smile as she finished her food. Neither one of them talked much while they ate, which suited Rick just fine because he was too busy watching Lisa's every move and wondering just how a woman like her would want to be with some loser pilot like him, how a woman with such a caring heart would hide it. Rick hated himself for the way her had been so blind to the way that Lisa had felt for him, and now that he thought about it more he began to see the signs that he had missed over the years on his blind quest for Minmei.
An as Rick thought more about this he began to lose his appetite and stopped eating. This didn't go un-noticed by Lisa as she finished her break fast. She set down her fork and looked at Rick with concern, "Rick what's wrong, is it not good?" Lisa asked.
Rick looked at Lisa and felt like an asshole that he had put her through so much and he had never noticed all the signs that she had made clear for him. Rick closed his eyes and looked away from Lisa. He couldn't bear to look at her because he had hurt her so much over the last few years.
Lisa got up and moved over to Rick, "Rick! What's wrong," Lisa asked getting worried. It wasn't the food, Lisa was sure of that. Something was bothering Rick and she wanted to know what it was she wanted to help him.
Rick looked at Lisa with a dejected face, "Lisa, can you ever forgive me?" Rick asked her with a serious tone. Lisa reeled back a little and put her arms around him and lowered herself to his level.
"Rick what is there to forgive?" Lisa asked him with her wonderful emerald eyes full of concern and questions.
Rick looked at her and noticed that she was worried about him again, 'Damn it, I am such a blind jerk!' Rick's mind shouted, "Lisa, over these years I have been completely blind to how you have felt for me. An now as I look back I see all the hints and all the times you would help me and talk to me about my problems and then all I would ever talk about were my problems with Minmei." Rick started.
"I won't pretend to try and know what that must have been like for you, an I don't want to know because I think about it now and it makes me hurt on the inside like I have never hurt before. An just a minute ago as I say you doing all this for me it made me think that I have never done anything for you." Rick said with his eyes beginning to shine with tears.
Lisa hugged him and stroked his head like a mother would a frightened child. She had never seen him so emotional since Roy had died, an even then he hadn't really had the same look as he did just a second ago, a look of pure sorrow and sadness. Lisa knew he meant it and she didn't blame him for it, she was just happy to have him now, that was what counted.
"Rick, Rick, listen to me, all that is in the past, an there is nothing to forgive. You and me are together now, and that is what counts now. So don't let what has happened before hurt what we have now," Lisa told him surprised at herself for saying it. She felt him go still for a minute and felt his arms return the hug.
Lisa released Rick and stood up and picked up her plate and his and walked over to the sink. Rick caught up to her and took the dishes from her and told her that he was going to do the dishes and that she should go back to her place because she had to go ready, an when she asked what for he just smiled and told her to just go.
Lisa did what he asked and got her coat and made the quick walk to her place and started the shower and pulled out a pair of jeans and a green sweater. Lisa got dressed and looked at herself in the mirror and saw that for the first time in longer than she could remember she smiled every moment. It was the look of a "happy woman in love," Claudia had told her once before.
Lisa was about to put her coat on when she heard someone knock at the door and wondered who it could be. She had expected maybe Claudia, but she remembered that she was with her brother and sister-in-law.
She opened the door and saw Rick standing there with a gift in hand and a smile on his face. She backed away and let him in and he came in with a rush of cold air. He smiled when he saw how she was dressed and handed her the gift that he had in hand. Lisa took it hesitantly and went and sat down on her couch.
Lisa looked at the gift in the red and green wrapping paper and looked at Rick who motioned she should open it. Lisa waited for a moment and started to open the gift. When she was done she found a box and gave Rick a puzzled look and he told her to open the box, and she did.
Inside was a small black box that made Lisa's heart skip a beat. She picked it up carefully and with a trembling hand opened the black box and inside found a heart-shaped diamond and emerald encrusted pendent hanging at the end of a long elegant necklace. Lisa looked at it and her breath caught in her throat.
Rick sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulder, "Do you like it?" Rick asked smiling at Lisa who was still shocked. She turned her head to him and with her jaw still hanging slightly agape nodded her head.
"Rick it's the most beautiful thing that anyone has ever given me, how could you afford this? It must have cost you an arm and a leg." Lisa looked at Rick and thought she tried to stop them the tears feel down freely, she had never received anything so wonderful.
Rick took the necklace and moved Lisa's long hair out of the way and put the necklace around her neck and fumbled with the clasp for a moment and finally got it closed and moved his hands away from her neck and Lisa let her hair come cascading down.
Lisa turned back to Rick and he looked at how the necklace brought out the beauty of Lisa's face and accentuated it also. He smiled and grabbed her hand and held it. Lisa still overcome with the gift lunged at Rick and brought him into a bear hug and kissed him all over his face.
"Oh thank you Rick, I don't know how to thank you," Lisa said between kisses and she finally stopped kissing him and laid her head on her chest letting her hair flow all around. At this moment in her life she had never been happier than she was now. She felt Rick stir and she got up off him and sat back up right.
Rick got up off the couch, "Well Lisa, we better hurry, we got to get all those gifts in the car and over to Claudia's, they're expecting us in an hour an I wanted to get there early." Lisa bolted up and looked at Rick and she realized how much thought Rick had put into this.
"You mean we are going to spend Christmas with Claudia too?" Lisa asked her voice full of excitement. Claudia had spent almost every holiday alone since Roy had died and the thought of bringing Christmas to Claudia made her smile and gave her a good feeling.
Rick smile again, "Not just Claudia, but Sammie, Kim, Vanessa, and I think Claudia even managed to convince Admiral Gloval to come too. So we are spending Christmas with your family this time. An I think that the Sterling's might even come over too," Rick said with a note of pride at having engineered all this for Lisa.
Lisa got up and grabbed Rick's hand and pulled him towards the door and grabbed her coat, "Well we have a lot to do, so we need to hurry if we want to get to Claudia's in time." Lisa stopped.
"I just remembered that I didn't get anyone anything. What am I going to do? It's Christmas and I haven't gotten anything for anyone." Lisa wailed she had just thought of this, she had never planned on spending Christmas with anyone other than maybe a few hours with Claudia.
Rick wrapped his arm around her wait and started to walk her out the door, she protested, "Rick I didn't get anyone anything, not even you. An after all you've done for me," Lisa lowered her head and Rick continued to smile.
"Lisa, you've already given me the best Christmas present I could ever get, and that is you, an besides I put yours and my name on all the gifts anyway, so you don't have to worry about anything." Rick saw Lisa look up at him and saw her beautiful face break into a slight smile.
"I knew I fell in love with you for a reason," Lisa leaned into him and kissed him and wrapped her arm around his waist and they walked out of her place and over to his and started to put all the gifts into the trunk and Rick and Lisa got into his car and started over for Claudia's.
When they go there they saw that everyone had wanted to arrive early and that it seemed that they were the last one's to arrive. Rick stopped the car in the street and got out and went to opens Lisa's door but she had already gotten out, "Well damn, now I see why chivalry is dead, you women don't give us a chance to be chivalrous," Rick said with a smirk and Lisa hit him on the arm playfully.
Rick laughed as he popped the trunk and started to get the bags out that he had put the gifts in, "Oh I'm sorry, how sexist of me to think that you needed any protecting, I guess that's Universal Suffrage for ya." Lisa rolled her eyes.
"The only thing that I am gonna need protecting from is you Mr. Hunter, cause you drive me crazy," Lisa said in a sultry voice and leaned up and kissed him and held it for a few seconds and when Lisa broke it Rick let out a groan of pleasure and followed her as she made for Claudia's door, and opened it with her spare key.
As Rick and Lisa walked in they were greeted with a room full of wide- eyed people staring at them, then they realized that they had witnesses the little display out in front of Claudia's house. Max was the first to speak, "Well look who's the ladies man, eh?" Max said playfully nudging Rick.
Henry (Gloval), spoke next, "Did I just see you kiss Lisa out in front of Claudia's house?" Rick looked at him.
Rick decided to lay up the moment and wrapped a free arm around Lisa's waist and kissed her again and smiled at the room's reaction. "Yeah, so?" Rick asked and the room smiled and everyone started to talk at once. Rick and Lisa started to mingle into the conversation mostly about them but they smiled and talked nonetheless.
A/N: Well another chapter, I didn't expect it to be this long and I was kind of expecting to get to the actual Christmas festivities in this chapter, but this works too. Anyway thanks for reading and R&R as always.