Caution: Very girly stuff ahead! Sorry guys but this is a Lisa fanfic, so most of her stuff is what is happening on her head. Being a woman, I can definitely relate so I tried to make her feelings as realistic as possible. See, I think that if I didn't do it this way, it wouldn't make sense why she decided to "change". But please read on, after a while you'll get to the party scene.

The party scene is taken from my own imagination but I guess it can resemble some of the other stories out there since we all think that it will be quite a revelation for everybody to see the "new" Lisa. Once again, enjoy!

Lisa looked at herself in the mirror. Was it really she? She analyzed the reflection in front of her trying to see any similarities to the woman she knew.

She ran her fingers thru her shorn locks. Since she had been small, her hair would always get in her way whenever she was playing. She remembered how she used to complain to her mom about it all the time. She had actually wanted to cut it. Her mom had insisted though in teaching her how to coil her hair so that she could keep it long. It was not pretty but it was functional. After a while, she had gotten so used to the hairdo she wore it everywhere. After her mother's death, it had been more of a comfort than anything else. That had been the first step on her hiding her looks.

Now her hair reached a little past her bra line. It was quite a change. She felt strangely liberated but naked at the same time. Her hair had gotten so long it was almost to her hips. With a pang, she though what Rick would think of it since he always loved to play with it when it was free. Lisa's natural hair was slightly wavy but for the occasion she had decided allow the hairstylist to blow dry it. It fell straight down and shimmered with life. Lisa had to admit that her hair looked much better after all of the treatments they had given it. In fact, the manicure and pedicure she had gotten made her feel like a completely different person. Maybe like a woman? Definitely a woman and a beautiful woman at that.

Lisa smiled happily in the mirror. Now she understood the difference. It wasn't that she never took care of herself, she had always been very picky about cleanliness and looking presentable. This was different. She went back to her room and looked towards the bed. There, draped on top of it, was the dress that had finally made her decide on the change. As she started to get ready for Claudia and Roy's engagement party, her mind recalled the events.

She was about to leave the mall after buying a gift for the engagement party when she spied that little red dress in a window display. Involuntarily, she had stopped, admiring it for a while. The dress was a deep burgundy color, probably reaching until mid thigh. It was an empress cut and it had a black ribbon under the top part. It then flared a little into a tight A-line. Lisa examined the dress for a while and she even pictured herself wearing the dress and showing it off to Rick. Shaking her head, she thought, 'Be real Hayes, you will never try on that dress, much less wear it in public.' With a sad smile and a last lingering look she started to walk away. Then she stopped and looked at it again. 'Well, what if I try it? Nobody will know….' With a strange, giddy sensation she walked into the store.

She hated asking for favors or to be waited upon so she walked around towards the area that had all the dresses. She looked for the dress unsuccessfully and with a pang she decided the dress was not for her. Feeling silly she started to leave the store when a young sales girl approached her.

"Can I help you?" she asked cheerily.

Lisa felt caught, so nervously she responded, "I am looking for the dress in the front."

"The burgundy?" she asked knowingly. Lisa nodded. "I love that dress. Why don't you head towards the changing rooms and I will bring it to you."

Feeling trapped, Lisa did as she was told. She then heard the girl ask. "I'm sorry, ma'am? What size of dress will it be?" Lisa looked at her blankly. She had never bought a dress like that so she didn't know…. The girl just ushered her towards the changing rooms as she said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. It will be either a 3 or a 5." With that she went off to get the dresses while Lisa found herself making her way to the dressing rooms. She felt so out of place there and her courage was starting to wane but she felt she was too in to get herself out of it gracefully.

The girl brought the dresses and Lisa tried both of them. The smaller one was too tight in the bosom but the other one was perfect. She had not let herself turn around to look at herself in the mirror until she finished putting it on. A childish part of her kept her from turning around and doing that but then she decided to muster up her courage and turn around. When she did, her breath caught at her throat. The dress looked beautiful on her or maybe it was that she looked beautiful in that dress. As she took in her reflection she noticed that the dress made her legs look unbelievably long. The shimmery material of the dress caught the reflection of the light making the dress sparkle prettily whenever she moved. The color of the dress served to enhance the color of her hair and made her green eyes sparkle more. Wait, was it the dress or happiness that made her eyes sparkle? On an impulse, she decided to let her long hair hang down, free from its coils. She even fluffed it a little making it settle around her face.

She must have been there for a long time because the sales girl asked, "Is everything alright?" Feeling apprehensive, she decided to come out to get a second opinion. Hesitantly she opened the door and stepped out. The sales girl had been settling some clothes but when she heard the door opening she turned around, a polite smile in her lips. The polite smile stayed frozen when she saw Lisa. A few other of the salesgirls that where around also stopped and watched her. Lisa felt her cheeks burn. Did she really look that bad?

She was about to turn around and hide when the girl said, "Oh my God it looks great on you!" The other girls nodded her assent. Truthfully some of them had had their doubts when they saw the plain looking woman entering the dressing room. They didn't think that dress would be her style nor that it would look good on her but the dress revealed a completely different person under those dowdy clothes. It also helped that she let her hair down. They were actually impressed.

Lisa allowed herself to smile then. She looked at herself in the outside mirror with the harsher lights and decided she WOULD take the dress. Then a crazy idea crept up. Motioning to the salesgirl, she confided in her what she wanted to do. With a twinkle in her eyes, the salesgirl ran off to get more clothing for her. Minutes later she came back, loaded with different clothes for her to try on. Lisa had asked her to bring different types of clothing, from skirt and shirt combos to pants, etc.

Lisa would ask the salesgirl for her opinion on what to try on and the salesgirl enthusiastically suggested combinations for her to try on. With every one of them, Lisa came out and asked for her opinion. The other girls saw what was happening and they too decided to help out. Between giggles and a flurry of clothing, Lisa found herself being outfitted for almost everything. At one particular point when they were all laughing and teasing each other, Lisa looked up towards the mirror and saw her reflection. Her eyes were full with laughter and her face was flushed between the laughter and the excitement and she was amazed at her change. She felt so right and she thanked her friends Claudia & Miriya for putting that seed on the back of her mind.

At the end of the day Lisa left the boutique with several bags of clothing. With a promise to come back and show them the pictures of the party Lisa started to hurry home since Rick was probably going to start getting worried about her. But as she was about to leave the mall, she saw a Beauty Salon and she made her last impulsive decision of the day. She made an appointment for the following Saturday.

As she finished dressing, she looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing makeup, a rarity for her, mostly because she never saw the use of it and she had never really learned how to apply it very well. The salesgirls at the boutique had remedied the situation. They had suggested some makeup for her to buy and she had shyly suggested she didn't know how to put it on; they had all taken turns to give her an impromptu lesson. She was rather pleased with the result she got. A telephone ring broke thru her contemplation.

"Hello?" she answered, her voice giddy and full of laughter.

"Uh, hello…. Lisa?" asked a puzzled male voice.

"Hi sweetheart!" Lisa rarely called Rick sweetheart but she decided she would have to change that.

"Hi…" Rick responded hesitantly replied. She sounded so different, so full of life! Where was the quiet, shy girl he dated? "Um, I was just calling to make sure you didn't want a ride to the party."

Lisa smiled sweetly. Rick was such a gentleman! He had been very puzzled at her request of not picking her up for the party. She had asked the odd request last night and Rick had spent some time trying to find out why she wanted that. With a mysterious smile, she had said, 'you'll see'. But then she had waved off his questions. She had then ushered him out of the house claiming to have a long day tomorrow (which she did, it had taken her close to four hours in the salon to get the haircut & everything.)

"Yes sweetie I am sure. I will meet you there. I don't want you to get there late."

"I don't mind…"

"Please just wait for me there. Yes?"

"Ok." He answered as he hung up. He was more than intrigued with Lisa's actions and requests. He had never seen her like that. Truthfully he was a little excited about the whole thing. If Lisa had not kicked him out of her house yesterday he would have kissed her breathless when she had looked at him with those green eyes full of mystery and promise. He figured he better hurry up and get to the party after all, the sooner he got there, the sooner he would find out what she was up to.

Lisa was standing in front of the building the gift on her hand. She wasin the process ofgiving herself a pep talk. As soon as she had gotten out of the taxi and had stood in the sidewalk she had started to chicken out. Thankfully the taxi left swiftly or she would have probably gone right back in and left. She was still thinking of doing that. With a deep breath she started up all the stairs.

She somehow knew this night would change her forever. There was not turning back to the "old" Lisa Hayes, not unless she moved from New Macross! Her mind was playing crazy scenarios on her head and she sternly told herself to stay calm. How she wished she had accepted Rick's offer to come with her! But she knew that this was something she had to do by herself. She had felt the same way when she had gone to military academy. Only there it had made her become more enclosed on her shell. She hoped this night would actually liberate her from it. With a deep breath, she went in.

Rick kept looking at his watch. 'What's up with Lisa, she's never late!' he though worriedly. Maybe something had happened to her. "That's it I am going to get her." He informed Max and Roy. The three friends were standing by the bar while Miriya and Claudia were talking with the "bridge bunnies".

"Relax Skipper! I am sure Lisa is fine. You know how women are. I have to tell Miriya an hour earlier so that she is ready on time." Max said, amused by the jumpy young man.

"Yeah but Lisa is not like other women." Rick said frowning while he looked at the watch again. He placed his drink on the bar, intent on leaving when a commotion at the entrance distracted him.

"What's happening out there?" Max asked.

Roy, the tallest of the three men, was cranking his neck in order to get a better view of the whole thing. He looked towards Claudia and he saw that the girls were also intrigued about what was happening. He saw them walking towards the front and he encouraged the guys to do so too.

Lisa was standing by the door looking around for a familiar face. She was a little disappointed that she had not seen Rick or any of her closest friends when she came in. She wanted to see their reaction before everybody else's but apparently that wouldn't happen. As she made her way towards the back, a pilot, one of the youngest and boldest, came towards her. He had boasted to his friends that he would get the beautiful woman a drink.

"Hello beautiful! You look lost. Can I help you?" The girl looked vaguely familiar but he couldn't place where he had seen her. He then decided he had never seen her, he would had made a pass at her before if he had!

"Well, I am looking for Claudia & Roy…" she said with a grateful smile.

"Let me help you then…" he said emboldened by her smile. He then tried to place his arm on her shoulders to lead her there, shocking Lisa. The young woman was so shocked at his actions that she responded in the only way she knew. "Lieutenant Carlson what do you think you are doing!" She snapped in the voice she used when she was giving orders to the unruly pilots.

Apparently that was the remedy for the pilot's temporary memory lapse and he realized who he had in front of him. He specially recognized those flashing green emerald eyes!

"Ca…captain Hayes?" he crocked and she nodded. The poor man was in such shock at what he had attempted to do that he saluted her even though it was obvious that she was not in uniform.

"Oh, at ease Lieutenant!" she said exasperated, especially when his buddies realized what had happened and were saluting her too. Rolling her eyes she responded. "You just surprised me that's all! Is that the way you use to pick up women? It leaves a little bit to be desired…." She said teasingly and the pilot turned beet red. His buddies started laughing and applauding, some of them even whistling in admiration.

Lisa looked around, surprised at their reaction. It was uncharacteristic of her to speak what was on her mind but she had decided to throw caution to the wind and do it. It was strangely liberating to see. She laughed with the others as the poor pilot was trying to babble and apology.

"Apology accepted, Lieutenant. Now weren't you leading me somewhere?" But at that same instant her friends had reached the periphery of the circle that had formed around her and were being allowed to cut thru to see what was up.

When they reached the edge, they stopped cold when they realized what they were seeing.

"Is that…." Max said, adjusting his glasses to see better.

"Are you sure that is…" Roy babbled.

"Lisa…?" Rick whispered surprised at the vision in front of her.A further away, the girls gasped as they recognized their friend.

"There you are!" Lisa said when she spied her friends. Thanking the stupefied pilot, she approached the girls. Stopping in front of Claudia, she offered the gift to her and said, "This is for you."

Claudia took it, her eyes never leaving her friends smiling face. She looked so happy and so… young even. She thrust her gift to Sammy who was next to her and grabbed Lisa in a bear hug.

She stayed like that for a while until Lisa said, "Claudia I can't breathe!"Claudia let go of her friend. "Girl, what have you done to yourself? You look amazing!" She took in the dress, the make up, the hairdo… "You even cut your hair!"

Lisa nodded and said, "See, no more coils!" she said laughing. She was truly enjoying her friends' reaction. The trio looked like a fish outside of the water, her mouths opening and closing but no sound coming out. Claudia was babbling about how great she looked and she seemed to have tears on her eyes. Miriya was the only one who was taking it calmly and she just nodded and said, "I am glad you decided to show your legs."

All the while Rick had not been able to move. He was watching his girlfriend in shock. She looked more than amazing! This was a surprise he TRULLY had not been expecting! Unblinking, his blue eyes swept up her lithe figure. He loved the way the dress revealed her long slim legs. The strappy sandals she wore only served to emphasize her tiny ankles. The dress was tight enough to hint at her curves without being too tight. And her breasts… The tight bodice made them swell gently with every breath she took. He wanted to sweep her out of there and take her home but he was rooted to the spot watching her.

"Hey little bro. Why don't you close that mouth of yours and go to your girlfriend?" Roy said, amused by his friend's reaction.Rick had not taken his eyes off Lisa after she had started walking to her girlfriends. Max had to nudge him a little to get him moving. With his friends' laughter still ringing in his ears he made his way to his girlfriend.

Lisa was peripherally aware of Rick's presence. She had seen him standing next to the boys but had decided to see the girls first for moral support. Now encouraged by their reaction she waited for her boyfriend to make his way to her. Her body was tingling with excitement and her face was flushed as she waited for him. She felt strangely alive and completely mischievous. Suddenly she felt a warm hand on the small of her back and she could feel his breath on her ear as Rick leaned over and said, "Hello, gorgeous." Lisa was thrilled and an excited shiver ran up her spine. She had never heard Rick use that tone with her!

Lisa turned to her boyfriend, a smile playing on her lips. She looked at him thru her long lashes and stood on her tip toes to plant a light kiss on his lips. Rick stood immobile, he was restraining himself from grabbing her and kissing her breathless. The guys had managed to make their way to them and were complementing Lisa on her looks. She thanked them but she really wanted to hear what Rick had to say. Since he was still a little bit shell-shocked from her surprise, she suggested that they dance to a slow song that was playing. Finally a smile crept to Rick's face.A chance to hold his hot girlfriend close to him? He wasn't missing on that! Grabbing her hand, he swiftly led her to the dance floor.

The other couples laughed, they knew how the young couple was feeling! The guys walked over to their girls and embraced them.

"Can you believe that is her?" Claudia asked her fiancée. She was still teary-eyed but her smile was from ear to ear. She had always felt Lisa was the younger sister that she never had. She loved her brother and her sister-in-law but she had formed a bond too great with Lisa. She felt so proud of her!

"I couldn't have believed it unless I had seen it with my own eyes." Roy stated. Rick and Lisa were like family to him. Looking around, he knew they all felt the same. This was the reason why they were so happy now for their happiness. In one way or the other the trials had made the group become a family tied by something almost as strong as blood. In fact, knowing that he carried some of their blood (given to him thru many transfusions when he had been hit badly) it was almost as if they were tied by blood too. Swelling his chest a little bit, he decided to break the moment before tears escaped his eyes. Well, damn he was a man but men also cried! Still he didn't want to reveal his tender side to everybody. That was only reserved for his beautiful fiancée.

Looking at her warm brown eyes he said, "Will my gorgeous bride-to-be deign me with a dance?" With a small laugh, Claudia accepted his proffered hand and walked with him to the dance floor. Max and Miriya joined them too. The trio decided it would be as good time as any to find some partners for themselves.

Meanwhile Rick and Lisa were talking. Rick had used almost every adjective in the vocabulary to describe her beauty. Lisa was laughing and Rick was thrilled with her laugh. He loved to hear it because it was so different from other women. Lisa did not giggle annoyingly like some women he knew. Her laugh was genuine, full of happiness and it made her green eyes sparkle like green emeralds. It always managed to reach his soul and warm it up. He remembered when they were only friends how he always longed to hear her laugh!

He was also surprised how she cleverly she responded to his comments, managing to turn them into flirtatious banter. He was amazed how she had managed to shed her inhibitions and let the woman he had only peeked at come out.

After a few dances, Rick still did not want to let go of his girlfriend. Roy rolled his eyes and decided he had had too much of seeing his little brother drool over Lisa. He got close to the happy couple and decided to cut in. Rick gave him a rather nasty look that made Lisa laugh but he reluctantly let go of her.

"What have you done to my little brother, you evil enchantress? You have turned him into a drooling idiot." He teased her. Lisa just laughed. "I am glad though. I am glad to see you guys truly happy. Hopefully at this rate you will make me an uncle before I am too old." He laughed when the suave Lisa almost missed a step at that. She gave him one of her customary nasty looks but he was immune to them.

"No thanks, I will wait until you make me an aunt first." She retorted, making him lose his balance now.

"First the wedding, I have to get thru that one first. If I survive, I will consider the baby." He said and Lisa rolled her eyes.

The song ended and Lisa went looking for Rick. She didn't find him but she found her two friends talking. Claudia was over her shock now and was ready to give her friend a little bit of hell.

"Look at the woman coming towards us Mir with those ladylike steps!" She exclaimed loud enough for her friend to hear. I was an old joke between them since Claudia always told her she walked more like a soldier than a woman.

"It's these dratted shoes! I can only take small little steps with them!" She retorted, not bothered by her friend's teasing.

"I can't believe you did all this without us knowing!" Claudia said with a small pout.

"It was the point of the surprise silly."

"Well, we were the ones that talked you into it." She said, a little bit hurt that her friend had decided to do all with out her help.

"You did, and this dress pushed me over the edge." Lisa responded. At their friends insistence she told them how everything had happened. She also revealed to them that she had bought lots more clothing.

"Is that why you haven't talked to me the whole past week?" Claudia asked her suspiciously.

Lisa nodded. "I knew that I would break and spill the surprise but I wanted to do it by myself." She said and her friend nodded understanding.

"Thank God!You had me worried for awhile. I thought you were too mad to talk to me any more." She said.

"There was a little bit of that"Lisa admitted and Claudia frowned. She was going to say something else when Miriya interrupted.

"So Lisa you bought everything, even the little items you use to sleep?" Miriya asked but Lisa looked at her puzzled at her question.

"I believe she is asking if you bought some lingerie." Claudia said and had the satisfaction of seeing her friend turn beet red.

"No Miriya, I guess I will wait to go shopping with you guys for that."

After laughing, Claudia told Lisa, "Well, I imagine you won't have any problems with Rick paying attention to you now. He has certainly noticed you are a woman now and in fact has not taken his eyes off you the whole night." Claudia said, motioning to the bar where the men were standing.

Rick had walked out of the bathroom to see his girlfriend heading towards the girls. Reluctantly he had decided to let them talk for a while and mingle. That way it would be easier when he decided to take her home and do the things that were running thru his head. He was actually taking some of the teasing from the men on stride, his mind focused on the fantasies that were running thru his head. Even Admiral Golval had joined his friends in the teasing.

Lisa turned to Rick and told the girls she would go to him. Claudia turned knowing eyes to her and said, "Don't worry Lisa I will not be upset if you two suddenly disappeared." Lisa just blushed and responded. "I was not worried about that!"

Claudia playfully swiped at her but Lisa skillfully sidestepped her. With a swish of her hips that made the dress twinkle prettily, she made her way to Rick. But before she went away Claudia called her back. Turning to her friend, Lisa tilted her head, waiting. "I knew you were a swan." Claudia told her, reminding her of her parting words on the café that day. Lisa smiled, understanding her friend's words. Nodding her understanding, she left.

Meanwhile Rick had straightened up to attention when he had seen Lisa walking towards him. The guys teased him then, "She looks really nice, much better than Minmay."

"Minmay who?" Responded Rick to the laughs of the group. "I you will excuse me gentlemen…" he said, tipping his head towards them as went to meet his girlfriend halfway.

Sorry for the Minmay lovers, but I thought that Lisa needed a little bit of vindication after all the suffering. I can probably fix a few things but I won't do it for now. Let me know if anything feels too rushed or too repetitive.

Thanks for the feedback!