Writer's Note: This is the third installment of "Life Pains". Yeah, I haven't done diddly squat in three years as having lost of interest/laziness. I'm currently in college as a Red Raider (Go Tech!) and in the process applying to pharmacy school. As you can tell I'll be pretty busy but I'll try to do as much as I can. I've decided to drop the "time warp" I had earlier on my other chapter so I'll continue on with Jack's life prior to the launch of the SDF-3.

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech. All characters, stories, events related to Robotech are copyrighted by Harmony Gold and Jack McKinney.

Chapter 3

The destruction of the SDF-1 by far has been the most catastrophic event that has happened to New Macross. We at MBC give our condolences to the many friends and families that have perished on this tragic day along with the many military men and women defending against the Zentraedi attack. Among the list of casualties in the SDF-1 include…

MBC's final broadcast in New Macross

Jack woke up with his head feeling groggy. His eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the brightness of the room that he was in. A sharp pain came to his head as he attempted to move along with his leg as he noticed that it was bound in a cast bound to a holder. "Wow, I wonder how I ended up here." Jack thought as he rested himself on his comfortable bed. Jack looked around in his room, trying to comprehend his settings. Countless thought and images were going through his mind trying to piece it all together. Suddenly, an aged but attractive nurse strolled through Jack's room.

"Well, I see that you're finally awake," said the nurse with a bright smile. "I was starting to worry there for a second. How are you feeling?"

"Like a million dollars," Jack replied sarcastically. "No really, I feel like I could be better. What happened?"

"Well, apparently you slipped and fell and in that process your broke your femur along with sustaining a concussion. You were lucky that you were outside the blast radius when Khyron razed New Macross."

"What…happened to New Macross?" Jack questioned solemnly.

The nurse's face saddened and said, "Macross was totally destroyed."

"What about the SDF-1?"

"That was also destroyed as well." The nurse sighed. "Well, I guess I better let you rest. Here's your food."

As the nurse left, Jack wolfed down the food like a starved refugee. After his meal, Jack felt enervated, his energy sapped from him. His thoughts were saddened by the carnage and destruction that had happened. A dream, he thought to himself. Exhausted, Jack slept. Little did he know that the nurse was the same nurse that serviced Rick Hunter during his injury.

The next day, Jack awoke with the sun shining brightly on his face. His nurse was writing on her clipboard and looked at Jack and said with a smile,

"How is our grouchy patient today?"

"Har har," Jack replied, smiling. "Much better than yesterday. How much longer will I have to be cooped up here?"

"Well, according to the doctor's report, your femur is more than halfway healed so about another two weeks. I got rounds to do so see you later."

The nurse left with a cheerful gait while Jack was thinking about resting again, in came a woman wearing a suit that looked professional and carried a well weathered leather suitcase.

"Are you a Mr. Jack Baker?" the women asked firmly.

"Yes, I am." Jack said, looking confused.

"Mr. Baker, I am your social worker, Carol Langhem. I'm here today to tell some bad news. Are you ready for it?" she said with a stern face.

Jack was confused, swallowed and nodded.

"Your grandparents, Denise and John Baker, are…dead." she said with a stern but saddened face.

"You're kidding, right?" Jack said questioningly.

Her face remained the same. At that point, all Jack could do was sit back and ponder. Suddenly, rivulets of tears were flowing from his face, his hands hiding the anguish and hopelessness that he felt. His case worker comforted him while Jack continued crying.