Monday, January 19th 2015

10:00 a.m.

Minmei and Rick had hardly spoken to each other the entire morning. Even though she made him breakfast, and made several attempts at small talk, Rick was distracted and distant.

Does he know that Kyle stopped by yesterday when he was asleep? Does he realize what I've given up to be here with him? For Pete's sake, I'm Minmei Lynn! And I'm in his kitchen doing his dishes! Why did he put his uniform on? He has been sitting in the living room all morning staring out the window playing with that toy plane. What's that all about? Maybe Kyle was right. I need to figure out what I'm going to do, and where this is going.

Minmei walked into the living room, purposely making some noise so she wouldn't startle Rick.

"What's bothering you Rick? And don't say nothing again, you've been brooding for days."

"I'm of no use to anyone just sitting here at home Minmei, I need to go back to work. Max said something was up, maybe relating to the SDF-2, I don't know, but I've taken myself out of the loop and I don't like it. I'm going to report in this afternoon."

Minmei let out a big sigh. "Well actually, that was something I wanted to talk to you about.

Rick gave Minmei a confused look.

"I was thinking…why don't you resign? You could be a commercial pilot, if you still want to fly. Then we could spend more time together. We could get on with our lives like normal people."

Rick stared at Minmei out of disbelief. Did she just ask him to resign? She really didn't have a clue, did she?

"Are you crazy! I can't resign. They need me. I have job to do. People depend on me. And normal? There is no more normal. Look around you Minmei."

Rick realized immediately how harsh his tone had become and was just about to apologize for it when Minmei said, "You've done enough. How many times have you risked you life? Aren't you entitled to some happiness?"

Rick replied, trying his best to keep from shouting at her again, paused for a few moments before continuing on. "Maybe so, but sitting around here does not make me happy. And what about you? Don't tell me you don't miss singing – being the star. I know you do. Besides, people depend on you, and look to you for encouragement and inspiration. It would be as irresponsible for you to quit singing as it would be for me to resign!"

Nice job, Hunter. That was a classic example of passive-aggressive behavior. Maybe you should just tell her the truth.

"Oh, Rick let's get married!"

Rick couldn't believe his ears. Did Minmei just propose to him?

"What did you say?"

"I said let's get married. Oh, please think about it Rick."

Her words hit Rick like a kick to the chest.

"Uh, yeah, Minmei, I will. I'll think about it."

Minmei turned around and went back into the kitchen quickly, her heart pounding.

I can't believe I just blurted that out. What was I thinking? I don't even know if I want to get married! What if he says yes? What if he doesn't resign? Could I be happy giving up singing forever? I suppose I could. If we're together all the time and we start a family right away, I'll have plenty to keep me busy.

Back in the living room Rick felt sick to his stomach. Just a few months ago he would have done anything to be where he was right now, but here he was, and it felt so wrong. Minmei didn't know that he spent all morning trying to put the words together to tell her that he didn't love her the way he once thought he did. He only told her he would think about her proposal to stall for more time, and to keep her from throwing on of her tantrums like she always did when she didn't get her way. He was unhappy, and he had feelings for Lisa that he cold no longer deny.

11:00 a.m.

Captain Lisa Hayes stood in the middle of her living room surrounded by a couple of boxes and suitcases that contained all of her personal belongings. She didn't have much, but she was very fortunate to have been able to hold on to her most prized possessions; several large photo albums chronicling her life from childhood on, a silly looking and very worn out ostrich given to her by Karl on her 7th birthday in Australia, a box of letters and a few CD's.

She lingered there for a few moments reflecting on the past two years. There were some good times; it was good to back on Earth, even a decimated, wounded Earth. Her friends were nearby, and most of the time Macross City residents could enjoy some "normalcy," and peace and focus on the future. There were plenty of difficult times too. Life on Earth looked nothing like it did only 20 years ago. The planet and all of its inhabitants were nearly wiped out. Had it not been for the SDF-1 and the technology she carried, all life on Earth would have been lost forever. Rebuilding was a hard and dangerous process; and there were still violent Zentraedi uprisings to deal with. Her relationship with Rick Hunter remained nothing more than a friendship.

At 10:00 a.m. that morning Lisa met with Admiral Gloval and formally accepted command of the SDF-2. Gloval was not surprised. He knew that Lisa was the best person for the job, and he was confident that she wouldn't let the RDF or the people of Earth down when they needed her the most.

As new Captain of the SDF-2, Captain Hayes' first action was to call a meeting with her senior staff for 1:00 p.m.

She returned home to finish packing, intending to move into her quarters aboard the SDF-2 that afternoon. Even though the ship wouldn't be leaving for several days, she wanted to be on board and oversee preparations personally.

Lisa had one piece of unfinished personal business remaining. She had to say goodbye to Rick. She closed and locked the door behind her, and walked to Rick's house.

11:25

Lisa took a deep breath as she walked toward Rick's front door. She hesitated for a moment, trying to convince herself that she could do what she came to do without falling to pieces. She rehearsed the speech one last time in her head, took another deep breath and rang the doorbell.

Several seconds went by and there was no answer.

Don't tell me he's not home. I don't have a plan "B."

She rang the doorbell again and waited another minute.

What if Minmei comes to the door? What am I going to say?

Rick was so deep in thought that he didn't heat the doorbell ring.

I don't know how I ever thought things between us could work out. We don't even live in the same world. Lisa would never ask me to give up flying or walk away from my duties. How could I been so stupid? Why didn't she return my call from the other night? I know she probably hates me right now, and I'm not sure I blame her. I have got to go find her and talk to her face to face right now.

Rick stood up and was going to tell Minmei he needed to go out for a while when he heard the doorbell ring. "Rick, would you get that, I'm busy in here."

"Uh, yeah, sure."

Rick opened the door and found Lisa Hayes standing there, with her head down, looking up shyly at him.

"Lisa!'

Rick was frozen in shock, even though he wanted to throw his arms around her and give her a huge hug.

She replied quietly and couldn't suppress a little smile when she saw him, "Hi, Rick."

It's so good, and yet so hard to see him.

"Hey, um do you want to come in?"

"No, thanks. Rick, I, I came to say goodbye."

"Goodbye? Lisa! Where are you going?"

Lisa lifted her head up, pulled her shoulders back and continued, still avoiding looking directly at Rick's face.

Minmei appeared at the door.

"Hi, Lisa."

"Hi, Minmei. Rick, I've been given command of the SDF-2, and we're being sent on a diplomatic mission to Tirol."

"No! When are you leaving?"

Minmei wrapped her arms around Rick's arm in a protective manner. It was obvious that Rick was very upset about this, confirming her suspicions. Even if her relationship with Rick wasn't going to work out, she wasn't sure she liked the idea of him leaving her for another woman, especially Lisa Hayes.

"As soon as the reflex engines are transferred. That will probably be a few days, but I'm preparing to move on board this afternoon. Listen, Rick," Lisa suddenly found the courage to look directly into Rick's blue eyes, and suddenly lost all of the composure she was determined to maintain. "This mission will take years, and I know that it's possible that we may never come back." Her heart began to race and she began to feel tears well up in her eyes. "There's something I need to tell you before I go. I love you Rick," Lisa sobbed loudly as tears began to run down her cheeks. She took a second to try and compose herself before continuing. "I always have, and I always will."

She does love me. Rick realized that Minmei was squeezing his arm hard. Before he could say anything Lisa continued. "Minmei, take care of him for me, okay." Lisa then put her hand on Rick's shoulder and gave his cheek a soft kiss, realizing at the same time that tears were also running down Rick's face.

"I will, Lisa. Good luck on your mission."

"Thanks, Minmei. I have to go. My crew is waiting for me." Lisa barely finished speaking before she turned and began to run. She knew she had to get out of there before she completely fell apart. It was over. She said what she came to say, and Rick didn't say anything even close in return.

Lisa was a half a block away when Rick shouted, "Lisa, wait!" and tried to take off after her. Minmei had a lock on his arm and was not about to let go.

"What are you doing? You can't go after her. What about me?"

Rick gave Minmei an ice-cold look that frightened her to the core and shouted, "Let me go!"

She was too stunned to hang on any more and released her grip. Rick took off after Lisa down the street.

Rick heard a loud roar and realized that Khyron's ship was approaching fast and low. Suddenly the ship began to fire randomly, hitting the street a few blocks ahead, right where Lisa was headed. The concussion of the blast was enough to knock Rick down, but he got right back up, running and shouting Lisa's name. He found her unconscious a few blocks down.

Lisa! Oh my God. No! Please don't let her be dead.

Rick knelt down next to Lisa; afraid touching her might do more damage in case she was injured badly. As he felt her neck for a pulse, Lisa moaned quietly and opened her eyes. She immediately tried to sit up, but cried out in pain in doing so. Rick gently put his arms around her to stop her saying, "Don't try to get up. You're hurt."

Lisa realized that her head and side hurt. She said, in a hoarse whisper "What happened?"

"Khyron."

"I've got to get to the ship." Lisa sat up slowly with Rick's help. He knew no matter how badly Lisa was injured that he couldn't stop her, but thought he'd try anyway. She was holding her right side and had a bruise on her cheekbone.

"Let me call for a medic…"

"No! I'll be all right. I just had the wind knocked out of me." Lisa braced herself against Rick's shoulder and pushed herself up. She stood there swaying for a moment, and would have fallen over had Rick not caught her under her arms. She fell into him, almost loosing consciousness again when Rick said, "Fine, then let me help you." She began to pull away a little when she felt his hand touch her chin. He gently lifted her head to look her in the eyes and said, "Wherever you're going, I'm going with. I love you."

Lisa was too stunned to say anything at all.

How hard did I hit my head? Am I hallucinating?

She took Rick's hand and was about to say something when she heard that voice…

"Rick, Rick, oh thank God you're all right! Let's go! We have to get to the shelter!"

Rick made sure Lisa was able to stand on her own and backed away from her. "Don't go anywhere. I'll take care of this."

"What are you waiting for Rick? We can't just stand here."

"I'm not going to any shelter, Minmei. In case you haven't noticed, we're under attack."

"But, Rick you can't just leave me!" she latched onto his arm again. "I'm so scared. When is this going to end? Let's go, Rick, please!" Minmei began to cry, and latched on even harder to Rick's arm.

"Lisa and I have our duty to perform. I'm a fighter pilot. This is my life. If you don't understand that now you never will."

Lisa couldn't wait any longer and walked over to them. Khyron was coming around for another round of fire and they had to get off the street. "Let him go Minmei. Get yourself to the shelter!"

Rick yanked his arm out of Minmei's grip, took Lisa by the arm and the two headed off toward the base.

Rick flagged down the first jeep he saw and ordered the driver to take the two of them to the SDF-2.

Once inside the jeep Rick held Lisa close and tried to keep her steady without hurting her. The roads were badly damaged and every bump in the road caused her to tense up and wince.

Fortunately, it was only short ride to Lake Gloval and the SDF-2. The jeep barely stopped moving before Rick jumped out and helped Lisa to do the same. The two ran hand in hand into the open bridge elevator, "Are you going to be okay? I'll stay with you on the bridge if you want me to."

Lisa leaned against one wall of the elevator for support, and took Rick's hands into her own. Her mind was a muddled mess of emotions; joy, fear and dread all at the same time. As much as she wished she could revel in the reality that Rick Hunter did love her, she knew this was a bad situation. Khyron was out of control and had nothing to loose. She knew that it was a real possibility that one or both of them wouldn't survive the day.

"No, I can make it. We need you out there Rick."

Rick moved in close to Lisa and placed on hand on her cheek and kissed her tenderly just as the doors to the bridge opened, in full view of Admiral Gloval and Claudia. "I'll meet you back at the base when this is over."

Lisa responded with a nod as she ran off the bridge to her duty station.