Robotech: What If...
Story 1 part 4

Day 2 continued....

Rick didn't bother to open his menu. "I'm not hungry Roy," he said stoically.
Roy opened up the menu and placed it in front of Rick, "You have to eat something. It's not going to do Lisa or anyone any good if you starve yourself," said Roy with some annoyance.
Max hid a grin behind his menu and watched as Rick looked over his menu once and then said, "Just give me a hamburger."
Roy and Max placed their orders and then the three men were asked what they wanted to drink. Both Roy and Max ordered a beer but Rick looked over at the bar, then back at the waiter and said, "Gimme a Scotch." The waiter took the menus and then the bartender brought over the drinks. Roy looked around and was glad that they seemed to be the only patrons in the restaurant, especially if Rick planned on having a few more glasses of Scotch.
Rick drank half his glass even before Max had had two sips of his beer. Rick cleared his throat, trying to get used to the taste of the Scotch. He had only drunk Scotch once before and remembered that it was strong, but today he didn't care, he needed something strong.
Max was telling Roy another story about Miriya and normally Rick loved to hear these funny tales, but at the moment he wasn't paying attention. He was thinking back to the time when he, Lisa, Ben, and Max were held prisoner on Dolza's ship. What an adventure that was. It gave him nightmares for awhile, but he was glad he went through the adventure, it taught him alot, not just about the Zentraedi, himself, his friends, but Lisa as well.
Rick finished his glass then ordered another one.
"Rick, don't you think you better get some food in your stomach first?" warned Roy.
Rick ignored the question and thought about the time when he and Lisa were stuck in a corner of a ship during a modular transformation. They fought for awhile, but as time wore on they found consolation in each other's company. They confessed that they 'liked' each other and were actually on the brink of kissing, but then the ship transformed back and they made their way back to their barracks. Rick wished they had kissed.
Rick's drink came and he downed half of it right away. Max and Roy traded looks and Roy thought he should take the opportunity to see what was on Rick's mind, especially now since he was loosening up.
Rick finished his drink and Roy asked, "How are you doing Rick? What are you thinking about?"
Rick ordered another Scotch and said with a hint of a slur, "Thinking about?? I'm thinking about Lisa of course. What else would I be thinking about?"
Roy shrugged, "I dunno, Minmei maybe, I dunno."
"Come on Roy, you've got to be out of your mind!" said Rick angrily.
"Whoa there tiger, no need to get mad, I'm not a mindreader or anything, how would I know you weren't thinking of Minmei, we did meet up with her just now afterall, and considering the way you fawn over her all the time, I just thought-" said Roy.
"Well for your information, I'm not thinking about Minmei," answered Rick, a little more calmly than before.
"Ok ok, I'm sorry. So what were you thinking about?" asked Roy, as he watched Rick drink another glass.
Rick rubbed his eyes and tried to think clearly, but he felt cotton-headed and couldn't concentrate. Max noticed that Rick was now starting to sway a bit and he checked the chair to make sure Rick wouldn't fall off.
Rick let out a short, drunken laugh and replied, "You know what I'm thinking about?? I'm thinking about the time me and Lisa got trapped together during that Monitor Transportation. We were wandering through the streets after we got out of the movie because Sammie sounded the alarm for the Monitor Transfloration and I was heading out of the theater.. You see, I tripped over someone and ended up grabbing someone's ass as I was falling. And what do you know? It just happens to be Lisa's ass! Ha ha ha! Wooooo. Damn! She's got a fine ass too!"
Max give Roy raised eyebrows. It was clearly evident that Rick was completely drunk, and they were expecting more candid comments to come out of his cottoned head.
"I should've kissed her you know, 'cause she is a pretty good kisser actually," slurred Rick.
"What about Minmei?" asked Roy.
"Minmei? Minmei? To hell with that selfish b---h! She only thinks about her self! She's such a tease," said Rick as he waved his hands around. "She's got me in knots all the time and she only comes around whenever she's bored or whenever she wants a favor. And she always seems to have a lot of guys around her, talk about not knowing how to commit to one guy. It's like she just craves the attention of guys...sheeeeeeyet," finished Rick as he loooked at his hamburger and was figuring out what he was suppose to do with it.
Rick had finished another drink and grabbed Max's beer bottle and started laughing, "Have you guys stopped to think about it? We are lucky guys aren't we? To have such wonderful, inspelligent, gorgeous, wonderful, did I say gorgeous? womens. Look at it, Max has the Quadrallono Queen, Roy's got Claudia, and I've got Lisa, I mean how lucky can us flydudes get huh?! Yeah!" Rick finished Max's beer and tried to set the bottle down but missed and dropped it on the floor. He tried to get up out of his chair and pick it up but he ended falling on the floor, face down. He rolled onto his back as Roy stood up and tried to help him but Rick waved his arms wildly again and slurred, "No no no, I'm fine, I can done it me-self."
Max realized that the scene was becoming less and less funny by the minute and quickly finished his food and then called for the check as Roy helped Rick up and got him settled back into his seat.
"You knowww, you know why I like Miss Hayes??" asked Rick, as he looked at Roy, then Max.
The two men shook their head and then Rick patted Max's hand and then Roy's hand and said, "As nice as you gentlemens are and how we are such good buddies and can talk about all sorts of things, it's not the same as talking to Lisa you know? I mean we talk about alot of things when we are working on flight schmedules and resports. She understands what troubles I go through and after Ben died she always called to check on me and see if I were ok and she even baked me a cake. Isn't that sweet?? What the hell did Minmei ever do for me? Nothing I tell you, the damn tease!"
Rick looked at his hamburger and managed to take one bite and then he looked at it and tossed it over his shoulder saying, "This sucks! It tastes like crap!"
Max went over and cleaned up the mess Rick made and then told Roy, "Listen, I think we better get him home soon. Also, I promised Miriya I wouldn't be out too long tonight."
Rick overheard and turned around in his chair, almost tipping over. "Hey Max, so you got the old lady waiting for you at home eh?? Whatcha going to do huh? HAH HAH HAH! I bet I know. Hah hah! Did I ever tell you guys about the time I had a dream about Minmei and Lisa fighting over me?? Hey, well what can I say, I'm just so darn cute, the women love me, me me me."
Roy and Max looked at each other and, although he thought he might not want to hear it, he askd Rick about his dream.
"Oh ho ho whoooo that was the bestest dream I ever had!" exclaimed Rick as he leaned back in his chair. "Linlei and Misa were fighting over me you know, and Lisa was mad because I spent all my time with Twinmei and so Lisa came over to my house and she knocked down the door and she and Minmei started this mean old cat fight and Lisa kicked Minmei's ass and kicked her out of the house!"
"And what happened after that Rick?" asked Max.
"That's the bestest part!" said the swaying Rick with a wink. "I'm not going to tell you. That's my favorite memories, all mine, private and personal. The best! I'll just say that 9 months later, Lisa had twins! Because we did it twice! And if we had done it three times, she'd have had triplets! Hah haha ha!"
Roy rolled his eyes, he had had enough and decided it was best to get Rick home ASAP. He and Max started pulling Rick up and Rick blurted out, "Do you know why I like Lisa? Because she's so f----n' purrty! And she's a hottie man! Sorry Max, Roy, but my Lisa is better than your women! And you know what else?? I think she likes me...yeap. Well what can I say, I'm a great guy!"
Rick's legs would not walk straight no matter how hard he tried and so Roy and Max had to support Rick's weight completely. After a rather quiet taxicab ride back to the barracks, Roy told Max to help him carry Rick into Roy's quarters, since he most likely had to keep an eye on Rick during the night. Roy's quarters were much bigger than Rick's and Roy didn't want a drunken Rick to wander over to Max's and disturb the Sterlings. Especially with Rick's uncontrollable ranting, Roy was afraid Rick might say something to upset Miriya.
Roy was helping Rick sit down on the couch and Rick started to fall, so Roy grabbed onto Rick's sleeve to try and catch him and ended up ripping it in the process. Rick heard the tear and not only had his sweater ripped, but so did his anger.
"You f----n' a--hole! This was the sweater Lisa gave me!" shouted Rick.
Before Roy could react, Rick hauled off and knocked Roy square across the left eye, then Rick lost his balance and fell down. He tried to get up but stumbled and Max reacted quickly and pinned Rick's arms behind his back.
"Let me go!!" yelled Rick as he tried to squirm free from Max's grasp.
Max held Rick securly as Roy got up, holding his rapidly bruising eye.
"Calm down Rick, dammit!" said Roy.
"Calm down?! Don't you dare tell me to calm down! Lisa's going to die because of me and you want me to f----n' calm down!! You ruined the sweater she gave me for my birthday, damn you!" shouted Rick.
Rick managed to stand still for a moment and then kicked backwards, hitting Max in the shin and causing him to let go of Rick, who immediately lunged at Roy and started pounding on his Roy's chest.
"She's gonna die dammit and it's all my fault! It's all my fault! Don't you understand?" said Rick. He shouted at first, but then started to be overcome by the heavy realization and broke down in tears.
He lay on his back and rolled back and forth from left to right, his hands clamped over his face, "I don't want her to die, I don't want her to die...I need her...Roy? Tell me she won't die...Roy?"
Roy knelt down near Rick, having never seen him in such a state before, it was very difficult to watch and Roy needed to clear the knot out of his throat before saying quietly, "Don't worry Rick, she'll be just fine. She won't die."
Rick nodded and removed his hands from his face and then rolled over on his side and stared blankly. Roy gestured to Max and the two men helped Rick over to the couch again.
"You just lie down for awhile Rick, you'll feel better after you've had some sleep," said Roy, trying to sound cheerful.
Roy walked Max to the door and Max stuffed his hands in his pocket and said, "I almost feel guilty for being able to go home to Miriya."
Roy shook his head, "Don't. Listen, thanks for all the help. I've got it taken care of. Go ahead and go home to that beautiful wife of yours."
Max nodded and asked, "You'll let me know if you hear anything right?"
Roy returned, "Of course. And why don't you stop by in the morning to help me with Rick. He may be shorter than me, but he's really strong. I don't know if I want to find out if I can escape from him again."
Max saluted then closed the door behind him.
Roy checked on Rick and then headed to the small kitchenette to get some ice for his eye. Roy was truly surprised by Rick's behavior. He had only seen Rick drunk once before in his life and even then it wasn't nearly half as bad as this. Not only that, Rick was in extreme distress over the situation with Lisa. Rick hadn't even been this upset when Pops had died. Roy poured himself some water and then went and sat down on a chair opposite from Rick.
Roy tried to make sense of it all. Exactly when did Rick fall in love with Lisa? All Rick ever talked about was Minmei. But from the sounds of it, Rick and Lisa had spent more time together than Roy originally thought. Rick mentioned that Lisa always checked on him right after Ben died, but Rick never mentioned it. As Roy thought about it some more, there were was a time or two when Rick did mention that he had talked to a friend and had felt better afterwards, but Roy was so busy and distracted that he didn't ever think to ask Rick who this 'friend' was. Now he assumed it must have been Lisa.
Roy pushed his blond hair out of his eyes and sighed. He felt as if he had failed Rick and Claudia somehow. He felt that he failed Rick by not being there to offer better and more advice when it came to Rick's confusion about the two women in his life. Roy also felt he had failed Claudia because it was his unspoken responsibility to push Rick in Lisa's direction. Lastly, Roy felt that he had let down Lisa most of all. They had been good friends for a number of years, she had even been his weapons officer and co-pilot of several months, and he felt as if he had neglected to take some time to sit down with her and ask her how she was doing every now and then. Maybe she would've even asked him for advice regarding what to do about Rick.
Roy felt helpless, everywhere he looked, it seemed that all his friends and loved ones were in some sort of pain. He decided he needed the one thing that he could turn to whenever he felt this way.
Roy wanted to see Claudia, he needed to see Claudia. Not just to talk to her about what happened to Rick, but to also hold onto her, thankful that she was alive and that she loved him.
Roy got up from his chair and went to check on Rick. From the looks of it, he had either fallen asleep, or passed out, most likely the latter.
Roy left a note on the coffetable, incase Rick woke up before Roy got back, and then changed his clothes, which wreaked of Rick's Scotch, and then headed off to the hospital.

* * * * * * *

"Doctor, are you sure you don't want me to tell him?" asked Captain Gloval, as he sat in the doctor's office, a bandage covering up a slight concussion.
"Thank you Captain, I think it is best if I tell him," replied Wells.
Gloval nodded and then motioned to the Communications tech.
"Sir, Priority One message coming from the SDF-1 on the high encryption line," said Admiral Hayes' aide.
"The SDF-1? But they know we are not suppose to have any type of communications right now..." said a confused Admiral Hayes. He wondered what could be wrong so he told the aide, "Go ahead and put it through."
"Yes sir."
Admiral Hayes looked at the screen and his heart started pounding and he felt a cold chill shoot from his head to his toes when he looked at the screen and saw his old friend Doctor Wells and Captain Gloval, a bandage around his head, standing side by side with somber looks on their faces.
Admiral Hayes pushed his chair back rapidly and hurried closer to the large screen in his office, "Tell me...tell me that Lisa is alright," he said, his voice panicked and his breathing rapid.
Doctor Wells stepped forward and said in a serious tone, "Nicholas..."
"Oh god Jake, tell me my little girl is ok," said Admiral Hayes, his eyes wide with fear.
"Nicholas, she got out of surgery a little while ago," said Wells quickly, to alleviate Hayes' fear that his daughter might be dead.
Hayes let out a huge sigh of relief, but the panic was still evident in his voice when he asked, "How bad is it Jake?"
Wells thought for a moment, should he take the risk of giving his friend false hope, or tell give into his doubts. Never give up hope... He promised that to his wife and daughter, he had to keep his promise.
"Well, I think that given some time, how long, I don't know, it's possible she can make a complete recovery," said Wells, with determination in his eyes.
"What happened?" asked Hayes in a monotone.
"Direct hit to the bridge. She was the one closest to the breach. She lost a lot of blood, she's still in very critical condition right now," reported Wells.
Admiral Hayes gritted his teeth and seethed, "Dammit Henry! I knew I shouldn't have let her onto that damned ship! It's just too dangerous up there!"
Normally, Gloval might have had an explanation to try and calm down the Admiral, but Gloval could understand how upset Hayes was and so Gloval decided to remain quiet.
"I have to see her. I'm coming up there," said a determined Hayes.
Gloval nodded his head and said, "We have a good window, two days from now. We will send a shuttle group down to pick you up. It is best that way, because our pilot have had more experience with the Zentraedi than yours do."
Hayes waved his hand angrily, "Forget the shuttle group, just send your best VT pilot to come down and pick me up. It's too risky for a shuttle group right now. At least one plane won't raise too much attention, so just send a VT."
"Very well. We will send you more details in the morning," replied Gloval.
"Send them to my office directly. For security reasons and also because I know I'm going to have a hell of a time convincing the rest of the Council that I have to go up there for a few days," said Hayes distractedly.
Gloval nodded his acknowledgement and listened quietly as Admiral Hayes said, "Jake, you have to tell me, she's going to make it isn't she? She'll be fine right?"
Wells hesitated for a moment then replied, "Nicholas, we'll do everything we can to make sure she has a full recovery. Please, I'm your friend, trust me."
Hayes nodded, "I do Jake, I do. Thank you, for saving my little girl."
Wells shook his head, "Don't thank me Nicholas, thank a man named Lieutenant Rick Hunter."
"Rick Hunter?? Rick Hunter...I've heard that name before...wait, he was the one that rescued Lisa from Mars Base, and also the one that helped her escape off the Zentraedi ship... He's a VT pilot right?? Send him down here, he can fly me back up and that way I get the chance to thank him in person," said Hayes.
Wells and Gloval looked at each other with some worry then Wells replied, "I don't know if he's up to it Nick. He was pretty upset today."
"He still has two days, maybe he'll be better by then. I am specifically requesting him as my pilot," replied Hayes, sounding a bit adamant.
"Why don't I keep an eye on him and if I think he's up to it, we will send him. If not, then we'll send Fokker, how's that?" asked Wells.
Hayes thought over the situation for awhile and then said, "That's fine. Jake, can you send me the report of her injuries? I need to know how bad it is."
Wells looked down at the floor and thought for a moment, then replied, "I will type up a summary right now, and have it sent to your office, give me half an hour."
Admiral Hayes nodded his head and thanked his friend.
Wells and Gloval signed off, and Hayes walked back to his desk slowly. He sat down in his chair and picked up the framed photo on his desk. It was a picture taken when Lisa was about 8 years old. She was standing in the middle, her mother on her left, himself standing behind her on the right.
Hayes thought back to the last time he had seen Lisa, a year ago, when she and Gloval came down to report the latest Zentraedi findings. The Council had decided to refuse the aslyum to residents of Macross and Lisa was furious. Her father had sent her a letter explaining his actions and he had tried to speak to her afterwards as well. He had even made reservations for dinner and he had called her and left a message for her to have dinner with him so they could talk, but the last words he heard from her were in the Conference Room. She didn't return his calls and didn't show up for dinner and returned to the SDF-1 without even saying goodbye. She had no idea how much that hurt him.
"Admiral, shall I tell them we have been delayed?" asked a man who had just entered the office.
"No T.R., tell them I won't be attending tonight. I have some personal business to take care of," replied Hayes quietly.
"Sir?" asked T.R. Edwards.
"I have to go up to the SDF-1, but don't tell them that yet. I'll know more about my departure plans tommorrow. In the meantime, you go on ahead, and don't forget to keep an eye on Jennings. I agree with you Thomas, I think he's up to no good, so keep an eye on him," said Hayes as he continued to stare at the photograph of his family.
"It will be my pleasure Admiral. Jennings will incriminate himself in due time, I am sure of it. And I would like to be there when it happens," replied Edwards a bit venomously.
Hayes' mind wandered and he thought back to an event over 25 years prior...
"You know, the day she was born was the happiest day of my life..." mused Hayes, a distant look in his eyes.
"I'm sorry Admiral?" asked Edwards, not quite sure what Hayes was talking about.
Hayes swiveled in his chair a bit, turning away from Edwards, and said somberly, "SDF-1 took a direct hit to the bridge today...Lisa was on duty. But you know, she made it through the surgery, she's always been a damn good fighter."
Edwards was genuinely at a loss for words, knowing how much Lisa meant to the Admiral. He finally managed to say, "I'm sure she will be alright Nick. If she's already amassed three Purple Hearts, two Silver Stars and two Bronze Stars, then I'd say she can make it through just about anything."
Hayes drew an uneven breath and said, "I hope you're right. I can't lose her, I just can't..."
Edwards heard the despair in Hayes' voice and was trying to think of something to say. Of all the people and superiors he ever came in contact with, Admiral Hayes was the only one who Edwards even remotely liked. Hayes recognized Edwards' abilities when everyone else had passed him over and because of Hayes' willingness to take a risk with Edwards, Edwards was on road to a promising career, one he felt he rightly deserved, so he felt he owed some type of debt of gratitude to Admiral Hayes.
Edwards remained silent for a few moments then finally said, "Nick, I'm sorry about your daughter."
"Thank you Thomas," replied Hayes quietly.
Edwards turned around to leave and added, "If there's anything you need, just let me know," then he walked out the door and headed to the nightly dinner meeting attended by the Council members.

After sitting in his darkened office for forty minutes, reliving all the good times he had shared with his daughter, Admiral Hayes received the medical report from Wells. He stared at the document for a moment and thought to himself, 'It can't be that bad can it? We've been through this three times before, and if she got shot five times in Belgium and still made it through, surely she can make it through anything...'
Nicholas Hayes read the doctors report and then read it a second time, then turned off his computer and the small desk lamp, put out his cigarette, and pulled out one of the many small photoalbums that he kept in his bottom desk drawer. The one he chose was an album of pictures of Lisa and her mother, just about two years before her mother died. The set of pictures were taken while the family was on vacation at Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard.
He had already lost his beloved wife, something he still had trouble getting over, even though she had died over a decade ago, and now being faced with the possibility that he might lose his daughter as well, the only family he had left, was just too overwhelming for him. He put his head down on his desk, on the photoalbum, and cried like he had never ever cried before in his life.

* * * * * * *

Day 3....

Rick woke up dazed, confused, and with a splitting headache. He felt as if someone had smacked him on the head with a bat, several times. He could taste a nasty aftertaste in his mouth and he rubbed his eyes to try and get them to focus.
After finally getting the room to stop spinning, Rick saw Roy asleep in a chair, snoring loudly. Rick had no idea why he was in Roy's quarters or why he felt so hung over. He looked at his watch and it was 9am. He wracked his throbbing brain to try and at least remember something, anything, but it was no use, so he reached for the remote control on the coffeetable and turned on the television.
"And now to recap our major story. The main bridge will be down for at least a weeks worth of repairs. Teams are working round the clock to get the bridge back into working order. In the meantime, all controls normally handled by the main bridge are currently being controlled at the auxillary bridge and the Captain assures us that there is no loss of productivity or operating capacity. The Captain himself, having suffered a concussion, has assured us that every member of the highly-valued and very important bridge crew has survived and, with the exception of Commander Lisa Hayes, should be back to work in a few weeks, if not sooner." The news announcer then started reporting about a story having to do with the water supply and Rick quickly turned off the television and sat back and tried to think about what he had just heard.
Roy started to stir and then he sat up and looked at Rick.
"Roy! What's going on here?? How come I feel like s--t? How come I'm here and what's this about the bridge crew being injured?? What happened to your eye?" asked Rick, utterly confused.
"You don't remember anything?" asked Roy, scratching his head.
"No...I can't remember anything right now, what happened?" said Rick.
Roy exhaled loudly then said, "Listen, I'm going to go take a shower, you wait here and don't go anywhere alright? I promise I'll clear things up for you."
"Alright, but at least tell me what's all this about the bridge crew being injured?? Is everyone alright?? Why did the announcer mention Lisa in particular??" asked Rick, in an almost demanding tone.
Roy stared at Rick, "Damn...you really don't remember anything do you?"
Rick returned a dumbfounded look and Roy pulled a cigarette from his pocket and then his lighter and lit it, puffing on the cigarette twice before saying, "Ok, listen and don't get all panicked when I tell you this ok?? Can you do that for me?"
Rick nodded his head.
"The bridge suffered a direct hit yesterday, everyone is alive, but some are more injured than others...Lisa is the worst off. You were there when they pulled her out and you stayed with her during the surgery. She's still in critical condition now," explained Roy.
Rick's mouth dropped open and he wracked his brain, desperately trying to remember something, anything at all.
"We all had had a long day, and you were pretty upset, so afterwards, you, me, and Max went to get something to eat, but you ended up having too much to drink. We brought you back here and you passed out," continued Roy.
Rick closed his eyes and tried in vain to remember, finally it all started to come back to him. He remembered seeing the angry look on Lisa's face, then the shot at the bridge, then holding Lisa's hand in the elevator, the rush into the operating room, the doctors telling him that they were loosing her and that Rick had to help Lisa fight. Then Rick remembered the flatline tone. That tone rang so loud in his mind that he covered his ears.
'We're losing her!' shouted the doctor. That, along with the flatline tone now alternated in Rick's consciousness. He felt sick, he felt dizzy, he couldn't breathe... 'We're losing her!' ....'Happy Birthday Rick' he heard Lisa say, then he heard the flatline tone again and the doctors shouting and then Lisa's voice again and then the flatline tone and suddenly Rick jumped out of his seat, his hands still covering his ears as he shouted, "Stop it dammit, stop it!!!"
Roy walked carefully towards Rick, who now had a wild, almost crazy look on his face.
"Easy there Rick, don't worry, everything's going to be ok," Roy said calmly.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Flashback ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

'Hello Rick, this is Lisa. I...I..uh... was wondering if you'd like to meet at the coffeeshop instead of the mess hall when we go over those flight schedules today.'
'Sure Lisa, the coffeeshop beats the mess hall anyday,' replied Rick, delighted with Lisa's suggestion.
'Ok then, I'll meet you at the usual place in about an hour,' said Lisa cheerfully.
'Great, I'll see you then,' said Rick, unable to keep from smiling as he hung up the phone. He couldn't get over how well they were getting along this particular week. Roy was busy and so was Max, so Rick found himself spending time with Lisa. The day before they had had dinner together in the mess hall and had a great conversation about old classic movies. After Rick and Lisa parted company, Rick found himself thinking about Lisa for the rest of the evening. He had turned on the television and watched a Minmei special but as hard as he tried to concentrate on watching Minmei, images of Lisa would come back to him unbidden. It confused him a great deal, but he welcomed the distraction from having to hear Minmei go on and on and on about herself and her career. He didn't feel guilty about thinking about Lisa either, and it surprised him.

Rick entered the coffeeshop and saw Lisa sitting at a small table. As he took his seat, a waitress came over and put down a piping hot cup of Espresso with whipped cream on top, just the way Rick liked it. Rick thanked the waitress as did Lisa, and Rick realized that Lisa must have told the waitress to be on standby with Rick's drink.
Rick took a sip of his coffee then looked across the table to see that Lisa was watching him. When his eyes met hers she quickly looked down at the table, but a smile formed on her face slowly.
Rick found himself smiling as well, studying Lisa's smile, and commented, 'This is a whole lot better than that noisy, stuffy, mess hall.'
Lisa let out a light laugh then looked up at Rick briefly and then back down at the table again. Rick couldn't understand or get over how demure Lisa could be when they were alone. They would fight like mean cats and dogs over the comm but when he was alone with her and they were on good speaking terms, she reminded him of a very shy teenager sometimes.
Lisa took a sip of her coffee then reached down for something on the floor and then put two small bags on the table and wore a huge grin as she looked at the puzzlement on Rick's face.
'This one is yours,' said Lisa as she pushed one of the small bags towards Rick, 'and this one is mine,' she finished, as she pulled the other one back towards her.
Rick looked at Lisa and she laughed. Her eyes were bright with excitement as she told Rick, 'Go ahead and look inside.'
Rick looked in his bag and pulled out a stack of DVDs. As he filed through the boxes his eyes grew wider and wider until finally he exclaimed, 'I don't believe this, where did you find these?'
By now Lisa was smiling ear to ear and she replied, 'I had this morning off, so I went on a little expedition and finally found the one and only video store that had those. Apparently, the owner had them hidden away, but I managed to talk him into parting with them.'
Rick looked at the DVDs again, still amazed. They were the movies they had talked about at dinner the day before. Rick had told Lisa that several of them were his favorites and that he couldn't find them anywhere. Rick looked at Lisa and could not help but stare at her. Her smile lit up her entire face and Rick was possessed with the notion that her eyes seemed like sparkling emeralds. He realized again, like so many other times before, that Lisa was beautiful.
'Now you can spend the entire weekend watching movies,' said Lisa cheerfully.
Rick continued to stare at her for a while longer and then smiled back at her. 'So what's in your bag?' Rick asked.
'Oh, check this out,' said Lisa as she put down her cup and dug into her bag. 'I also managed to find a few movies that I had been looking for as well, particularly this one.'
Rick took the box from Lisa and looked at it, 'Horse Whisperer. This was the one you told me about yesterday,' said Rick as he read the story synopsis on the back of the box.
'Yes, I can't believe I found it,' said Lisa with a nostalgic smile.
'Tell you what, I think we both have this weekend off, why don't we have ourselves a little film festival over in one of the rec rooms on the third floor?' suggested Rick.
Rick didn't think that Lisa's eyes could get any brighter, but they did, as she shook her head and said, 'That sounds great Rick, I would like that very much.'

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ End Flashback ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The little film festival that they had planned didn't happen, because the very next day, they got into a huge spat over protocol and didn't talk to each other (aside from work related issues) for over a week.
'We're losing her!'
Roy had a calming had on Rick's shoulder but Rick dashed away quickly before Roy had time to react. "Wait, Rick, come back!" shouted Roy as he took off after him. When he got to the hall he could see Rick already far down the hallway, still blazing a trail. Roy ran his hand through his hair then let it plop down at his side and decided not to give chase.

* * * * * * *

"Let me see her dammit!" said Rick angrily. He still had a pounding headache from his hangover and he was in no mood to argue with anyone.
"I'm sorry Lieutenant but she is still very critical," explained Wells sympathetically.
"Can't you just let me look through the window or something? I'm not leaving here until I see her," said Rick steadfastly.
Wells put his hands in his pocket and thought for a moment, then said, "Come with me Lieutenant. We stil are not allowing anyone into the room, but you can come into the ICU."
Rick nodded his head in determination and followed the doctor into the elevator.
After some moments of silence, Wells said, "I don't think this is my place to tell you this, but we talked to Admiral Hayes last night and he will be coming up to the SDF-1 tommorrow. He declined the shuttle group and asked only for a VT to bring him up. I mentioned that it was you that helped save Lisa and he immediately requested that you be the pilot to bring him up here."
Rick, still suffering the aftereffects of his binge from the night before, shot the doctor a glare and said, "Why did you tell him I saved her?? I didn't save her, I'm the one who put her there in the first place for crying out loud!"
"Calm down Lieutenant. You can't be entire certain it is your fault. I suggest that you should get over who's to blame and instead focus on helping her recovery. You can't go back and change what happened, so please look forward instead of back," replied Wells.
"Easy for you to say, you're not the one with the guilty conscious," retorted Rick.
Wells looked at Rick for a moment then said, "I know all about a guilty conscious. My wife and daughter were in Macross City the day of the first Zentraedi attack. They were there because I asked them to meet me for lunch, but I was delayed and was still on the SDF-1 when the city was attacked. They died and I lived, and now I have to live with that survivor's guilt everyday, so don't tell me I don't know about a guilty conscious."
Rick looked down at his feet, his face burning with embarrassment, "I'm sorry," he mumbled.
The elevator door opened and the two men headed down several corridors and then through a set of double doors that lead to the Intensive Care Unit.
Rick had been here before. Not only had he himself been a patient on this unit, but he had accompanied and visited many a fellow soldier here. He hated to come to this place, the air of death palpable at every turn.
Wells led Rick to an isolated area in the corner of the large unit and Rick knew it was where the most seriously wounded were. He felt sicker and sicker with every step.
Wells stopped in front of a small window and picked up the phone that was near the door, "This is Wells, there's someone here who wishes to see the Commander Hayes, please open the curtain."
The curtain opened and Wells told Rick that he would be at the nurses station. After Wells left, Rick walked slowly towards the window. He saw a very stark room that had nothing except the bed and one chair nearby. He could not really see Lisa's face because she had an oxygen mask on and there were numerous machines and monitors surrounding her. He surveyed the scene some more and realized that she was hooked up to a respirator, meaning that she could not breathe on her own.
Rick stared at the monitors and watched the ventilator machine pump up and down and had to turn away after several moments, his eyes and heart not able to stand the sight any longer.
He felt faint, and he thought that his legs might give out from under him, but he forced himself to turn around and look through the window again. 'She's there all by herself. It looks so lonely in there, no one should be alone at a time like this,' thought Rick.
He turned around to head back to find Wells, to see if he would let Rick into the room.

Wells pondered Rick's request for a moment, then decided to allow his request. "First you must scrub down and put on a hospital gown, cap, boots, and gloves. We cannot risk her getting an infection because there's no way she would be able to fight it off. You don't have a cold or any type of sickness right now do you?" asked the doctor.
"Does a hangover count?" asked Rick tiredly.
"No, it doesn't. Very well, follow me," said Wells, and then he led Rick to a washroom.

After getting washed up and into the required clothes, Rick quietly walked through the door to Lisa's room and went over to the side of her bed. He looked down and was slightly surprised to find that her face was relatively unblemished, save for the few bruises and cuts he had seen when they first pulled her off the bridge.
The monitors beeped and blipped and he had to forcibly tune them out of his mind.
His hands rested on the siderail of her bed and he just stood there for a long time, staring at her, his mind replaying all the good times and bad times that they had been through.
Finally he looked behind him and saw the chair and pulled it next to the bed and sat down.
Rick sat motionless for a few moments, not sure what to do, then he slowly and carefully took hold of Lisa's hand, being careful not to jostle the various IVs. Even though he was wearing gloves, he could tell her hand was cold. He wished the doctors weren't so paranoid about germs so he could take off his glove and be able to actually feel her hand. He stared at her face for a long while, hoping that her eyes would flutter open and he would see that emerald sparkle once again, but they remained closed and her whole being remained still and silent.
Finally, he decided to speak, so he cleared his throat and tried to sound as cheerful as possible.
"Hey there Lisa, it's me Rick. I just thought that I'd come by and see how you were doing. Look, heh, I'm wearing the sweater you gave me for my birthday. It's pretty worn out now, I wear it all the time."
Rick paused and waited, but still silence and stillness.
"Well, I...I don't know if I ever really told you how much I appreciated this gift...and everything else you've...uh...done for me...you know, like all the times you'd listen to me whenever I needed someone to talk to or when I had an idea about something and you backed me up..." Rick paused again, the words were getting harder and harder to speak, and his deep emotions were starting to take over.
"I...I don't know why we argue so much...I really don't, and I wish we wouldn't argue so much... because I really have a great time when we're together and aren't arguing... and I'm really sorry about the fight we had before the bridge was hit... in fact, if it weren't for me being such a jerk and making you go look up the fuel capacity in the manual, you probably wouldn't be this injured... I feel so bad about all this, I really really do, and I'll...never be able to forgive myself." Rick looked at Lisa again and wondered if she could hear anything he was saying.
Rick heard nothing except the sound of the monitors and machines.
"I...I want you to know that I would trade places with you right now without thinking about it...I wish it were me in your place right now...I know you probably don't believe me when I say that, but I'm telling you the truth. You...you have become very important to me...and I don't know what I'd do...if you weren't in my life..."
Rick leaned his head against the side rail, unable to continue. He truly didn't know what he would do if she weren't in his life anymore.
He sniffled and then continued, "I think you're the most intelligent, courageous, sharp-witted woman I've ever met. And and you're very beautiful too. I never told you how much I love your smile and how your green eyes hypnotize me sometimes..."
"When...when you get better then maybe we can go out sometime...you know, like on a date or something...I heard the Macross Orchestra is great, and I think it would be nice to get dressed up and all...I've never seen you dressed up...I bet you look stunning, and...I'd be so proud and honored to have you by my side... oh s--t, that must sound like I'm trying to show off to the other guys or something, no, I mean, I think you'd look great, but that's not why I like you, well, I mean, not the only reason why I like you. We always have something to talk about and we never have a dull moment together and I enjoy your company very much..."
Rick sighed and sat back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. Lisa seemed so devoid of any signs of life it was as if she already dead. And what if she did die, what would he do? How would he go on? Because, next to Roy dying, the second worst thing that could happen to him would be if Lisa were to die. He thought about it some more and realized that even Minmei's death wouldn't hurt him as badly as Lisa's death.
Rick sat back up and scooted his chair next to the bed and gripped Lisa's hand more firmly and said, "Now you listen to me, you're going to get better alright? And you're going to get better really soon and when you do, well, I'll come over and check on you every day and if you want, I will stay with you too. Because...you can't leave me, dammit. Do you hear me? Lisa Hayes do you hear me?? I'm not going to let you leave me. I know it sounds selfish of me but the fact is, I need you in my life. I need to know that you'll always be there to listen to me and give me advice and encouragement. I know that Roy and Max can do that too but it's not the same dammit, it's just not the same..." The tears rolled down Rick's face but he kept his voice steady and resolute. "And I promise you that things will change, I will take the time to listen to you, just like you listen to me...and I'll try to be more patient and less arrogant so that way we won't get into so many fights...and I'll do anything, anything at all, whatever you want...just don't... just don't die on me...please don't die!"
Rick looked at Lisa again and waited for a full minute, but she remained still and silent. Rick could no longer stand it anymore and quickly stood up and said in a choked up voice, "I have to go. I promise I'll come back again later." He grasped her hand one more time then let it go and leaned over to give her a kiss on the forehead. He hovered over for a few seconds more, then turned around and walked out of the room.
Rick closed the door behind him then leaned with his back against the door and covered his face with his hands. He felt so helpless and he couldn't ever remember a time in his life when he felt such despair.
"Lieutenant," said Captain Gloval.
Rick stood up straight instantly and saluted. Gloval returned the salute and asked Rick if he could speak to him for a moment. After walking to the small waiting room, Gloval turned to Rick and said, "From the look on your face I guess she's still the same."
Rick nodded his head and then wiped his eyes.
Gloval sighed and continued, "I have a request to ask of you, but you do not have to do it if you don't feel up to it."
"Is it about flying Admiral Hayes up here?" asked Rick.
"Yes, I guess Doctor Wells must have mentioned it to you," replied Gloval.
"I don't know why you guys told him that I saved Lisa's life, I didn't," said Rick, shaking his head.
"But you did Rick," said Gloval.
Rick held his tongue to keep from snapping at Gloval. Couldn't these people understand?
"You did save her," affirmed Gloval, "and you saved her twice before. I guess Nicholas wants to show his appreciation by entrusting you to be the one to fly him up here. He probably wants to talk to you and get to know you better."
"I don't think any of you understand-" protested Rick.
"No, you are the one who doesn't understand Rick," retorted Gloval, "listen, let's not get into this now, all I want to know is if you will fly Admiral Hayes up here or not."
Rick sat still for a moment and thought about it. It's the least I can do for her, I suppose. She has only mentioned her father briefly a few times, but then again, I always talked so much about myself she probably never got the chance to tell me about him.
"Alright, I'll do it. It's the least I can do. And, I think I need to get back into my plane to clear my head and think things through," replied Rick.
"Very good, I'm sure the Admiral will be pleased. Check with me later this evening for the final flight schedule," said Gloval, then he turned around and headed back towards Lisa's room.

* * * * * * *

"Doctor Wells, I have the reports on Lisa," said Jean Grant as she walked into Wells' office.
"Very good Jean, please sit down," said Wells from behind his desk.
"Internal bleeding seems to be in check, respiratory function remains the same, cardiac function has improved slightly, but..." said Jean with a hint of apprehension in her voice.
"But..." said Wells, prodding Jean to elaborate.
"Neurological function has decreased by about five percent," said Jean quietly, as she looked down at her hands folded on her lap.
"Damn. That's not good. Not good at all. This could be our worse nightmare come true... Get the neurological team assembled for a meeting sometime today so we can do a consultation," said Wells with agitation.
"Yes doctor," replied Jean before heading back to her office to make the requested phonecalls.

* * * * * * *

"Khyron, you deliberately disobeyed orders one too many times," boomed Breetai's angry voice, "therefore you have been temporarily relieved of duty and will be confined to the brig on Azonia's ship for a duration of two months."
"You cannot do that to me!" shouted Khyron.
"Nonesense, it has already been done," smirked Azonia as she watched Khyron and Grel being fitted with wrist and leg shackles.
"This is unacceptable, I will protest this with Dolza!" yelled Khyron in fury.
"Dolza is the one who ordered the punishment Khyron," replied Breetai.
Khyron growled but said nothing.
"Come now Khyron, it is only for two months," said Azonia in an arched voice.
Azonia waved her hand and Grel and a kicking and shouting Khyron were hauled away to the brig.
"He really did it this time. The bridge was nearly destroyed. We must wait for them to repair it, it must be repaired to the way it was or the Protoculture weapons will not function the way they should, and the ship would not be nearly as useful to us," said Breetai as he looked at Azonia on the viewscreen.
"Agreed. I will order all my ships to standown for a two-week period. Is that enough?" asked Azonia.
"Yes, I believe that is sufficient. So it is agreed? No attacks whatsoever on the ship. However if they continue heading towards their planet, we might have to come up with some plan of action. But we will worry about that if the time comes. That is all," said Breetai, and then he blanked the various commanders off the viewscreens.

* * * * * * *

"Hey there tall, blond, and handsome," said Claudia as she watched Roy walk through the door.
Roy smiled as he sat down on the chair next to Claudia's bed and replied, "Well, it seems our little patient is feeling better today."
"A whole lot better than yesterday, and not so drugged out either," said Claudia as she held out her hand to Roy.
Roy took her hand and kissed it, then said, "I stopped by last night, but you were sound asleep. You were snoring away, so I figured that was a good sign."
Claudia rolled her eyes and Roy laughed and remarked, "Oh come on, you know I never pass up a chance to get in a dig about your snoring."
Claudia laughed lightly and said, "Ok, fine, I got a few stories or two about your snoring that I could go around telling."
Roy shrugged and reclined in his chair, then Claudia exclaimed, "Roy?! What happened to your eye?!"
"Oh...this...it's a long story," said Roy as he patted his sore eye and bruised cheek.
"Did someone hit you?? Did you get into a fight again??" asked Claudia with a motherly tone.
"No, I didn't get into a fight exactly...this shiner here is courtesy of my little brother Rick," said Roy with a slight nervous chuckle.
"What happened?" asked Claudia. She looked at Roy and he seemed hesitant and his cheeful demeanor changed into one more serious. She knew this so well and knew that Roy was bothered by something.
"Tell me," she said as she squeezed Roy's hand.
Roy exhaled loudly and began his recap of the previous nights' events.
"Well, Rick was really upset yesterday after Lisa got out of surgery. I mean he was really shell-shocked. So Max and I took him over to get something to eat and Rick ordered a drink, and then another, and then another..."
Claudia held up her hand, "Waita minute honey, I thought you said Rick never drank."
"He doesn't. But last night he was so upset that he drank about 3 Scotches and half of Max's beer," returned Roy.
Claudia huffed, "Roy, why did you let him get drunk?"
Roy ran his hand through his hair then replied, "I don't know. He was just so upset I didn't know what else to do."
Claudia sighed, "We already have Lisa with a bit of a drinking problem, we don't need Rick starting too. Can you imagine if both of them were drunk and ran into each other?"
Roy remained quiet and Claudia asked, "Ok, so how did you get that black eye?"
"Well, when we were at the restaurant, Rick was drunk, but he was a rambling, silly drunk. However when we got him home, I accidently tore the sweater he was wearing, it was that cornflower blue one that Lisa gave him for his birthday. Once that sweater ripped it was like something ripped inside of him too and he got mad and violent and hit me...I'd never seen him like that before...ever."
Claudia stared straight ahead, trying to picture the scene, then said, "I just can't picture it. I didn't think he cared that much about Lisa..."
"Yeah, same here. It really took me by surprise, and this isn't just because of guilt either," remarked Roy.
Claudia looked at Roy, waiting for him to elaborate.
"He really babbled about her alot when he was drunk, and if you ask me, it was his subconscious talking. I don't even think he remembers what he said last night, and if I told him, he probably wouldn't believe me right now," mused Roy.
"What did he say?" asked Claudia, feeling quite curious.
"Ohh...my. Well, first of all, he went on and on about what a hottie he thinks Lisa is. He also talked about Minmei and how she was such a tease and even called her a b---h," said Roy with a small laugh.
"No way! He called his precious Miss Macross a b---h?!" exclaimed Claudia with surprise.
Roy shook his head, "He sure did. Called her a tease too, and compared how Lisa was better than Minmei. Then he told us of a dream he had about both Minmei and Lisa."
"Uh oh...I don't know if I want to hear this..." said Claudia with dread.
Roy shook his head, "No don't worry, he wouldn't tell us the details. But he said that Lisa and Minmei were fighting over him and Lisa won and kicked Minmei out of the house and that after that Rick got Lisa pregnant with twins."
Despite her throbbing headache and aching mid-section, Claudia laughed for quite some time.
"I was surprised too. It seems his attraction to Lisa is more stronger than we thought, not just emotional but physical as well," added Roy.
"Well, I'll be...but...did he say he loved her?" asked Claudia, searching Roy's face for the answer even before he spoke it.
"No," said Roy shaking his head. "I think he's probably just too scared and confused to admit that right now."
"Hmm...but if he didn't say it even if he was drunk, then maybe he really doesn't love her..." pondered Claudia.
"I don't know, I still think he does, but that the notion is just so overwhelming, that even his conscious is afraid to admit it," offered Roy.
Claudia sighed, "I hope you're right."
"I hope so too," said Roy, "So...now, as for you and me...do you think the doctor would get mad if I kissed you?"
Claudia smiled, "Well maybe, but I won't tell."
Roy clapped his hands together, "Oh yeah!" he exclaimed, before leaning over and kissing the love of his life.

* * * * * * *
Admiral Hayes had informed the rest of the Council that he would not be attending the morning meeting but that he would be at the dinner meeting. Luckily, his absence from morning meetings was not an uncommon occurrance and no one made a fuss about him not being present. This allowed him time to make preparations for his departure for the SDF-1.
He had pretty much finished all his arrangements by mid-afternoon and now found himself with some free time on his hands.
He pulled out some old home movies and spent a good several hours just sitting on the couch, smoking and drinking glasses of wine and reliving old memories. After he finally shut off the television he sat and stared at the wall as he thought about how things were between him and Lisa at the present time. They were not on good terms and it pained him greatly. He knew he made mistakes in the past and for most of them he had tried to apologize to Lisa, but she wouldn't give him the chance. He wondered if there was anyway to make her realize just how much he loved her. He had tried to be the best father he could, especially after Lisa's mother died, and for all his over-protectiveness, his motive was purely to watch out for Lisa, not to control her, but apparently she didn't see it that way.
He was eager to see his daughter and even more eager to get the chance to talk to her and hope that she would finally give him a chance to explain himself to her and that she would hopefully finally listen to him and love him like she used to.
There were only two wishes Nicholas Hayes ever wanted, and they were not to be rich and famous and important like he was now. All he ever wished for in his life, in it's current state, was that his daughter be happy and that she love him.
Nick Hayes sighed and realized he had to momentarily shelve his current concerns and try and figure out any counter-arguments he might need when the Council was told that he would be leaving to stay on the SDF-1 for a few weeks.
'They have to let me go see her,' he thought to himself. 'If they don't...then I'll resign...because nothing is going to stop me from being by my little girl's side, especially when she needs me the most.'

to be continued.........

next time: a very Admiral Hayes-centered chapter :)

=========================
Authors notes:
Thanks to everyone for the reviews and help with Admiral Hayes' name. Having had half the people tell me it was Donald and half the people tell me it was Nicholas, I decided to go with Nicholas, because it sounds more distinguished and Admiral Hayes looks like a Nicholas. And because everytime I hear the name 'donald' I always imagine Donald Duck. LOL! So I wouldn't be able to write any Admiral Hayes scenes very effectively if I always thought of Donald, as in Donald Duck. :)

To pangeman: Please post/write your story!! Just because I wrote mines first and/or it's similar to yours don't let it deter you. Please post it!! I want to read it, especially if it's another Rick-Lisa fic!! Cheers! :)

This story has become a monster and is looking like it will be much much much much longer than I had intended. I guess the phrase 'short story' just doesnt exist in my vocabulary. LOL

I was very busy this weekend and will be a bit busy the rest of the week so I haven't even started on my To the STars chapter 21 yet! Boohoo!!

I hope this part here that you just read is not too disjointed, I didn't get a good chance to sit down and write all the way through, but rather got a half hour here and there. I woudl much rather get a whole afternoon to sit and just do nothing but write, I think the story flows better when I get a chance to do that. But I wanted to get this part posted ASAP because I don't know when I'll get the next part out, I really want to start on the To The Stars chapter 21. Whew! Writing two stories in different timelines is fun, but sometimes confusing! LOL!

Thanks to those people who have posted new Rick-Lisa stories or chapters, yeah!!!! And to those who have stories out there in their head, please write them!! Or, at least, if you dont want to post them publically, send them to me so I can read them!! LOL!