chapter = Chapter VI

author = Cicero_Phelps and Knights Templar

Rating = AP

Type = Action

fanfic = Chapter VI

“He did what?!?” the Trio squealed in delight when Lisa told them about the kiss.

“Yes, you heard right,” Lisa said, still slightly starstruck. She still felt the tingle on her lips, and the scent of his aftershave, though diminished by sweat from the combat of early that morning, was still strong enough to stay with her as she lay back on the couch in the common area of the room, and that scent brought the hint of potential for the future.

“Lisa, honey, are you okay? I mean, you’ve been through a lot in the past 72 hours,” Claudia asked, with sisterly concern.

“I’m fine, Claudia. This isn’t my first near-death experience, you know,” she said, her tone light, but her emerald eyes haunted by the memory.

“I don’t mean that,” Claudia responded. “I mean, it’s only this morning when you found out about Karl going AWOL, now you’re trying to act like nothing’s wrong?”

“I guess, Claudia, that I’ve been slowly making peace with this possibility for a long time now, but never wanted to tell myself the truth, and now that I have time to reconcile myself to it, I don’t want to,” Lisa said, teary-eyed and not willing to continue.

Vanessa and the girls all gathered around Lisa, gathering her in a group hug as Lisa gave herself over to tears and buried her face in Claudia’s shoulder. Claudia enfolded her “little sister” in her comforting embrace for several long moments, enough for her to get her tears back under control.

Just as Lisa grabbed some tissues and dried her eyes, the phone rang. Sammie grabbed for it, answering, “Black Pearl cadet barracks, Cadet Porter speaking.”

Her eyes went wide for a moment, motioning for Lisa to take the phone. “Who is it,” Lisa asked.

“Your father, Lisa,” Sammie said, and handed Lisa the phone.

“Hi, dad,” she said. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, Lisa dear, just fine,” he replied. “I’m actually standing outside your building, right here on the quad.”

“You’re where,” she yelled with surprise.

“Yes, I’m right outside; I didn’t want to barge in, I didn’t want you ladies to be underdressed for the occasion,” he quipped.

“Daa-ad,” she sighed, exactly as she did when she was a teenager.

Donald Hayes became ‘dad’ again, instead of ‘sir’. “I’m on my way up, Lisa.”

“Sure, see you in a few moments, dad,” she replied, then gave everyone a look that said, “hide the booze and hide the dishes.”

The ladies scrambled to make their abode more livable and presentable. Then, Admiral Hayes knocked on the door, and Lisa greeted her father and welcomed him into their communal living quarters. “Nice decorations,” he commented non-commitally.

“Thanks, dad,” she said, smirking. “But I’m willing to bet my commission you didn’t come over here from Fleet Command to inspect the wall hangings.”

“You’re right, Lisa. I came to invite you ladies out to an evening of dinner and dancing tonight. I felt that you girls deserved it, after what you did to help save the Akagi.” he said with an expansive, contagious smile.

Vanessa, Kim, and Sammie all giggled, Claudia smiled, and Lisa stammered out her thanks. “Just one question, Admiral,” Claudia said.

“Please, I’m off duty, call me ‘Mr. Hayes,’ Claudia. But I’ll guess what your question is, and yes, Lieutenant Fokker will be attending the dinner tonight.”

Claudia’s face lit up faster than sunrise on Mercury, then she settled down and brought her emotions back under control. “Thank you for the good news, sir. Please pass my compliments along to Lt. Fokker when you see him next.”

“I will, indeed, Claudia. And,” Admiral Hayes said, moving towards the door, “I’ll see you ladies tonight. The car will be in front of your dorm at 1830 hours. Dress casually, but classy, and be ready for some fun. If you have dates, they’re more than welcome to attend, as well.”

The door closed, and the Trio all gushed and giggled. “Maybe we ought to call up those Air Force guys,” Sammie smiled. “A few of them looked really dreamy.”

Vanessa joked in a semi sing-song voice, “It’ll give you a chance to finish what you started with Rick, Lisa.”

Lisa felt herself turn bright red, saying, “Quiet, guys, my father’s still outside somewhere.”

“Oh, stop being such a wet blanket, Lisa,” Claudia said, obviously glad that Lisa had found a new man to be interested in. “You’re young, you’re beautiful, and you’re single. Live it up, girl; you won’t get too many chances for it after graduation.”

Kim was faster on the draw, however, and was already calling the men’s barracks…

**********

Ben was closest to the phone when it rang, which gave Rick a brief respite from the ribbing they were all giving him after he told them he had kissed Lisa. They tagged him with names like “Ladykiller,” and “Social Climber,” the second name coming from Ben, himself, after they learned Lisa was an Admiral’s daughter.

“Peanut gallery, which nut do you want,” Ben said in greeting the caller, gathering a shower of pillows from the guys on the couch. “Hey, guys, cease fire, there are ladies on the other end of the line!”

The couch crowd cheered, and Ben smiled, then spoke again, “We’re being invited out to dinner, guys.”

“Where to, dude,” Max asked.

“Some Japanese/American fusion restaurant over north of the Harbor. We’re all invited, Lisa’s father is taking them out to celebrate their first combat mission, and they think we deserve some of that credit, too, for some strange reason,” he finished with an arrogant smirk on his face.

Rick’s face twitched momentarily; dinner with Lisa, he thought. Great; now that I’m crushing on her, I have to go meet her dad, too, and look like an idiot.

“Tell them we’ll be there,” Rodney said. “I hear the food is excellent, and the music is great.”

“Not to mention your assessment of the waitresses, bud,” Alan teased.

Rick rolled his eyes, though he was clearly enjoying the idea of possibly seeing Lisa again. “What time do we have to be ready?”

“1815, dress is casual but classy,” Ben replied. “We’ll be escorting the young ladies to dinner, guys. What do you think?”

They all yelled their agreement to the idea, and Ben relayed their readiness to Kim. “So it’s a go, doll,” he said.

“Whatever,” she replied, and he could imagine her rolling her eyes on the other end of the phone.

“Catch you then; bye for now.”

“Bye,” she concluded, and then hung up.

*******

Around the appointed hour, Rick looked at his sport coat for the hundredth time in the last few minutes. “Stop it, will you,” Max said. “You’re making me nervous.”

“It’s not every night you get to dine out with the daughter of an admiral,” Rick said.

“Listen to the man; ‘dine out’,” Ben joked. “This place will be hopping on the dance floor, and you’ll be able to scope out some primo chicks. This isn’t really a fancy dining place, Rick. It’s fancy enough to need a sport jacket, but relaxed enough where you don’t need a tie. Just relax.”

Rick smiled, but looked at his shoes. Being single again was new to him, but the feelings, raw emotion, that Lisa had evoked in him was invigorating, as if someone had fed his lungs helium instead of oxygen; he was feeling lighter than air, nervous and excited and brave and shy all at once. He felt like he could take on the whole world before dinner, and yet he was nervous about going to meet Lisa and her father for the main course. What if he didn’t measure up? What if he stuck his foot in his mouth and looked like an ass?

Alan slapped Rick on the back, hard. “Lighten up, dude. We’ll all be drinking and partying, probably even the Admiral will loosen up a bit. Don’t knock yourself out trying to not look stupid.”

“That’s not who I’m afraid of embarrassing myself in front of, Alan,” Rick muttered.

Rodney rolled his eyes. “You mean that brunette from the motel? Relax; you’ll do fine.”

Rick, though, wasn’t so sure. The name “Hayes” rang a distinct bell in his head, though it had taken him the better part of a few days to determine why. Pops had told him of an acquaintance named Don Hayes that he had made back in ‘Nam, on the carrier his squadron, “Aces and Eights,” had been stationed on. They used to be the best of friends, but got into some sort of falling out after a mission Pops had led resulted in the death of one of their mutual friends.

He shook himself out of his reverie as they piled into the military Jeep that served the cadets as their ride, and drove over to the ladies’ dorm so they could escort them to dinner, discussing who would be paired with whom as they went.

******

Alan was the first to the door, and was floored by what he saw. He was afraid he had overdone the chivalry thing by buying flowers, but now that he saw his date for the evening, he was glad he did. Standing at the door, waiting for the guys to arrive, was one of the ladies (he thought her name was Vanessa), standing in the doorway. At 5’4, she stood about chest high to him normally, but, as a final compliment to her outfit for the evening, she was in heels, and thus was able to look him in the eye. She wore a cobalt blue blouse, knee-length black skirt, and, it appeared, she was bare legged for the evening, which was already heavy with moisture that hinted at forthcoming rain.

“Um, hello,” he stammered. “I’m Alan, nice to meet you.”

“My name is Vanessa,” she said, as he reached for her hand, and kissed the back of it by way of an elegant greeting, and then offered her the flowers he had clutched in his left hand. She offered him a bemused, shy smile as she accepted the flowers and rushed inside to put them in water.

“That one’s mine,” she winked at Kim and Sammie.

“That’s ok,” Sammie said. “I’ll take the next tallest one; he’s kinda cute.”

Kim just giggled and pointed at Ben. “I’ll take him, he’s handsome, too.”

Vanessa herded her friends out onto the quad, introducing them to their companions. “Sammie, this is Rodney, and Ben, I think you know Kim already, right,” she teased.

The other gals appraised their dates with a critical eye, then linked arms and walked back to the car. Rick looked at the doorway, hoping to be the first of his friends to see Lisa in her outfit for the evening.

Then, she appeared, a vision of beauty, every inch the definition of that over-worn analogy. Her brunette locks came down to her shoulders, her emerald eyes shone with the glint of the setting sun, accenting the teal top and clingy white pants that exhibited her curves. Rick reminded himself of his gentlemanly obligations, offered her his hand, and escorted her to the curb, as a nice large limo pulled up.

“I guess this is our ride,” Lisa deadpanned, marshalling them into the car and off to dinner.

AN: It’s been a loooong time since we updated, sorry. We were trying to develop some backstory. Hope that the revelations will work for you. Enjoy; read and review!

State = Continuará/To Be Continue

feedback = Sí/Yes

email = Lightsaber01ATHotmail.com