Fort Graham, Mother's Day, 2180 CE
Ripley heard a rustling in the room and reluctantly opened her eyes to find Newt's pixie face staring at her. "Morning, Mommy!" Newt exclaimed. "Don't come to the kitchen yet!" She zipped out of the room, and Ripley heard the little girl call out, "Hicks! Dad! She's awake!" Newt had slipped into calling Hicks "Dad" about half the time since they'd officially all moved into the house off-base, and it always made Ripley's heart skip a little beat. She heard the low rumble of Hicks' voice as he replied, then the pounding footsteps as Newt ran back to the bedroom and to Ripley's bedside. "You can come to the kitchen after you take a shower," Newt instructed.
"Affirmative," Ripley agreed, giving the child a kiss on the tip of her nose.
Feeling refreshed after the shower, Ripley strode to the kitchen in her fuzzy blue robe, her hands still fluffing her damp curls. "Hi, Mom!" Newt called out from the stepstool in front of the stove where she stood with a spatula, looking intently into the pan.
"Morning, Ellen," Hicks greeted her with a kiss to the forehead before he resumed slicing up strawberries. Ripley snaked her arm around and snatched the biggest strawberry chunk, popping it in her mouth.
"Mom, don't eat the ingredients!" Newt scolded.
"Ingredients?" Ripley asked, peering over Newt's shoulder. "What're we making?"
"Dad and I couldn't agree on whether chocolate chip pancakes or strawberry pancakes were your favorite, so we're making chocolate-strawberry pancakes for you," Newt informed her.
"And to what do I owe this honor?" Ripley asked, licking her thumb and wiping away a smear of chocolate on Newt's cheek.
"It's Mother's Day!" Newt announced, turning back to the pan and flipping over the golden-brown pancakes. "And you're the best Mom ever!"
Right , Ripley realized with a start. Mother's Day. She smiled despite the tears suddenly pricking at her eyes. She closed her eyes to blink back tears, and opened them to find Hicks next to her, green eyes soft and sympathetic.
Hicks reached over and cupped Ripley's cheek. He raised an eyebrow, silently asking is this okay? Still a little teary, Ripley smiled wider and nodded. He pulled her into a hug and whispered, "if you need a minute, you just say so, okay?"
"Okay," Ripley agreed, before being interrupted by a spatula-wielding Newt.
"You have to go sit at the table now, Mom, and Dad and I will finish getting everything ready." The little girl gestured with the kitchen utensil towards the breakfast nook, and Ripley obeyed, taking her usual seat on the bench. She found hot coffee waiting as well as a plate of thick, rasher bacon. She munched on a slice and watched as Newt proudly carried a plate stacked with chocolate chip pancakes, topped with chocolate syrup, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream. Hicks followed with the other two equally loaded plates.
While they ate their breakfast, Newt laid out the day she had planned for Ripley with Hicks' help. They were taking a short shuttle ride over to Midway Station, after which they were getting family portraits done and going to the indoor sports complex where they could enjoy activities like laser tag, go-carts, and skee-ball. They would finish up the evening with Japanese cuisine, as it was Ripley's favorite.
That night, Newt insisted that Hicks should read her story that night, on the logic that Moms should not have to work on Mother's Day. Ripley chuckled at Newt's insistence, fairly certain that the girl was just excited about the new book she and Hicks had started the previous night while Ripley worked. Newt was particular about her stories and how they were read to her, to the point where she would rather have two books going than have Ripley and Hicks trade off narration. Ripley gave the child a long hug. "Thank you for a wonderful Mother's Day, sweetie. I love you."
"Love you, Mommy," Newt whispered back, giving Ripley a kiss.
Ripley stood for a moment at the door as Newt snuggled up to Hicks, who began reading. "Chapter 2. Mrs. Who. When Meg woke up to the jangling of her alarm clock the wind was still blowing…" Hicks winked at Ripley, and she withdrew to their bedroom.
Hicks found Ripley sitting cross-legged on their bed, holding a photo of Amanda in one hand and one of the new family portraits in the other. She glanced up at him. "That took a little while," she commented.
"I gave in and read her two chapters. I don't even know how she kept her eyes open, but she's very persuasive," Hicks admitted. He sat down on the bed in front of Ripley and reached for the photos, admiring both for a moment before setting them down on the nightstand. Returning his eyes to hers, Hicks took her hands in his. "How are you doing?"
"Surprisingly well, I think." Ripley said after a moment. "Days like this are always going to hurt, but you and Newt make it not so bad."
Hicks' face relaxed into an easier smile. "Good." He paused, then reached in the top drawer of the nightstand. "I…I got you something for Mother's Day, too." He handed her a small, dark blue velvet pouch and watched her face as she opened it and pulled out the small gold ring set with three stones. "It's a mother's ring," he explained while she examined it. "There's your birthstone, garnet, then emerald for Amanda, and aquamarine for Newt." Ripley's eyes filled with tears and her throat closed up with emotion. Hicks studied her face and asked softly, "Do you like it?" Ripley nodded her head vigorously, still too choked up to form words, and he slipped the jewelry on her right ring finger.
Ripley threw her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder. Hicks pulled her close and held her until she finally pulled away enough to rest her forehead against his and whisper, "Thank you."