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At Rick's urging Max and Miriya left the hospital to be with their daughter. Four hours had passed since Lisa went into surgery, and Rick was getting more nervous by the minute, pacing and occasionally glancing at the TV. Every channel was showing minute-by-minute coverage of the evacuation of Macross City and the rescue operations on the remains of the SDF-1. Reports stated that most of the crew escaped, mostly with minor injuries. 9 crewmembers were still missing, 5 were confirmed dead. The bodies of Admiral Gloval, Claudia, Vanessa, Sammy and Kim were found in the remains of the bridge.
Lisa's picture occasionally appeared on the screen and a newswoman reported that she had been rescued from an escape pod, and was in critical condition at the base hospital. Speculation was already running rampant as to why Lisa was the only bridge officer to survive. Was it because of her relationship with Admiral Gloval? Was it because she was the "chosen one" as Captain of the SDF-2? Had they simply run out of time?
Rick angrily turned off the television and walked back to the couch. The bridge video data recorder would answer all their questions as to why. As if it mattered. How dare they question her survival at a time like this?
Then Rick did something he hadn't done in a long time. He prayed.
God, please, don't let her die like this. I love her so much. I promise I'll treat her right – make up for everything. Please…."
His thoughts were interrupted when an older female Dr. in scrubs walked into the room and sat down next to him.
"Captain Hunter, I'm Dr. Leonard, the trauma surgeon. Lisa made it through the operation just fine. She lost a lot of blood, but she's stable."
"So she's going to be all right?"
"Yes, I think so. We'll have to monitor her in ICU for infection and more bleeding for a couple of days, but barring any complications she should make a full recovery."
"Thank God," sighed Rick. "When can I see her?"
"In an about a half an hour or so. She is on her way to the ICU now, on the fourth floor. Make sure the nurse in the ICU has your number before you leave tonight, and we'll call you if there's any change in her condition."
"Thank you, Doctor."
"You're welcome, Captain," As Rick and the Doctor stood up and shook she couldn't help noticing that the young man looked exhausted. "After you see her you should go home and get some rest."
Rick nodded and smiled at the Doctor as she left the room. Go home and get some rest, he thought to himself? He wasn't even sure he had a home left, or if the area was too "hot" to return to. And rest…even if he had somewhere to go how could he get the events of the day out of his mind long enough to rest? Most importantly, he promised Lisa he would be there for her when she woke up.
After having a cup of coffee and a stale donut from the vending machine Rick worked his way up to the ICU Unit where Lisa was. As soon as he stepped through the doors he was flooded with memories and emotions – none of them pleasant. He had spent time in this place himself, twice, and had visited countless others. Most came home. Some didn't.
He took a deep breath and asked the nurse at the desk to direct him to Lisa's room. "She's in room 9 on the left. She's just starting to wake up."
Rick stopped in the doorway when he saw that yet another Doctor and a Nurse were examining Lisa. The Doctor was flashing a light in Lisa's eyes, and the nurse was adjusting her IV. "Lisa, can you hear me. You're finished with your surgery and are in the ICU. You're doing fine. Can you open your eyes for me?"
Why is this so hard, Lisa thought to herself? Her eyelids felt like they had sandbags on them, and she was so, so tired. Why wouldn't they just leave her alone?
"Come on, Lisa. We need to check a few things and then we will leave you alone, I promise. But you need to cooperate."
Go away….
"You can come in Captain Hunter."
Rick? Lisa's eyes fluttered open, and the Doctor chuckled. He had seen this before. "Have a seat. I need to run a few tests and then I'll leave you two alone."
After making sure Lisa was comfortable, the Nurse left telling Rick that visiting hours were ending shortly.
Rick thanked the Doctor and sat down next to Lisa. She rolled her head to look at him and whispered a weak, "Hi."
Rick reached over and put his hand on Lisa's forearm.
"Hi."
"Have you, have you heard anything, did anyone else….?"
Rick knew what Lisa was asking. She had been holding out hope that maybe, just maybe someone else had survived. "No," he answered quietly, "not from the bridge, Lisa."
She nodded. She knew, but she just needed to hear it again. It wasn't just a bad dream.
"I'm so tired, Rick."
"I know. It's okay. Just sleep. I'll be here."
Lisa fell back asleep and Rick leaned back in the chair sighing deeply. He looked at his watch – it had been over twelve hours since Lisa showed up at his door that morning – and since that moment everything had changed.
He closed his eyes for a moment and thought about the time Lisa had come to see him here – in the very room next door.
Flashback
"Hey! Lisa! I thought you said you were too busy to come back. Why the long face? What's wrong?"
"It's…. it's Roy. He's dead, Rick. He was wounded in the battle this morning, and died about two hours ago. I'm sorry."
"What? Roy's… No!"
Lisa sat down on the bed next to Rick and put her arms around him. She didn't say anything for a long time. She just held him and let him cry. When Rick finally began to calm down, she pulled away a bit and said, "I know how close you and Roy were, Rick, and I am so sorry. " Rick looked up at Lisa and realized than she had been crying along with him. Lisa, after all, had known Roy for a long time. And she was Claudia's best friend. Claudia….
"How is Claudia?"
Lisa shook her head in response "The Dr. gave her some Valium and told her to get some rest. I took her home. She wanted to be alone for a while. I'm going to go over to her place and spend the night." She pulled away a bit more and looked at Rick. He was even paler than he was when she came in and rubbing his temple. "Are you okay? Can I get you something?"
Rick didn't answer. His head was beginning to pound again.
"Rick?"
"I um..I don't feel too good."
Lisa let go of him so he could lie back against the pillow, and reached over him to press the nurse's call button.
The nurse came in immediately, and even though Rick usually resisted, he accepted the nurse's offer of pain medicine.
Lisa sat down in the chair next to the bed, waiting for the nurse to finish checking Rick.
"Do you want me to stay a while, or would you rather be alone?"
Rick didn't know what to say. He didn't want Lisa to go. Somehow her presence comforted him, but the pain meds kicked in and he was beginning to feel tired. "I'll be okay. You should be with Claudia."
Lisa stood up and shook her head. "If you need anything, Rick, call me. I mean it, okay?"
"Thanks, Lisa."
She reached down and gave his hand a squeeze and turned to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow."
End of flashback
Lisa kept her word. She visited him every day that he was hospitalized, bringing him things to read and snacks, and keeping him company. Why didn't he see it? It was Lisa all along who he could depend on. It was Lisa who was there for him, listening, caring. It was Lisa who loved him.
Rick only allowed himself a moment of regret before the reality of what they were facing came to his thoughts. The next few months would be terribly difficult for Lisa. Once again she would be left to face the type of guilt that survivors of such a catastrophe has. He saw a glimpse of it after he plucked her from Alaska Base. Even though she had Claudia to lean on, and even to some extent, himself, Lisa went through some dark moments during those two years of reconstruction. She tried to be strong, to control her feelings, but there were times when Lisa didn't leave her quarters for days except to report to work. It took her a long time to be able to talk about her feelings and deal with them. Once again, he regretted not being there more for her during those times, and vowed to himself not to make the same mistake again.
Rick had only been with Lisa a short time when the nurse returned to tell him that visiting hours were over, and that he could come back the next day.
Knowing that he should let Lisa rest, Rick stood up and kissed her softly on the cheek. He was relived to find that she was warm and sleeping peacefully. Color was returning to her cheeks. He gave his number to the Nurse's station and made his way out of the hospital – not sure what he would find, or where he would go.