fanfic_name = Dreams don't always come true

chapter = 4

author = Jo_anderson

dedicate = aparece en el fic

Rating = AP15

Type = Angst

fanfic = Author: Jo

Title: Dreams Don’t Always Come True

Disclaimer: of course I don’t own any of the original characters of Robotech but I do own some characters that will appear in the future.

Authors note: I know it took a while for me update, but I this chapter took me a lot of time to write, because of how many things happen here, so I hope you like it!!

To: Especially to K71, thank you so much for be my beta for this one too, really thank you, thank you, thank you. Also for Carla and all the people from the forum

Replies: sure, I’ll be waiting for them!!! Jo_anderson19ATyahoo.com

Dreams Don’t Always Come True

Chapter 4

“You had me…”

“Lisa?” said a male voice near the plane that had already landed.

“Yes?” asked Lisa, confused when she heard someone calling her name. She couldn’t distinguish who it was because everything near the plane was dark.

“Lisa, it’s me, Rick” said the male voice. As he came into the light, Lisa saw a thin Rick. He was in a pilot suit with a white scarf around his neck, his hair more unruly than ever and a beard that made him look even thinner and older.

“Rick?” said Lisa in disbelief when she finally saw him in full light.

“Yes,” said Rick a shy voice.

“What are you doing here?” asked Lisa with curiosity.

“I need to talk with you.”

“With me?”

“Can we talk? Please.”

“I guess so, tomorrow we can have lunch with the girls. Claudia and the girls are here.”

“Not tomorrow, now.”

“Now?” asked Lisa a little uncomfortably.

“Please.”

“But they are waiting for me at my house.”

“Please Lisa, it won’t take too much time,” said Rick in a pleading voice.

“Rick, it’s really late. I truly think it will be better if we talk tomo..”

“Please Lisa. I swear to you it won’t take long. Please” said Rick as he came closer to her.

“I… fine. But while you finish the plane paperwork I will send my horses to my house.”

“Sure. I’ll be right back,” said Rick and left the airfield almost running in the control tower direction.

When Rick reappeared, Lisa was walking near the lake that was a few meters away from the airfield. He started to walk in her direction, trying to put his mind in order and finding the right words to start their conversation.

“Sorry for the delay, it took me more time than I thought,” said Rick smiling to Lisa.

“It’s ok,” said Lisa and rubbed her hands because of the cold wind.

“It’s really cold here.”

“A little bit, but you get used to it,” said Lisa looking at him with a smile.

“So…” said Rick and remained silent.

“So…” replied Lisa and after a few moments she added, “So, what are you doing here?”

“I came with my flying circus,” said Rick and started to walk near the lake. A few moments later Lisa followed him.

“Claudia told me that you left the army.”

“Yes I did, I quit almost a year after you left,” said Rick and his voice turned dark.

“You must be really happy now that you have your own flying circus, that you are your own boss,” said Lisa trying to sound cheerful.

“It’s ok,” said Rick and remained silent for a while, “but I will never be truly happy, you know?”

“Come on Rick, you have everything to be happy. You are young, you are successful, you could have any woman that you want.”

“But not the one that I want, the one that I want seems to be already taken,” said Rick and looked at Lisa straight in the eyes, making her feel uncomfortable enough to turn down her gaze.

“Then I suppose that Minmei is dating someone,” said Lisa softly.

“I don’t know, I haven’t talked with her in almost five years,” said Rick, putting his hands in his pockets and then suddenly turning in Lisa’s direction. “Are you happy Lisa?”

“What?” asked Lisa, taken off guard by the question.

“Are you happy? Have you been happy in these last 6 years?”

“Yes I am Rick, I’m very happy,” said Lisa, unable to avoid a smile as her eyes brightened.

“You look different,” said Rick looking at the ground.

“It has been six years since the last time we saw each other,” said Lisa as she looked at the ground also.

“For me it has been an eternity,” said Rick with sadness.

“In a way yes, so many things have happened,” said Lisa and unconsciously she looked at her wedding ring and smiled.

“Since the moment you left the time stopped for me, all that kept me alive was the hope of finding you.”

“Rick” said Lisa with a disbelieving smile.

“It’s true, I’ve traveled across the world trying to find you Lisa. I looked everywhere,” Rick said quickly and with desperation.

“I’m sorry, I should have come back sooner,” said Lisa, avoiding Rick’s gaze.

“Why did you leave?” asked Rick with pain.

“Because I had to,” answered Lisa coldly.

“Because you believed that I was in love with Minmei. Because I was such an asshole with you,” said Rick, tightening his fist.

“In a way, but mostly because I needed to start again Rick, I needed to change a lot of things in my life.”

“It was my fault wasn’t it? I hurt you so much, but Lisa…”

“Rick, it was nobody’s fault, I made that decision and …”

“I loved you Lisa,” said Rick and grabbed Lisa by her arms, “I was so in love with you but I was dumb enough only to realize that in the moment that you left.”

“You are confusing things,” said Lisa looking at him in the eyes.

“No I ‘m not. I loved you. I love you now and I will always love you.”

“Rick don’t do this. You will get nothing except painful memories from the past,” said Lisa with concern.

“But I have to,” said Rick and released Lisa, “Because if I keep this inside me anymore I will die.”

Lisa only looked at him. In some way he reminded her of herself. All the pain that he was showing now was the same pain that she had felt once.

“Do you remember the first time that we saw each other?” asked Rick with a melancholy voice.

“Yes.”

“I will never forget that day. I remember that I was so impressed when I saw such a gorgeous, secure woman on the other side of the screen. I was so scared that I guess that was the reason I was so mean to you.”

“I wasn’t the nicest person with you either.”

“I was so immature, so … I fell in love with you in the same moment that I rescued you from Sara Base, but I was so scared, I felt so … I felt I didn’t deserve your love, you were so perfect…”

“I’m not perfect Rick.”

“And I was so blind with Minmei, so infatuated with her. I hurt you so much with that, but the thing was that every time that we were close to each other I felt like all my defense mechanisms started to fail and that you would see the real me and you would run away.”

“I would have loved you no matter what Rick, that was how much in love with you I was,” said Lisa honestly.

“You are the only one that I have ever loved Lisa, the only one.”

“Don’t lie to yourself Rick,” said Lisa but before she ended Rick asked,

“Do you remember the first time that we kissed?”

“We never kissed each other, not really.”

“But I remember every time, every moment, every touch, the way your eyes looked at me, your smell, all of you.”

“Why are you doing this Rick? What for? What do you expect from this?”

“I don’t know Lisa, maybe to bring you back to me by telling you how much I love you. Maybe to ask for your forgiveness, or maybe just to feel you close to me.”

“It’s late Rick,” said Lisa and started to walk away.

“Wait!” said Rick and grabbed her by her wrist.

“I don’t know what I’m doing Lisa, all I know is that since the moment that you left I’ve been dying. I never imagined that I could love someone so much, like I love you. I love you so much,” said Rick trying to hold his tears.

“I’m sorry Rick, but there’s nothing that I can do for you now,” said Lisa with honesty.

“So you don’t love me anymore?” asked Rick as he touched her gently with the tips of his fingers on her cheek.

“You are part of my past now Rick, I have a husband and a family now.”

“You just forgot me.”

“No, you will be always part of my life but I just moved on,” said Lisa without looking at him.

“But I can’t; I can’t leave you in the past. Every time that I close my eyes, every time that I dream, it’s you that I dream of.”

“But you will have to learn to do it, you can’t live attached to the past Rick. I lived attached to Karl for almost 10 years and all you will ever get from that is pain. There are things that you better leave in the past and try to forget.”

“So you forgot that New Years Eve seven years ago?” said Rick with hurt.

“That was a mistake Rick, we both know that,” said Lisa with a little anger in her eyes.

“I was wrong to say that it was a mistake. That was the only true thing that I have ever done in my life, the only time that I have felt complete,” said Rick and held Lisa’s face tenderly.

“And I felt so broken,” said Lisa with a sad tone before looking at Rick in the eyes. “It was a mistake Rick, my mistake,” she said seriously.

“If I could change that, if I just could turn back time.”

“But you can’t and even if you could I wouldn’t change a thing. Everything that happened led me here and I wouldn’t change my life now for anything,” she said securely.

“For anything?” he said with hope, trying to see something in her eyes, to listen to something in her voice that would let him believe.

“No,” said Lisa coldly and tried to release herself from Rick.

“I don’t believe you,” said Rick in denial.

“Rick, please,” said Lisa, still trying to release herself from his hands.

“I don’t. How could things change so much?”

“People change, things change. Now let me go Rick,” said Lisa uncomfortably.

“But not you Lisa, not you,” said Rick with sadness.

“I’m sorry Rick, but I don’t love you anymore.”

“That’s not true. I can see it in your eyes, you still have feelings for me,” said Rick, looking at her with desperation in his eyes.

“No Rick, please don’t do this to yourself anymore,” said Lisa with sadness.

“You feel pity for him, you don’t love him,” said Rick with anger.

“Rick stop,” said Lisa seriously.

“You leave and try to be happy with him, but I know that you still love me; I can see it in your eyes,” said Rick and grabbed her face to look at her closer in the eyes.

“That’s not true,” said Lisa angrily.

“Then look at me and tell me. Look at me in the eyes and tell me that you don’t feel anything when I touch you,” said Rick and grabbed her closer to him until only millimeters separated them.

“Let me go,” said Lisa struggling to release herself from Rick’s grasp.

“You can’t, can you?” said Rick and got closer to her.

“Rick..” Lisa was saying but she couldn’t continue because he kissed her. He kissed her with tenderness and desperation at the same time, with all the feelings that he had always felt for her but never had the courage to say. And she was so surprised she didn’t react at the beginning, everything seemed so surrealistic for her. So … he did truly love her. Then she reacted with an instinct that she thought she had forgotten; with something that she thought she would never feel again, not since she had left Macross.

Lisa slapped him with all her strength, leaving her entire hand mark on Rick’s face and making him turn his face to the other side. She was so angry, so upset. She felt used again, in the same way that she had promised herself she would never feel again since the day that she left Macross.

“How dare you? Who the hell do you think you are? You cannot come here and pretend that if you kiss me I will run to your arms again Rick. Do you think I am the same stupid girl that I was on Macross? You are so mistaken; I have Thomas now and Alex, and I won’t trade them for anything in the world, least not for you. I’m a married woman now, and I’m happy and I’m secure- things that you could never give to me. Go back to your plane and leave, because I don’t love you anymore. I don’t feel anything for you, I have forgotten you,” said Lisa coldly and seriously as she started to walk away from Rick.

“Lisa wait,” said Rick and started to walk in her direction.

“Get out of here Rick before someone gets hurt. I’m not going to let you hurt my family. Leave and forget me as I have forgotten you,” said Lisa and she got into her car and drove away leaving Rick standing in the middle of the airfield alone, more alone than he had ever felt in his life.

Lisa arrived at her house still angry. Even after she had remained in her car for a few moments to calm down, she was still upset. She was upset with herself and with Rick. With herself for being such a fool and accepting to have that conversation with Rick even when she knew according to Claudia’s words that he was supposedly in love with her. When she knew perfectly well that he was somehow infatuated now with her. It seemed that Rick Hunter only wanted what he couldn’t have. First it had been Minmei and now it was her. So she was mad with herself for letting him lead her into his trap. She was also angry with herself for allowing herself to be so naïve around him again. But above all she was upset with him. How dare him to travel almost across the world to where she was- knowing that she was married and that she had a child -and try to seduce her again? What kind of woman did he think she was? That she was so stupid to fall again in that self-destructive hurricane that her life had become every time that she was around him? Not even if she was still in love with him would she abandon her family; she wasn’t that kind of woman.

In middle of all those thoughts Lisa entered her bedroom to find sleeping in the master bed Thomas, who was holding Alex over his chest, who was also sleeping. Lisa only needed to see that scene and all her worries faded away. She smiled and started to walk in their direction trying to make no noise. When she was close enough she tried to hold Alex but in the same moment that she put her hands over Alex, Thomas instinctively put his arms around Alex in a protective way.

“It’s me,” said Lisa softly.

“Sorry, I fell asleep,” said Thomas smiling at her, still a little sleepy.

“You are not the only one” said Lisa and looked at Alex.

“We were waiting for you.”

“You shouldn’t have bothered.”

“You know it’s never a problem,” said Thomas and he carefully stood up with Alex in his arms.

“Why don’t we take him to his crib,” said Lisa and they left the bedroom and went to Alex’s bedroom. Once they laid him in his crib they both looked at the baby with love.

“He looks so peaceful,” said Lisa.

“And it’s the only time of the day when he looks peaceful,” said Thomas smiling as Lisa held him softly.

“Are you ok?” asked Thomas as he tenderly caressed Lisa’s hair.

“I’m fine,” said Lisa, resting her head on his chest.

“Really?” he asked lowering his head so he could look at her.

“It’s just… I’m a little upset.”

“Why? Problems with the horses?”

“No it’s just I… there was someone that I didn’t want to see at the airfield.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” asked Thomas with concern.

“No, it doesn’t matter,” said Lisa and gave a smile to him.

“Ok,” said Thomas and kissed her on the forehead and held her. They looked at Alex again and suddenly Lisa looked at Thomas in the eyes.

“Do you love me?”

“What?” asked Thomas with surprise.

“Do you love me?” asked Lisa again looking at him in the eyes.

“Of course I do, I love you so much,” he raised an eyebrow and tried to hide a smile. “What kind of question is that?”

“A silly one,” said Lisa and smiled at him.

“You and Alex are the most important things in my life,” said Thomas honestly.

“And the two of you in mine,” said Lisa and they both looked into each other’s eyes for while and they kissed. When they broke the kiss Thomas smiled at her.

“You know what I’m thinking now?” he asked smiling and then softly kissed her on the neck.

“What?” asked Lisa smiling too.

”That Alex needs a sister,” said Thomas.

“A sister?” asked Lisa with suspicion.

“Yes, I mean, he needs someone to play with.”

“And what will happen if it’s a boy.”

“Oh, but I think it will be a girl.”

“Really?” said Lisa amused.

“Oh yes, and she will have those gorgeous green eyes of yours.”

“And this beautiful smile of yours,” said Lisa and softly kissed him.

“But I mean after all, as long as he or she is healthy like Alex, I’ll be happy.”

“Me too,” said Lisa and they hugged, “But you know what?” added Lisa after a while.

“What?”

“Talking here will never get the brother for Alex.”

“Sister,” corrected Thomas and held Lisa closer and kissed her on the neck, then a few moments later he raised her from the floor.

“Thomas, we will wake up Alex,” said Lisa near to Thomas ear.

“Shhhh,” murmured Thomas and in silence they left Alex’s bedroom.

Lisa woke up when the sun was rising. She looked at her side and Thomas was peacefully sleeping. She got up from bed and put a bathrobe on. After a while she walked to the window in the bedroom that showed an amazing view of the mountains and the lake.

As she looked through the window she couldn’t avoid this uncomfortable sensation in her body. She still was upset from her meeting with Rick. She still could feel her chest tighten and the angst and she was angry with herself for that; for letting herself be so affected by him. It was like seeing him had brought back to life all the bad things that she had experienced by his side; the painful sensation of feeling used, the fear of not knowing, the uncertainty that was a constant in her life for many years. The memories of those broken dreams brought back all that in life upset her and above all that scared her. It scared her to death that she might loose herself again because of him.

Lisa tightened her fist with anger and then she looked at Thomas. No, that won’t happen again. She had Thomas now, and he wouldn’t let her get lost again. She started to walk in his direction and when she was close enough she bent down and softly kissed him on the forehead. She had him and Alex now, and that was all that she needed. They were now the constant in her life, her safety and the most important thing that she had.

Claudia left the house and started to walk in the direction of the stables, because she knew Lisa would be there. When she arrived at the stables Lisa wasn’t there but she heard the noise of the hooves of the horses and she started to walk in that direction. Lisa was there, making the white mare run in circles, faster and faster, concentrating so much that she didn’t even notice when Claudia appeared.

“What did the mare do?” asked Claudia when she was close enough, but Lisa didn’t hear her, she only hurried up the walk of the mare.

“What did the mare do?” almost yelled Claudia this time, and this time she caught Lisa’s attention. Lisa slowed down the rate of the mare. “Sorry I didn’t hear you.”

“I was just asking if the mare did something for you to have her running like that?” said Claudia with suspicion.

“She needed to move. Artemis spent too much time in the plane without moving.”

“Is that all? Because you look somehow upset.”

“Yes that’s all,” said Lisa avoiding Claudia’s look, “And the girls?”

“They went out with Thomas to visit his clinic.”

“Oh that’s great,” said Lisa and started to walk to the stables with the mare. After leaving her there, Lisa started to walk with Claudia around the property.

“So are you going to tell me what is bothering you?” asked Claudia again after a while.

Lisa remained silent for some moments, debating if she should talk or not.

“Do you know that Rick arrived last night?” asked Lisa.

“No, I had no clue,” said Claudia looking at the ground.

“He arrived here last night when I went to pick up Artemis.”

“So that’s why you are upset.”

“I’m not upset because he is here, what bothers me is that he thinks that I’m still the same Lisa that I was in Macross.”

“Why do you say that?” asked Claudia intrigued.

“Because he kissed me,” said Lisa in a rush.

“He what?” asked Claudia surprised.

“He grabbed me and kissed me,” said Lisa and she went a few steps away from Claudia before continuing, “Who on Earth does he think he is to come here and kiss me? Does he still think that I’m the idiot that I once was; the stupid girl who fell in his net over and over again?”

“I.. I don’t know Lisa.”

“Claudia I’m married now, I have Thomas now and he came to town and grabbed me and kissed me. Can you imagine what could have happened if Thomas had appeared there at the airfield?”

“I… Did Thomas know everything about Rick?”

“Parts of it… not all the story, but that doesn’t matter. The fact is that Rick thinks he can come here and still play with me after all these years.”

“I don’t think that is what he thinks Lisa.”

“And why are you so sure of that?” asked Lisa angrily.

“Because he loves you…”

“Come on Claudia, you know that is not true. The truth is that he discovered that his relationship with Minmei would never work out and he started to look for the only other choice that he ever had, the one that he thought would leave everything for him.”

“No Lisa, he really loves you,” interrupted Claudia, this time raising her voice.

“Why do you defend him now? How can you believe what he said after all the pain that you know he caused me?”

“Because I have seen his pain too Lisa, and I know that this time he has suffered as much as you did then.”

“That’s not true Claudia, and even if he did suffer, he suffered because of him, not because of me.”

“Do you wanna know why he quit the RDF?”

“I know why. Because he never really liked it, because all that time he wanted to play the role of the hero and I guess that he got tired of it.”

“That’s not the reason.”

“And why should I even care about the reason for him leaving the RDF?” said Lisa and started to walk away from Claudia.

“He didn’t quit, he was dismissed from the service,” said Claudia and Lisa stopped immediately in her tracks, “because he became an alcoholic.”

“What?” said Lisa and turned to Claudia’s direction in shock.

“After you left, Rick started to drink. We should have noticed before, but none of us wanted to see the truth. In the beginning we thought that it would be something temporary- he was so frustrated and felt so guilty for your departure that we just forgave his behavior. But with time we just didn’t want to see that he was getting deeper and deeper into his depression. Then one day he crashed his plane in a populated area because he was drunk.”

“I… I don’t know what to say.”

“He was in rehab for half a year and when he left the center he started looking for you, like it was the only thing that kept him clean, and after a while he started his flying circus.”

“But Minmei, what happened with her?”

“They broke up the same week that you left. She tried to get back with him numerous times, but he never listened to her. For some reason that none of us knows he just kicked her out of his life.”

“I can’t believe it, I.. I would have never imagined that Rick would become an alcoholic,” said Lisa so surprised that she had to sit down on the fence.

“I know, none of us imagined that,” said Claudia and made a pause, “after that I became really close to him. I guess in a way I took the role of an older sister, just like Roy was his older brother.”

“You were always good at listening to people,” said Lisa with a sad smile.

“Yeah, the bond between us became strong Lisa. That’s why when I said to you that he is truly in love, it’s because I have seen him. I have seen him about to fall again into a bottle every time that he was about to find you and he didn’t. I have heard the pain in his voice every time he told me some memories that he had about times that you two spent together and I have seen him cry when he remembered all the mistakes that he made,” said Claudia and sat next to Lisa.

“But what can I do Claudia?” said Lisa and looked at Claudia straight in the eyes, “I don’t love him anymore, I have my family now.”

“I know, and there is nothing that you can do Lisa, just be honest with him.”

“I... I in a way know how painful all this is for him, to realize that the person that you love is in love with someone else... I’ve been there.”

“Only with the difference that the person that you loved end up loving you back,” said Claudia with a bitter smile.

“But it was too late,” said Lisa and remained in silence for a long time, “I don’t know what to do Claudia, I don’t want to hurt him but no matter what I do he will be hurt.”

“It’s a no win situation,” said Claudia with sadness, “Rick always thought that if he found you, everything would be solved for the best, that you two would end up together and be happy ever after.”

“Dreams don’t always come true,” said Lisa seriously.

“I know. And as hard as it is, he must wake up from that dream.”

“He has to; he deserves to have a good life, to move on. No one can live with all that pain inside, I know that…”

“And I guess that is what you have to tell him,” said Claudia and put one hand over Lisa’s shoulder.

“But what if he falls again into alcohol?” asked Lisa with fear.

“He won’t, we won’t let him and even if he does it will not be your fault,” said Claudia.

“But no matter what happens, I will feel guilty.”

“But you aren’t, not if you are honest with him.”

“And I will be, there’s nothing worse than when people treat you with pity, even when it can be hard, there’s nothing better than the truth. It’s the only thing that in end makes you free. It’s the only thing that will allow him to start with his life again.”

“Yes and I know that Rick in the end knows that he has to move on, that you are happy now and that you have Thomas and Alex.”

“I hope so,” said Lisa and the two of them remained in silence for a long time, thinking.

“Life is full of surprises isn’t it?” said Lisa at the end.

“Tons of it, but everything happens for a reason,” said Claudia and smiled at Lisa, “now don’t worry about this more than you have, everything will solve itself sooner or later.”

“I know, I know,” said Lisa and stood up.“Why don’t we go back to the house? The girls are probably back from the clinic.”

“Sure,” said Claudia and stood up too and they started to walk to the house.

Lisa kept thinking what she should do about the situation with Rick. She knew that she would have to talk with him again, but the question was when, and if she should talk with Thomas about it. And the biggest question of all was what she would say to Rick; how would she talk to him without hurting him more than necessary. She couldn’t stop thinking about how she would have felt if she were in his place; about what she could have tolerated to hear from him if they where back in Macross and he was telling her that he would stay with Minmei. And she realized there where no good words for that. No matter what she said, she would break his heart, and that concerned her because no matter what, Rick would always be a part of her life even now that she was with Thomas.

The day went by fast, especially because she did a lot of activities with the girls. They went to the town with Alex to shop and then shared dinner with Thomas and some friends of his that where members of Doctors Without Borders who where about to make an emergency trip to South America.

So that in a way helped Lisa not think about what she should say to Rick, at least until she tried to sleep. It was at that point of the day that she couldn’t close her eyes and couldn’t stop the feeling of guilt about what had happened to Rick. She never thought that she could hurt him so much with her departure, that deep in his heart he loved her and that he loved her so much to the point of falling as deep as he had. How ironic life had been for both of them, always living in different times. When one was happy, the other was sad. But that was how life was and you just can’t fight destiny and her destiny wasn’t to be at Rick’s side. She had made her own destiny with Thomas and now Rick would have to find his, even if that meant that he would have to fall again; even if she would be the one that made him fall.

Rick was sitting in front of his window, looking at the sunrise. He hadn’t slept all night; his heart was too heavy to sleep. He finally had seen her, had held her and kissed her. But it hadn’t been as he had dreamed it would be in all these past years. It had been so cold- as cold as the weather outside, as cold as the first kiss that they had shared on Dolza’s ship. It had been as if she hadn’t been there with him, as if she had been miles and miles away.

He couldn’t stop thinking that maybe it was true, maybe she didn’t love him anymore and she was truly in love with this man. But how could he accept that? Even when he saw her and knew that she was alive and that was all that he had ever asked. Now he couldn’t accept the fact that she was with somebody else. And as selfish as it was, the fact that she was happy with another person was killing him. And the more he thought about it he realized how much pain Lisa had felt every time that he had talked about how happy he was with Minmei; how much he had hurt her over and over again. It made him wonder how he could have been so blind to not notice how much he was hurting her; to not notice that she was in love with him.

He finally decided to go out of his bedroom. Being there alone thinking was slowly driving him insane, driving him to the edge of falling again into his bad habits. He wasn’t ready to give up yet; he would try to fight again- one more battle.

So he went out but what he saw was even worse than being alone in his bedroom. There she was, walking in the downtown, with her baby in her arms smiling and playing. She looked so beautiful under the sun light and the reflection of the light in the snow. Her long hair free, just like when they were in Breetai’s ship, her cheeks a little bit pink because of the cold wind. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a pale green sweeter and jacket that matched the sweater. In her arms was the baby, covered in a huge white blanket, with a sky blue small hat. Around them there where the girls. Lisa was talking and smiling to them, like he had never seen her in Macross, as if there where no pain in her life.

And then he appeared with a group of people. Lisa and him looked at each other and smiled, then he got closer to her and softly kissed her and then grabbed the baby with care. The rest of the people saluted the girls and then Lisa held him. Just like that, they held each other with the baby in his arms and they started to walk again until they entered a restaurant. Rick just stood there looking at them without being seen. Slowly and painfully he started to accept the reality, the truth that was anything but what he had dreamed of. She was happy, but he wasn’t the man that was making her happy.

Lisa got up and went to have breakfast. For her luck, Claudia was in the living room alone. The girls were still sleeping in their bedrooms because they had remained talking with Thomas’ friends until very late, as did everyone else in the house.

“Good morning,” said Lisa when she entered the dining room.

“Good morning,” said Claudia.

“What are you doing up so early?” asked Lisa.

“Well, you can take the woman away from service, but you can’t take the bad habits of service out of the woman,” said Claudia and Lisa laughed. “I’m so used to getting up at 5.30 a.m. that I just can’t stay in bed passed that hour.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“And you?”

“I have to go and check on the horses,” said Lisa and remained in silence for a while. “Plus, I couldn’t sleep very well. I was thinking, you know.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” asked Claudia.

“Yes, but not here and not now,” said Lisa.

“Sure,” said Claudia softly.

“Why don’t we have breakfast and then go to check on the horses,” said Lisa.

“I would love to,” said Claudia and she understood immediately Lisa’s message.

When they finished having breakfast they went to check the horses. Lisa released them in the open field and started to walk with Claudia near the horses.

“I made a decision,” said Lisa finally.

“What did you decide?”

“I’ll try to find Rick and talk to him.”

“You have to be clear on what you are going to say to him.”

“I tried last night hundreds of times to have a speech ready, to have clear what I’m going to say to him-but that won’t work, you now me,” said Lisa and Claudia just nodded. “You know how difficult it is for me to say those things, to express what I feel.”

“I know Lisa. What are you going to do?”

“I’ll be honest with him, for the first time in my life I’m going to be completely honest with him, even if it takes me the entire day to finally say what I have to say, being honest is the best thing that I can do.”

“And you are right honey, a prepared speech never works,” said Claudia tenderly.

“I know, and for some reason I feel like I owe it to him to be honest. I left Macross and only left a letter for him. Maybe if I had talked with him, things would have been different, maybe I wouldn’t have hurt him so much and by now he would have been happy with someone.”

“And above all, he needs to hear the truth from you so he finally can close this chapter in his life.”

“Yes, I know. That’s why I’m doing this,” said Lisa and gave a sigh.

“You are doing the right thing, Lisa, as hard as it is. But remember, no matter how things turn out it won’t be your fault.”

“It’s easier said than done, you know,” said Lisa with resignation.

“I know,” said Claudia and put one arm around Lisa’s shoulder.

“At least I have you girls and Thomas.”

“Did you tell him?”

“I couldn’t, not because I don’t want to, but because last night we were talking about him leaving for South America.”

“He’s going there?” asked Claudia with a little concern.

“Yes, the foundation needs him and the last time that we where in that area, there was so much to do, so many people needing help.”

“But now it is a really a dangerous area,” said Claudia.

“I know, with the malcontents and with Leonard...” said Lisa and she shrank her shoulders.

“You don’t want him to go?”

“No. But I can’t ask him not to go, he loves his work and I know how much he is needed there. It’s just that I’m worried.”

“And it’s the most natural thing Lisa; you love him.”

“I wish I could go with him, but we can’t leave Alex alone.”

“I knew you would say that, you are definitely not the kind of wife that would stay at home,” said Claudia with a smile.

“Of course I’m not. This will be the first time that we aren’t going together on one the foundation trips, at least since we found Alex.”

“Found?” asked Claudia with suspicion.

“I mean had,” said Lisa nervously and took a few steps away from Claudia.

Claudia remained in silence for a while and then her mind started to work faster and faster.

“What did you mean by found, Lisa?” asked Claudia and she started to walk in Lisa’s direction.

“Nothing, I just said it wrong.”

“Lisa, what are you not telling me?”

“Nothing, Claudia. I don’t know what you mean.”

“Lisa, you know that you can trust me.”

“Of course I trust you,” said Lisa and looked at Claudia in the eyes.

“Then what are you not telling me?” said Claudia and after a pause she added, “wait a minute, the pictures that you showed me from the last time you were in south America- they were taken less than a year ago.”

“You are wrong. Those pictures were taken long ago,” said Lisa, turning her back to Claudia.

“Lisa don’t lie to me,” said Claudia feeling angry and hurt.

Lisa remained in silence for a long time until she finally turned to face Claudia with her eyes full of tears. “What do you want me to say? That Alex is not my son?” said Lisa.

“What?” said Claudia not believing what she had heard.

“He is not… he is not my son,” said Lisa as she sat down and covered her face with her hands.

“Lisa I didn’t… I mean... I’m sorry,” said Claudia and sat next to Lisa.

“No one knows it, not even Thomas’ parents,” said Lisa and she looked at Claudia again.

“But how?” was all that Claudia could say.

“One night, when we went to South America the last time, we received an emergency call from a small village that was close to where we were. The village had been devastated. According to the official report malcontents had done it, but I know Zentraedis and I know that they didn’t do it. It was Leonard. He did it to show the people how powerful he was and how he would punish everyone that tried to help Zentraedis. All the houses were burned. Most of the children, women and men were dead or seriously wounded. It was one the worst war scenarios that I have seen,” said Lisa and her voice start to break, “we were removing rubbish from a house that had been burned when we found this pregnant woman, barely alive. She was bleeding badly so Thomas started to treat her right there. More doctors came to help Thomas, but there was a point when there was nothing that they could do for her, so they focused their efforts to try to save the baby. She wasn’t more than six month pregnant and the chances of the baby making it were minimum, but Thomas took the risk and did a C-section,” said Lisa and this time her voice broke completely. “They did all they could, but there was nothing they could do and the mother died when they were doing the surgery. I remember seeing Thomas covered in this woman’s blood from head to toe in his attempt to save her, but he couldn’t,” said Lisa and she cleaned her tears and cleared her throat. “And then Thomas handed the baby to me so the other doctors could treat him, because he was extremely weak, and was injured because of the injuries that the mother has suffered. In that moment, in that same moment when I held him in my arms I knew that he was my son,” said Lisa and tears started to fall down her cheeks. “I felt this urge to protect him, to love him. I knew in my heart that I had to take care of him no matter what.”

“Lisa,” said Claudia and her eyes where full of tears too.

“Thomas was attached to the baby too. He went to check on him a few moments later and he realized that the condition of the baby was critical. He looked at me and said, ‘Liz, take the plane and take him to the clinic. Now. It’s his only chance.’ Thomas had never done that, and we have seen patients in critical condition many times, but this time was different. And of course I didn’t hesitate, I took all the medical supplies that I needed and went to the airplane. Thomas couldn’t come with us because he was really needed there, and before I realized I was back in here, in Thomas’ clinic, trying desperately to save that baby’s life,” Lisa took a deep breath and then continue, “The next days were horrible. Alex was critical, barely alive, but the medical staff did an amazing job. I spent all the time in the NICU. I just couldn’t leave him alone. Thomas arrived a couple of weeks later and we stayed by Alex’s side in turns, and sometimes together, until one day when Alex finally didn’t need the incubator anymore a new nurse came close to us and told us, ‘I knew that your son would recover. He is a very strong little man’. She smiled and walked away and then Thomas and I looked into each other’s eyes and we finally understood what our hearts had understood a long time ago- that Alex was our son and we loved him,” said Lisa and wiped her tears. Claudia did the same, she had been there, in South America and had seen entire families destroyed by incidents with malcontents and even she had wanted many times to adopt one of those orphans that were so devastated by that conflict, that were so scared, but she didn’t. And there was Lisa, a box full of surprises as always. She did have the courage to give a family to one of those kids.

“So, we didn’t even have to talk about it. We loved each other and we had been living together for almost two years, so getting married was just a formality for our relationship. We got married in a beautiful and quiet ceremony and then we started the paperwork to adopt Alex and by his five-month birthday he was officially our son. As time went by I felt more and more happy with my decision. I love Thomas and he is the best man that I could ever have chosen to share my life. And Alex, he is just my sunshine,” said Lisa and shrank her shoulders and cleared her throat.

“I.. just don’t know what to say to you Lisa… what you did for Alex, is… is such a beautiful thing and no one ever will doubt that you are his mother. Even if his biological mother were alive, you are his mom. The way that you look at him with all this love … I’m proud to be your friend, I’m proud of you,” said Claudia with a broken voice.

“Just promise me that you won’t tell this to anyone. No one knows- not even Thomas’ parents. I know that you will think that they should know it, but Thomas believes that is not the time yet, that first we have to figure out if we ever will tell Alex that he is adopted.”

“Don’t worry Lisa, no one will ever know about this, not from me.”

“Thanks,” said Lisa and she and Claudia hugged each other for a while until something interrupted them.

“Hey girls, here you are,” said the voice of Sammie.

“Sammie,” said Claudia and she realized Lisa and cleaned her tears while she did the same.

“We were looking for you all over the property,” said Kim and then she looked at Lisa and Claudia, “Are you ok?” she asked when she noticed their tearful eyes.

“Yeah we are ok, just remembering old times,” said Claudia.

“We are getting old and all sentimental,” said Lisa and the girls laughed and sat next to them and started to talk about the old days on the bridge.

Lisa woke up very early with only one determination on her mind- to talk to Rick, and put an end to his torture. To finally have the closure that they both should have had the day that she decided to leave Macross, the closure that she needed to finally live the new life that she had in peace, and the closure that he needed to move on and start a new life, too.

So she went to the airfield and asked for Rick’s flying circus and the person that was in charge of the airfield gave her the flying circus location. Lisa drove in his direction and when she arrived at the place she remained in the car for several minutes, trying to think of how she would start to talk with him, trying to put together the right words.

When she climbed down from her jeep, she could see Rick a few meters away, fixing his plane. He was wearing his old orange flying suit and was covered in motor oil. She smiled, thinking that in all the years that had passed he hadn’t changed very much. He, in her eyes, was still the reckless young man that loved to do pirouettes in the air. But when he turned in her direction, she could see in his eyes that he wasn’t the innocent and enthusiastic young man that she knew once. She could see in his eyes the pain and the loneliness that she had once carried in her own eyes.

“Lisa, what are you doing here?” asked Rick with surprise and started to walk in her direction, cleaning the oil from his hands.

“I… we have a pending conversation….” said Lisa, avoiding eye contact.

“Are you sure?” asked Rick with caution.

“We never ended the conversation that we had the other day and I think that I owe you an explanation. After all, I do still care about you,” said Lisa and a smile appeared immediately on Rick’s face.

“And I care for you, too,” said Rick and stopped his tracks. “Could you wait for me? I’m going to change out of this and come back,” said Rick and started to walk in direction of his plane only to come back a few seconds later with clean clothes and his hair a little bit more combed.

“I’m back,” said Rick with a smile and stood next to Lisa, who started to walk. Rick immediately followed her.

“I think I should start from the beginning, by explaining to you why I left, I guess that the letter wasn’t enough…” Lisa was saying when Rick interrupted her.

“I never got the chance to read that letter. Minmei burned it before I got the chance to read it,” said Rick with sadness.

“She what?” said Lisa with surprise.

“She burned it. I never truly knew why you left, but I guess whatever explanation that you could have given to me in that letter couldn’t have dissipated the pain and the guilt that I felt when you left”

“It wasn’t your fault Rick, I left Macross because of me, because I needed to start over with my life. I realized that my life as Commander Lisa Hayes wasn’t making me happy, that I would never be happy if I stayed there. The memories, the things that would never come true, the responsibility… I just felt that I couldn’t take it anymore, that if I wanted to be happy, then I’d have to start over with my life. I had to leave, to escape…” said Lisa and stopped walking.

“I know that you don’t want to make me feel guilty, but I know that I had something to do with your decision.”

“Part of it. I saw you so happy with Minmei and I understood that we never could be that happy. If I stayed I would never be truly happy because I would always be wondering what would have happen if? I couldn’t take that anymore. I had spent the last 10 years of my life attached to the memory of my dead fiancé and I just couldn’t spend the rest of my life questioning why you chose Minmei or why you didn’t love me.”

“If you only have stayed for a few more days, you would have realized that I did choose you, that my heart had chosen you a long time ago.”

“But I didn’t and maybe that’s our destiny Rick. Maybe we weren’t meant to be lovers, to be together as a couple. Maybe our destiny was to be only friends,” said Lisa softly.

“I don’t believe that, I don’t believe that is our destiny. I don’t believe that after everything that happened between us, all that we can be is friends,” said firmly.

“But that is all I can offer to you- my friendship,” said Lisa and looked at Rick and she understood that this would be harder than what she had imagined. “I have to be honest with you and with Thomas. I have him now. He is my present and you are my past, but you will always be part of my heart. You were one of my best friends and I will always care about you, but I don’t love you anymore. My heart belongs now to my family; to my husband and my son,” said Lisa in the softest tone that she could, because she knew that her words were like stabs for him.

“How could you forget me?” asked Rick after a moment. “How did you let the love fade away? That love that you always said was so deep?” asked Rick with pain but above all the pain was the need of knowing how she had taken all those feelings out of her heart. He truly wanted to know if there was a way for him to forget her.

“I don’t know Rick… I just… did it,” said Lisa and made a pause, trying to find the words, if they existed. “I guess that the pure and honest love that Thomas felt for me made the love that I felt for you start to disappear. Then one day I woke up and you weren’t in my head and the memories and the angst of what happened between us started to fade away…” said Lisa, then remained in silence.

“I have tried to forget you, but I just couldn’t ... I still can’t,” said Rick and cleared his throat. The pain that he felt in his heart was reflected in the knot that didn’t allow him to breathe well.

“But you will… someday. But you have to accept first that there are things that aren’t meant to be… like us.”

“Do you remember me sometimes?” asked Rick even before Lisa stopped talking.

“Sometimes. There are things that make me think of you, just like there are things that make me think of Karl.”

“Does he know about me?”

“Yes,” was all that Lisa answered.

“Is there something that I could do to bring you back to my side? Anything? I’ll do anything for you,” said Rick, joking with the last words, expecting for some miracle, for some signal that would show him that he hadn’t lost her completely.

“Rick…” said Lisa with sweetness, “don’t do this, not again, don’t hurt yourself anymore, not like you have already done.”

“So you know it, you know that I become an alcoholic,” said Rick and gave her a sarcastic smile.

“Yes,” said Lisa and she bent her head, avoiding his gaze.

“But you don’t know why..” Rick was saying, but Lisa interrupted him.

“I do. In a way I tried to find comfort in the bottom of a bottle after Karl’s death. But it never worked, in the end it just made the pain worse…”

“Yes, that’s true,” said Rick and made a long pause as he walked a few steps away from Lisa and put his back to her. Then he put his hands in his pockets and shrank his shoulders. “I started drinking because I couldn’t take climbing into my VT and not seeing you on the other side of the commo screen. I started to drink to numb myself on every combat mission; to not feel the guilt of not seeing you there, to not deal with the fact that you weren’t there anymore, that I had lost you. But just like you said, it only made things worse. I started to have conversations with an empty commo screen. You were there looking at me, giving me combat instructions, telling me that you would never leave again…” said Rick and then he turned in her direction. “But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst was that I started to follow the orders that my imaginary Lisa gave to me. I talked with this shadow of you all day and you answered me. I lost my mind with you… that’s how much I love you Lisa,” said Rick with tears in his eyes.

Lisa looked at him for a while until she felt tears in her eyes, too, “ I don’t know what to say…I…” said Lisa and cleared her throat. “I’m sorry for having caused you so much pain, but I don’t regret the path that I took. But Rick, you got over that once with the help of your friends and you can get over this now.”

“I never got over it,” said Rick with a sad smile, “I stopped drinking, yes. But your ghost never left my mind. Every night before I fall asleep I talk to you. I tell you how much I love you, how mistaken I was in Macross. I tell you that now I’m 4 years, 8 months and 20 days sober. You are always part of my life, that’s how I know that I will never stop loving you.”

“Nothing last forever Rick, nothing. I’m sure that one day some woman will appear in your life and her sweet love will make you forget me. But you have to understand first that I’m not an option for you anymore.”

“My head knows perfectly well that you belong to your husband now, that you are happy with him now, that there’s no hope for me anymore; that I have to let you go. But my heart doesn’t stop loving you, and it makes me believe that I still have a chance. That maybe in the bottom of your heart you still love me, that you will always be mine…and you know that I have never been a rational person, my heart has always ruled my life,” said Rick and shrugged his shoulders.

“But you are not that kid anymore, Rick. It’s time for you to become the man that I always thought you would be. A man that thinks with his heart, but his heart is more prudent than what he thinks. And that heart would never hurt someone on purpose. That heart needs to find the person that makes it beat and also understand that I’m not that person…” said Lisa carefully.

Rick remained in silence for a while. “I don’t think that my heart will change its mind very soon… so I guess that I will have to do what you did… get away…”

“Are you sure?” asked Lisa with concern.

“I can’t stay here Lisa. I can’t stay here and see you have this dream life. Do you have any idea how much it hurts me to see you with him, with your son? To see you so happy with a man that is not me?” Lisa only nodded. “And the thing is that I love you and I couldn’t stand to see you suffer and if I stay I soon will start to wish that bad things would happen to you. Things that will break the happy life that you have. I love you too much to do that, so I’d better leave,” said Rick seriously and with honesty.

They both remained in silence for a long time until finally Lisa broke the silence and started to walk in his direction.

“Then there’s only one more thing to say,” said Lisa, “that you will always have a friend in me Rick. I will always remember you,” she said and put one of her hands on his arm. “Take care Rick, take care,” said Lisa and kissed him softly on his cheek. She started to walk away from him, leaving him alone in the middle of the forest with the wind hitting him hard on the face; the cold wind that was as cold as his heart now that he realized that this was the final goodbye between him and Lisa.

Lisa arrived home with a strange feeling in her heart. She felt her heart tight, full with angst but at the same time she felt relieved. She finally had put an end to one of the painful chapters of her life, a chapter that even when she had tried to deny it had been open for the last six years. She finally had the chance to say goodbye to Rick, like should have done in Macross. At that time the pain had been to big to face him and she had decided leave without saying goodbye. Allowing for that, there was always something that attached her to memories filled with uncertainty, with questions that were never answered, with the fear of the day that she saw him again. All the happy life that she had built, that she loved so much faded away and were replaced with all the pain again, wondering if she could fall under his charms again.

But that did not happen, she finally had the courage to look him in the eyes and tell him that she did not love him and to be honest. She felt liberated, as if from now on she could start to live her new life fully, without regrets, without questions. She could just live.

There was only one thing that would not allow her to be completely happy, and that was her concern for Rick. She knew personally how painful it was to be rejected, to have a broken heart and she would always feel guilty if something bad happened to him. But she also knew that it wasn’t her responsibility, she had done all that she could do for him and that was to be honest with him.

So when she faced Claudia and the girls that were together in the living room, she smiled to them honestly.

“Hi girls, what are you doing here?” asked Lisa.

“We were waiting for you, we have to leave urgently,” said Sammie.

“Why? What happened?” asked Lisa with concern as she got closer to the girls.

“Problems with the construction of the SDF-3. The council made some wrong decisions in our absence and the funds for the construction of the ship have been stopped,” said Claudia without hiding her anger.

“Those idiots. Especially Leonard, he took the benefit of our absence to make a special meeting and redirect some funds for the SDF-3 to his troops,” said Kim.

“I’m sorry to hear that, but Leonard has always been someone you can’t trust,” said Lisa.

“Yes, we know,” said Vanessa.

“So now we have to go back to try to fix it,” said Claudia.

“I hope you will,” said Lisa.

“We do too, but that means that we have to go,” said Sammie with a sad voice.

“Yes, our transportation will come to take us from the airfield here,” said Kim.

“Well then I will take you there, girls,” said Lisa.

“Thank you Lisa, we have spent the most incredible weekend here,” said Vanessa.

“Yes, it was so great to spend some time with you and with your family Lisa. We really appreciate it,” said Sammie.

“I loved spending time with you girls. I really missed you all,” said Lisa and she hugged Sammie who was closest to her, and then the rest joined the hug.

After some talk, the girls started to walk out of the house and into Lisa’s car. Lisa would take them to the airfield to wait for the helicopter that would take them to center of command of the RDF.

When the helicopter arrived, they said goodbye and promised that they would meet again soon. The last one to get into the helicopter was Claudia.

“It was really great to see you again Lisa. I really miss you, you know? You are my little sister,” said Claudia.

“And I miss you too. I miss your advice a lot,” said Lisa with a soft voice.

“So, did you talk to him?”

“Yes I did, I was honest with him and finally closed that chapter of life like should have done six years ago.”

“How did he take it?” asked Claudia with concern.

“I don’t know Claudia, probably not well… I mean there was no way that he could take this well.”

“Yes, you are right. How do you feel?”

“I’m fine, mysteriously I feel free. Nothing attaches me to that part of my past anymore. I have no more questions spinning around my head any more…” said Lisa and only smiled at Claudia. That smile was all that Claudia needed to understand that Lisa was truly ready to start her life again, to be truly happy.

“I’m so happy for you Lisa, really,” said Claudia and gave Lisa a huge hug.

“Admiral Grant, we are ready to go Ma’am,” said the pilot of the helicopter.

“Yes corporal, just a minute,” said Claudia and she looked at Lisa again.

“So we’ll be seeing each other soon?” asked Claudia with a smile.

“Sure, sooner than what you believe,” said Lisa and they hugged each other again and Claudia got into the helicopter. Only a few moments later it took off.

“Hi,” said Thomas when he got into Alex’s bedroom.

“Hi,” said Lisa who was putting Alex inside his crib. Thomas got closer to her and kissed her on the forehead and then caressed Alex softly on the cheek.

“Hi big boy,” said Thomas sweetly and Alex smiled at him.

“Too much work in the clinic?” asked Lisa.

“Yes, I have to get everything in place before I leave,” said Thomas and smiled at her.

“But I’m staying here, so if there’s any trouble I will take care of it.”

“I know,” he said and kissed her on the forehead again. “So where are the girls?” asked Thomas.

“They had to leave. There was trouble at the command center.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

“But they asked me to say goodbye to you and they hope to see us soon.”

“Me too, they are very nice people.”

“Yes they are,” said Lisa with a smile.

“Are you ok?” asked Thomas, getting closer to her.

“I’m better than ever,” said Lisa and smiled at him, then got closer to him and rested her hands on his chest. “It’s just that... today I closed a chapter in my life that I should have close six years ago.”

“You did?” asked Thomas with curiosity.

“Yes, and now I feel completely free,” she said and looked at him in the eyes and smiled.

“Then I’m happy for you. I’m glad that you finally closed that chapter of your life that caused you so much pain,” he said and Lisa looked at him in the eyes with a sweet smile. He knew without even asking that she was talking about Rick and he also didn’t ask how she had closed that chapter. All that he needed and all that was enough for him was her word that she had closed that chapter. His blind trust in her was one of the reasons of why she loved him, why she felt so secure with him, because she could be around him just as herself and he accepted her with all the good and the bad.

“Me too,” said Lisa finally.

“So would you help me now with my suitcase?” said Thomas with a smile.

“I’m not sure if I want to help you.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I don’t want you to go,” said Lisa and she hid her face from him.

“You don’t?”

“I mean I want you to go and help all those people, but I don’t want you to leave, to leave us alone… I would have loved to go with you.”

“But we can’t take Alex with us,” said Thomas with sadness.

“I know, I know is too dangerous to take him, but I would have loved to go with you, to be able to help.”

“I know,” he said and held her tight, “but I promise you that I won’t be there too long… you know that I’m going to miss you.”

“I know, I’ll miss you too,” said Lisa and they kissed.

“So are you going to help me or not?”

“Fine, fine you win,” said Lisa and after she gave a kiss to Alex she left the bedroom.

Lisa got up early. Today Thomas would leave with the rest of the Doctors Without Borders to go South America. So she walked around the house a thousand times, looking for things that he probably would need on his trip.

“Liz honey, really I don’t need all that,” said Thomas when Lisa arrived next to him with a polar jacket.

“You could need it,” said Lisa and then she flushed, “well actually this is the last thing that you would ever need there.”

“I have the same opinion.”

“Yeah I know.”

“Actually, I think its time to go to the airfield or the plane will leave without me.”

“The plane will never leave without you, you own the plane,” said Lisa with a smile.

When they arrived at airfield, the rest of the doctors were already there. Lisa took Alex out of the car covered in a huge blanket.

“I think I’m the last one to arrive,” said Thomas and walked in direction of the other doctors while Lisa waited for him next to the car. A few minutes later he came back to her side.

“Everything is ready, so I guess I’ll have to go,” he said with a smile.

“I guess,” said Lisa a little sadness.

“You big boy, take care of your mom, ok?” said Thomas with a funny voice that made Alex laugh.

“You take care out there, don’t do silly things.”

“You know I’d never do that,” he said seriously.

“Yes, but your will to help others doesn’t let you measure the risk.”

“And look who is talking about measuring the risk now?” said Thomas with a sarcastic but funny tone at the same time.

“Yeah, well now I’m a mom,” said Lisa with a smile and Thomas just hugged her tenderly.

“I’ll be fine,” he said and kissed her forehead. Lisa only smiled at him.

“I know.”

“I love you,” said Thomas looking at her in the eyes.

“I love you,” said Lisa and she kissed him.

“Bye, bye big boy,” said Thomas and took Alex in his arms kissing him on the forehead and then returning him to Lisa.

“Bye honey,” said Thomas and kissed Lisa again.

“Bye,” said Lisa and Thomas started to walk away.

She and Alex remained on the airfield for a while, waving goodbye to Thomas.

“Say bye to Daddy,” said Lisa to Alex and he waved with the help of Lisa and Thomas answered from the window of the plane. When the plane started its engines, Lisa got into her car and from there, she watched Thomas go away in the plane.

But Lisa wasn’t the only one who was at the airfield watching Thomas leave. Rick was sitting in the cockpit of his plane, watching from the distance how the family Devreaux was saying goodbye to Thomas. How Lisa kissed him and how she tenderly closed his jacket when she said goodbye. How she remained there with her son in her arms waving goodbye to him. How much he wanted it to be the one that Lisa was waving goodbye to. How much he wanted that baby in her arms to be their baby, not someone else’s.

Rick even imagined that it was him that was climbing into the plane, but that wasn’t true. The only company that he had now in his plane was a bottle of scotch that he was holding tight in his right hand. He knew that the alcohol wouldn’t make the pain go away. Even if it did make the pain go away, when the alcohol effect stopped he would feel the pain again. But he didn’t care anymore, he knew that the pain would never go away, that his heart would be broken forever, that no one would ever take Lisa’s place in his heart. Now there was nothing that gave him the strength to keep himself clean. All the hopes and the dreams that he had were gone… he had nothing.

And watching her there with her family, smiling … he loved her too much… too much to wish that something bad would happen to Thomas. If she was happy with him, which was the case, then he had nothing to do… there was nothing in the world for him anymore.

So he slowly and with a trembling hand started to lead the scotch bottle to his mouth until finally he drank a sip. As he drank, he could feel the pain get stronger and stronger. It hurt him to drink but no one cared for him anymore so nothing mattered… and then he started the engines of his plane.

Lisa woke up in the middle of the night with the sound of the phone and her heart beating faster and faster. She had a bad feeling about that phone call, so she slowly picked up the phone, but not without first giving a quick look at Alex, who was now sleeping in her bedroom and who remained asleep.

“Hello,” said Lisa when she finally picked up the phone.

“Hi Claudia, it’s great to hear you, how where things at the command center?” asked Lisa, more relieved when she heard the voice of Claudia.

“Claudia, what’s going on, why do you have that voice?” asked Lisa after a while.

“What? What is it?” asked Lisa nervously. She had this weird feeling again, this odd sensation in her stomach, and a cold shiver ran through her body after listening to Claudia’s next words.

“What? No …” said Lisa surprised.

“He can’t be dead …” said Lisa in a whisper.

To be continued…

Author’s Note: I’ll be waiting for you replies, or will took me as long as to write this to solve the mystery of who died!!!. So write me at Jo_anderson19ATyahoo.com or leave your opinion in the forum.

State = Continuará/To Be Continue

feedback = Sí/Yes

email = jo_anderson19ATyahoo.com