Rick kept himself busy while he waited for the return of the peace mission which included Lisa. He kept on top of the reports that Max was sending back to them to reassure himself that there would be no surprises. He sincerely believed that the plant-like creatures known as Dendronites meant no harm but still worried because of his recent encounter with them.
"Admiral Hunter," Cindy greeted him when she arrived. "Admiral Edwards wishes to speak with you."
Rick nodded his acknowledgement and turned on the view screen.
"Any word?" Admiral Edwards asked, clearly impatient.
"I'm sure we'll hear something soon," he tried to sound reassuring. "They probably need more help with the reconstruction." He thought back to the inability of the Dendronites to eke out a life on their devastated planet. He felt sorry for them.
"I don't see why we should help them," Admiral Edwards argued. "They could potentially attack us."
"It was a misunderstanding," he insisted. "They aren't aggressive. You would do the same if you were trying to protect your planet."
"For your sake and Admiral Hayes-Hunter, I hope you're right," Admiral Edwards said then terminated the communication link abruptly.
Rick paced back and forth in the hangar as he waited for the arrival of the VTs. He got the good news from Cindy that morning and couldn't wait to see them safely home. When he saw the arrival of Miriya's red VT, he looked expectantly at the arrival of the matching blue VT.
"Admiral Hunter," Miriya greeted him when they landed. "Max is right behind me. He'll be landing in a few minutes."
"Welcome back," Rick replied with a smile. He walked over to shake Emil's hand for a good job at single-handedly fixing the planet's biosphere system. He then caught sight of Lisa out of the corner of his eye and finally was able to relax.
"I got her back in one piece," Max teased when they were close to Rick.
"I'm glad," Rick replied and went to hug his wife.
"Oh, I thought you meant the VT," Max teased again and watched Rick give him a warning look.
"I think I should give you a debrief of our mission," Lisa intervened for Max and led Rick away.
"What did you do now?" Miriya asked Max, seeing that Rick was in a dour mood.
"Just the usual," Max said, knowing that his wife knew his playful side. "I'm sure Lisa will make him forget all about it."
"I missed you," Rick said over and over again when they arrived home.
"I missed you, too," Lisa said sweetly then headed to the kitchen.
"What are you doing?" He followed her into the kitchen.
"Making dinner, I'm starving," she explained. She started pulling things together in a pot and began cooking.
"We could just order out," he suggested.
"I guess you haven't missed my cooking," she teased and kissed him on the tip of his nose.
"I do, but I miss having you beside me more," he said, trying to coax her into cuddling with him.
"Rick, let me finish cooking and then we can have some fun ok? By the way, where's Clarisse?"
"She and Maia are with Cindy. I think it's giving Cindy a preview of what it's like to be a mom."
"Oh great, now you'll scare her off," she teased. She was quite happy that Cindy had gotten married to Brian as expected and after a short confusion while people got used to calling her Cindy Walters, had been quite a smooth transition to married life.
"At least she's not dealing with diaper-changing," he reminded her. "Now that was something to get used to."
"Ahh, but you do it so well. I'm sure you can show Brian how to do it just as Max did for you."
"Well, we men have to help each other out," he said proudly.
"Well, go invite the Walters, the Sterlings and the Grants for dinner," she suggested. "I've made enough to feed an army. Maybe Minmei could come, too?"
"I doubt she can," he said dismissively, picking up the phone to call the other guests.
"I'm sure she'd like a home-cooked meal now and again," she told him, taking a quick taste to adjust the seasoning. She also gave Rick a sample to get a second opinion to which he nodded in approval.
"How could you have energy to entertain after all that?" Rick marveled at how she had just helped the Dendronites restore their systems, flew back to SDF-3 and picked up like nothing has happened.
"I slept on the ride back," she explained. "Besides, I feel like celebrating." She walked over to the cupboard to get place settings.
"What are we celebrating?" he feigned ignorance. He cornered her and leaned in to kiss her.
"I seem to recall a time when you avoided kissing me even when it was a direct order," she said and evaded his advances.
"Ouch," he said in mock hurt. "Well, in my defense, I was still infatuated with Minmei back then."
"And you wanted to be faithful to her," she noted with apparent understanding.
"You certainly made it very hard because I did like kissing you," he admitted at last. "I was afraid I'd fall in love with you." Just as if on cue, the pot started to boil so he turned his attention to the stove.
"Wait," she tugged at his arm. "What did you just say?"
Rick looked at her with a sly smile and was about to reply when the doorbell rang. Lisa gave an exasperated sigh and knew timing was never right for them even now.
"That should be our first dinner guests," he reminded her when they heard the next ring.
"This isn't over," she told him and headed towards the door letting him finish up in the kitchen.
Dinner was a flurry of chatter and cheer. Everyone was happy that Lisa and Rick were expecting another child. They teased and wondered who the baby would look like this time.
"It would be nice if the baby had your eyes Lisa," Miriya noted.
"And your unruly hair," Max added. "He or she will be a stunner for sure."
"Hey, my hair isn't unruly," Rick replied, running his fingers through his hair.
"Of course, it isn't," Vince chimed in.
"Well, Clarisse said she was hoping for a baby brother. It's all she talked about," Cindy said. She had listened to the little girl excitedly tell her all about it during her stay with them.
"Are you going to find out?" Brian asked, hoping to get the inside scoop.
"Even if we did, we're not telling you," Rick joked. "I don't want it splashed across tomorrow's news."
"I can keep a secret," Brian feigned offense. "But you can't keep it a secret for long. You know everyone would want to know."
"So, do you want to know?" Jean asked.
"I think I'll wait," Lisa said, seeing the disappointed looks of her friends. "I hope you guys don't mind."
Everyone assured her it was ok.
After the final guests have left, Rick offered to clean up while Lisa took her sleeping daughter to bed. She watched her little girl for a while before heading into her own bedroom.
"Wow, if I had known this was happening, I would've thrown everyone out sooner," Rick said when he entered their bedroom. He looked at her adoringly wearing the negligee he recently got her.
"Well, if I told you then it wouldn't be a surprise," Lisa said in her most seductive voice.
"No it wouldn't," he agreed and took her into his arms.
"Besides, I realize I haven't thanked you properly for rescuing me," she said and slowly took off his shirt.
"Seeing your smile is thanks enough," he said but still glad that she was giving him this moment. He pulled her back when she pretended to move away from him.
"I thought you said a smile was thanks enough," she teased him. She sensed his need and led him back to bed.
Lisa watched Rick sleep soundly. She ran her fingers gently down the side of his face. She thought about what he had said that afternoon and wondered how she would ask him about it. She couldn't sleep because she needed to know what he meant but didn't want to wake him up. She decided that a cup of warm milk might help her sleep.
"Where are you going?" he asked with his eyes closed when he felt her get up.
"I didn't wake you did I?" she wondered guiltily.
"Can't sleep?" He raised his head to look into her eyes.
"I was thinking …" she began to say.
"You think too much, you know that?" He knew what was bothering her, or rather what she needed to know. He sat up and looked at her. "I have a confession to make."
Lisa waited on pins and needles as Rick took his time to continue.
"When I first saw you, I thought you were beautiful," he said finally. "That's why I flew recklessly into battle."
"You said I was an old lady," she reminded him.
"I only said that because you were so stern," he defended himself. "And you were tough on me especially when I became a soldier." He watched her reaction.
"I expected a lot from you," she answered quietly.
"I know," he said and lifted her chin so they were eye to eye. "Even Roy said you were what I needed to get my act together. Just imagine if he were my CO, we'd get into too much trouble."
Lisa laughed at the image she saw in her mind. It would have been a disaster. She leaned back against him as they recalled their early encounters during his boot camp.
"I'm glad you were my CO," he continued. "You always made me focus on things especially when you've made up your mind about it." He learned to appreciate her persistent determination especially when it saved his life.
"You make me sound like a tyrant," she gasped.
"No, you're not because you let me argue my point," he assured her. "Except for the kissing part, you always get your way on that one." He finally touched on the subject she needed to discuss.
"You said you liked kissing me," she reminded him coyly.
"Yes I did," he confirmed. "I actually worried that since I spent so much time with you and kissed you often, I'd forget all about Minmei."
"That's why you looked at your album of her often," she noted.
It suddenly dawned on Rick why Lisa stopped coming around that time. It made him realize that she had given him his space to decide who mattered more.
"Maybe I should've taken Claudia's advice," Lisa said and snuggled against Rick. "Just grab you and kiss you silly."
Rick laughed and imagined how that would've felt like and how she could possibly have crafted an order to put them in that situation.
"Maybe it's not too late," she whispered, also imagining how that would've been like.
"We owe a lot to Claudia and Roy," he said in momentary seriousness. "I met you because of Roy."
"I don't think I would have met you at all if you weren't in that VT," she countered.
"If I didn't meet you then, I would've met you eventually," he said. "You were Claudia's best friend and since they were seeing each other, I'm sure it was inevitable. Except you probably wouldn't be interested in me because I was a civilian."
"What are you saying?" she inquired and rose to look at his face. "That I have eyes only for men in uniform?"
"Are you denying it?" he challenged her.
"You were just a boy then," she said at last, finding no other suitable response. She laid back on the bed in exasperation.
"Ouch," he said, wincing as if she had hit him. "Did you think I was cute though?" He asked and rested his head on his bent arm and looked at her intently.
"I'm not answering that," she said, turning her head away from him.
"Come on, Lisa," he pleaded, reaching over to turn her face back to him. "I told you my first impression of you."
"I thought you were brash," she began, studying his reaction. "But once I got to know you, I saw you were a reliable and somewhat sensible boy." She enjoyed seeing him cringe with the reminder that he was so young back then. They all were.
"Again with the word 'boy'," he complained. "So you didn't think I was cute?" He was needling her for an answer.
"I thought you were handsome," she finally admitted. "And not a bad kisser for a …"
"Don't say that word again," he warned, raising a finger over her lips.
"I was going to say," she continued, dodging him. "For a man." She reached out and gave him a quick kiss.
"I love you," he said sweetly.
"I love you, too," she replied.
"So what do you say? Shall we try Claudia's suggestion?"
"Before we do that," she stalled for time. "I was thinking if we have a boy, I'd like to name him Roy."
"Roy Hunter," he completed and nodded in agreement. "Sounds good. Now quit stalling." He pulled her close to him and showed her just how silly he could be.