fanfic_name = Gotterdammerung

chapter = IV

author = Cicero Phelps

Rating = O18

Type = Alternative Universe

fanfic = Chapter IV

Rick took Lisa by the hand as they stumbled off the bridge towards the elevator. It was a quiet ride down two floors, and neither one of them had much to say, anyway. Rick just looked at Lisa in exhausted silence. Here, at last, was the woman he fought to rescue, within arms length, and looking beautiful through the streaks of carbon and sweat on her face. True, the flight suit was rumpled, and the lighting was bad; a warship on a war footing always seemed to have terrible lighting, and it was made worse by the generator being on light duty for a while, but Lisa's beauty outshone the deepest darkness of Hell itself, light or none. The doors parted, and the dim hallways led them on towards their new bunk, a room with a view of the sky and the stars. Rick picked his way over bits of litter and blown-out wall sections towards the door that offered sanctuary and respite against the dying city and the cares of the pilots and officers that served with them. Rick felt almost drunk with exhaustion as he slapped at the control that opened the door.
"After you, Milady," he slurred.
"Thank you, kind sssssir," she mumbled in reply.
He took her by the hand and aided her towards the bed, but she pulled away slightly. "First, I need a shower, Rick. Why don't you lay down and I'll join you in a bit?"
"Just holler if you feel like you're going to faint," he shouted back.
"I'll leave the door partially open to ease your mind."
"Good, I'll be waiting."
****
Lisa Hayes slowly removed the grimy flight suit she'd scrounged from the base in Seattle off her body, and discarded it in the corner of the bathroom. The shower was stainless steel, utilitarian, and forbidding, but the hot water sang to her sore muscles and her sleep-deprived brain like a tango stirs the blood of Latin lovers. She tested the temperature, smiled, and surrounded herself with cascading torrents of fresh, warm water. The chill of the bathroom reminded her of where she was, and what was going on, but the warmth of the water brought her back to the feelings of the man she loved. Rick Hunter.
She proceeded to eradicate the grime and muck of the past few days off her body, and watched the soap swirl it down the drain. The respite would only be temporary, of course; Maistroff and Howe would be back again, in greater numbers, and try to eliminate them. But the threat of annihilation didn't frighten her, oddly enough, because she was, once again, among her friends and surrogate family. Let Death try to steal their lives, she smiled grimly. That particular bill to pay would be dearer than their collectors would ever imagine.
She toweled dry and wrapped a long towel around her body. The scars on her forearms were barely noticeable now, and the welts on her back were noticeably faded away. She took pride in being able to take a beating and still live to tell about it. It'd been a long time since she'd been battered that badly; she and a classmate in 6th grade got into a fight over a supposed slight the other girl felt Lisa had made. Lisa got in a few shots before she was overpowered in an unfair situation that taught her a lesson she'd never forget.
******

Rick spent the whole time Lisa was in the shower just watching her every move. He was entranced by this goddess of a woman, her movements, her curves, her absolute confidence that oozed from her skin like a natural pheromone. It was intoxicating to be in the same room with her, and it absolutely blew his mind that she wanted him. He looked at her face, how the water just pooled on her forehead and dripped from her eyebrows onto her nose, and how the water ran across the sleek curves of her face, how her damp hair looked all wrapped in a towel. They locked eyes; it always amazed him how a simple look from her could freeze his breath and stop his heart. "Lisa," he stuttered.
"Yes, Rick?"
He rushed across the room and swept her up in his arms, twirling her around. "I'm so glad you're all right; I was afraid I'd lost you."
"I'd climb through twelve layers of solid rock to see you again, Rick. Never forget that."
As he set her down again, he looked into her eyes and danced her over to the bed. They locked fingers, then arms, then their bodies became entangled as if to meld their twin hearts into a larger, stronger heart, and the torrent of kisses hinted at the level of passion their souls could generate.