Lisa and Rick had the day off so they lingered in bed the following morning. They were facing each other silently and had matching goofy grins on their faces.
"You're thinking again," Rick said first.
"Is that a bad thing?" Lisa asked jokingly.
"Care to share?"
"I am glad that you're with me on this mission," Lisa admitted. "It would have been tough without you."
"I'm glad I'm with you, too," he agreed. "I wouldn't miss this for anything. And I know as a soldier I should be ready for anything but ..." He still felt guilty and scared of the thought of losing her during their recent encounter with the Dendronites.
"Rick, I can take care of myself," she tried to comfort and assure him that he didn't need to feel that way.
"I know," he agreed. "But I still worry about you."
"Well, you were ready to rescue me. I couldn't have made it out without you. And your love keeps me going."
Rick smiled and drew her closer to him. He was relieved she was alright. That was all that mattered.
"Mommy, daddy," Clarisse announced that she was awake through the baby monitor.
"I'll get her," he offered and got out of bed. He brought back his daughter into bed with them and enjoyed the company of the two most precious people in his life. He listened to them make plans of play activities for the day.
"What are your thoughts?" Lisa asked and kissed Rick. She had noticed he was very silent.
"I think we should tickle mommy," he said and launched himself against her. His little girl followed suit.
"No, stop, please, that's an order," Lisa said in between giggles. She tried to fend off both Rick and Clarisse.
"Oh no," Rick said. "We've been ordered to stop. What should we do?" He looked at Clarisse for her response.
Clarisse only smiled and hugged Rick. She was enjoying her time with both of them.
"Maybe we should go get mommy something to eat?" Rick suggested to Clarisse. He rose up and got dressed quickly.
"You don't have to get dressed to make breakfast," Lisa noted.
"Who said we're making breakfast," he replied with a smile. "We're getting a special breakfast." With that, he scooped his little girl and left.

Lisa got up and tidied up while Rick and Clarisse were out. She noticed that Rick had left his keys so when the doorbell rang, she quickly answered it.
"You forgot your keys," she began only to see Minmei at her doorstep. "Minmei." She greeted her unexpected visitor.
"Hi Lisa," Minmei greeted back. "How are you?"
"I'm doing fine. Come in. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Lisa let Minmei in and studied her body language. She detected the same hesitation from Minmei that she saw from Miriya after their first meeting after the incident.
"I'm so glad to see you're doing well," Minmei said.
"Please, have a seat," she offered. "Do you want some tea?" She headed to the kitchen to make some.
"Rick told me you're pregnant," Minmei said as she followed Lisa to the kitchen. She sat at the breakfast nook.
"Yes, I am," she confirmed with a smile. She turned to face Minmei.
"Oh, Lisa, I'm so sorry for everything," Minmei said on the verge of tears. "I didn't mean for you to get hurt."
"Minmei, it wasn't your fault," she said, putting her arm over Minmei's shoulders to comfort her.
"Rick is very angry with me," Minmei continued. "He said I can't see you again. You two are my only good friends on this ship …" She trailed off and started to sob.
"It's alright Minmei," Lisa said softly. "He was just upset. I'm sure after he has cooled off, everything will be back to normal."
"I'm afraid he's never going to forgive me. He said I almost cost him you and your baby."
"When did he say that?" she inquired, trying to determine how long ago the exchange was and if Rick may have just blown up spur of the moment.
"It was when you went back," Minmei revealed. "I went to see him in his office and he yelled at me."
"You caught him at a bad time," she assured Minmei. "I'll talk to him alright?" She watched Minmei relax. She knew how much Rick's friendship meant to Minmei and hoped that he would reconsider.

We're back," Rick announced their return. He put down Clarisse who ran looking for Lisa.
"Hey, how'd you get in?" Lisa inquired. "You left your keys."
"I took yours," he said and showed her.
"What are you up to?" she wondered out loud and eyed him curiously.
"Who me?" he asked innocently. "I just went out to get breakfast." He showed her the bag as proof.
"It shouldn't take you that long," she continued to suspect him of hiding something. "What has daddy been up to?" She directed her question to Clarisse and handed her a glass of milk.
"Daddy said it's a secret," Clarisse answered and sipped her milk.
"Don't spoil the surprise," Rick requested. "You'll see it soon enough."
"Alright," Lisa consented. "So what's for breakfast?"
"How about let's make it a brunch at the park?" he suggested.
"What are you up to?" she asked again. But her curiosity made her go along since she saw Rick wasn't about to tell her.

Lisa watched Rick and Clarisse run around while she cleaned up after their spontaneous brunch at the park. She smiled with satisfaction at how normal their lives seem now. Soon after they would be leaving the Dendronites and continue on their journey. She hoped that things would be quiet for a while.
"Mommy, look at me," Clarisse shouted proudly.
Lisa waved in response.
"Come join us," Rick called out to her. He waved her over.
Lisa got up and joined in their play and was equally exhausted when they rested under a shady tree and Clarisse took her nap.
"This is nice," Rick noted as he rested his chin on Lisa's shoulder and watched Clarisse sleep.
"Yes," she agreed. "We should do it more often." She leaned her head back to rest on his shoulder.
"Well, I don't know about you running after her," he reminded her. "She's getting faster and you'll need to slow down a bit soon."
"Just because my belly will be growing in a few months doesn't mean I can't enjoy time with you two," she countered.
"That's not what I meant," he clarified. "But it's not as much fun as it is with you playing with us." He tickled her neck with the tip of his nose.
"Oh, I almost forgot," she said suddenly. "Minmei came by to see me today."
"Really?" he forced a reply.
"She says you're angry with her," she continued. "It's nobody's fault you know that." She had known that Rick and Miriya felt bad about what happened and have tried to assure them that it wasn't anyone's fault. Now she had to convince Rick that Minmei was likewise faultless.
Rick looked away and remained silent. He thought of the number of times that he had been distracted with Minmei and Lisa ended up getting hurt either physically or emotionally. He wondered why Lisa was trying to make him forgive Minmei.
"Rick, you can't stay angry with her," she said, drawing his attention by turning his face back to her. "She's our friend."
"It just seems like every time I get distracted by her, you end up getting hurt," he voiced his thoughts.
"It would have happened whether she was there or not," she explained. "Besides, it was my idea that we split up. And I should have listened to my gut instinct when I noticed the discrepancy."
"You're really amazing," he said, knowing that any other woman would have agreed with his decision.
"You know I'm right about this," she said with her sweet smile. "So, when will you go talk with her?"
"Why do I have to talk with her?"
"To tell her that everything is alright," she clarified for him.
"Hmm, I don't know," he said, trying to make Lisa work her spell to get her way. "I think I need a little bit more convincing."
Lisa chuckled and looked at Clarisse to make sure she was still asleep before giving Rick what he wanted from her.

When Clarisse woke up from her nap, she was ready to go play again.
"No, it's time to go to the party," Rick reminded his little girl.
"What party?" Lisa inquired as she scooped up Clarisse.
"You'll see," he replied and led the way.
"We're going to my office?" she asked when she finally got some answers from Rick. "What's the occasion?"
"You don't remember?" Rick continued to keep mum and knocked on her office door to announce their arrival to the people inside. "It wasn't quite the way I planned to surprise you, but I guess this will have to do." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before opening the door.
"Happy Admiral's Day!" everyone assembled, which included their close friends and her senior staff, shouted when they entered.
"What?" Lisa asked Rick, looking confused.
"Today is the anniversary date of your promotion to admiral of the REF," he explained. "We all decided we'd call it Admiral's Day."
"We just needed a reason to party in your office," Cindy said as she handed them a piece of cake.
Rick smiled and took Clarisse from her arms so she could mingle among friends.

"Thanks, that was fun," Lisa said after the party. She tried straightening up but Rick stopped her.
"You don't have to clean up right now," Rick insisted.
"Yes, Lisa," Cindy bashfully addressed her, remembering Lisa repeatedly ask her to be less formal especially when she was out of uniform. "I'll clean up for you. It's not too bad."
"Alright, thanks," she said appreciatively and gave Cindy a hug.
"I think she's had enough fun for the day," Rick said and went to the couch and scooped up his sleeping daughter.
"Are you sure you don't have anything else planned?" Lisa teased and wrapped her arm around his free arm.
"Oh Cindy, are you free to babysit tonight?" Rick turned to Cindy hoping he'd get an affirmative answer.
"No, I was just kidding," Lisa stopped Rick short. "We're going home. Good night, Cindy."
"But I do have something in mind," Rick complained as Lisa dragged him out of her office.
Cindy watched as they left and smiled. She looked forward to the time she had a growing family like the Hunters did. She turned around and quickly tidied up the office.
"Hey, sorry I missed the party," Brian said from the doorway. "I couldn't get away from the newsroom."
"It's alright," she replied, giving him a quick kiss.
"Ready to head home?"
"Yes, and I think we should start planning an addition to our family," she added sweetly.
"Do you think we're ready?"
"Maybe we can babysit the girls one more time," she teased. "Just to make sure." She knew they were and had so much fun with Clarisse and Maia when they had them over.