Lisa was happy to round the corridor and see the door to Rick's quarters a few steps away. She had been literally dragged to the city earlier that afternoon by a very enthusiastic Miriya to pick up necessities for the event tomorrow night. She didn't want to burst Miriyra's bubble that shopping was not her forte, but gave in when Miriya explained that after leaving Earth and Claudia and the Trio, she hadn't really bonded to any of the women on the ship except for Neela and confided in Lisa that she had tried to get along with Minmei when Rick had been dating her, but that quickly turned to annoyance as "she couldn't ever seem to remember me, much less that she sang at my wedding and then when she did remember me, she couldn't get my name right, she kept calling me Miriam! Oh but Max, she loved darling Max, and never forgot his name!"

Lisa had a good laugh at that. "Well I doubt she will remember me at all and if she does it's because she called me an ole sourpuss!"

The two boarded the light train that would take them from the base into the city, it was a short ride less than 5 minutes, but made getting around much easier.

As they settled into their seats, Miriya picked up the conversation and gave a little side look at Lisa and said, "Oh I don't think Miss Minmei will forget who you are…"

Lisa looked at Miriya questioning, "I wouldn't know why, we only met once or twice and I remember her from the Chinese restaurant, oh and that all the pilots wanted off to attend her birthday party. Which I thought was totally ridiculous. Anyway, why would she remember me?"

Miriya leaned in to Lisa after checking to make sure no one else was listening and whispered a bit. "I shouldn't tell you this but I had overheard Max and Rick speaking once and Rick mentioned that Minmei may have thought that Rick became a little too serious after you helped them escape from Dolza and that you somehow were the cause of it."

Lisa gave a look of confusion to Miriya, "I don't know what to say, I wasn't even here, and I don't think I could have anything to do with it. And you.." Lisa wagged her finger at Miriya, "haven't you learned that no good comes to those that eavesdrop."

Their first drop had been to pick up their dresses and accessories from Neela and Lisa took the opportunity to order a few more casual outfits from her. Miriya had done a great job in getting her some basics, but Lisa hadn't wanted to lean anymore on Rick's generosity. Her own credit code had been re-established and it felt good to be able to pay for her own things. She also commissioned some lingerie from Neela after admiring a few of her designs. Miriya had looked a bit surprised and raised an eyebrow at Lisa's choices, but Lisa just smiled, "Claudia and the girls told you that I dressed like an old lady didn't they?"

Miriya didn't want to say it out loud, but Lisa could tell by the look on her face that was the truth. Lisa just shook her head back and forth and laughed, "Just because I wasn't putting it all out there, and yes I tended to dress conservatively, it didn't mean that everything in my wardrobe was boring."

After leaving Neela's warehouse and stopping into a few more stores that Miriya favored, the two women received a little pampering with a facial, manicure and pedicure. Lisa was able to even get her hair trimmed a bit and even had to admit it was rather nice and she did feel refreshed when they finally headed back to base. She was surprised at how late the shops stayed open and Miriya explained that with the travel in space, people didn't end up keeping normal hours even though the sky was programmed for day and night and to change with the seasons.

Reaching home, Lisa was glad to find that Rick was still up, playing a video game on his large screen TV. He looked relaxed wearing a worn blue t-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants, his dark hair falling almost into his eyes. Lisa could see the young man she remembered and shook her head to clear her vision as Rick shut off his game and greeted her.

"You didn't have to stop on my account," as she placed her packages on the living room chair.

Rick just waved away her concern, "I wasn't doing that well anyway, I'd like to hear how your studies are coming."

Lisa, happy to fill him, took a seat next to him on the couch and started to give him an update on her training and her classes.

Rick watched her face as she animatedly told him of her day. He was glad that she was taking everything in stride and not dwelling on her lost years. It dawned on Rick that Lisa seemed much more open and carefree then he could recall and a comment Lisa made explained it.

"It's almost like being back at the academy, I know you didn't get a chance to experience what it was like, but the classes I'm taking and the pilot training, really remind me what it was like before we went into space."

Rick realized that the event 10 years ago hadn't just been a life changing event for him but that others must have gone through a similar transition. He could barely remember the carefree kid he once was, only caring about the next flying competition or the next win.

Lisa, who watched the play of different emotions on Rick's face understood the revelation to him. "I'll admit, I took my role very seriously, maybe a bit too much, but my father had always stressed to me the importance of what we were doing and why we were doing it. He never let me forget that the "aliens" could come back at anytime and that we had to be prepared."

The two fell silent for a bit, lost in their own thoughts, when Rick smiled and waved towards the packages on the chair. "It looks like you had a successful shopping trip."

Lisa laughed with a wry smile. "Miriya certainly knows the shopping district well. We had a good time and it was nice to be able to pick out some things for myself. She's going to pick me up early tomorrow to get ready for the celebration. "

"Oh, aren't you going to get ready here? I thought I would escort you to the event." Rick didn't want to tell her how much he was looking forward to seeing her dressed up for a night out.

Lisa just shook her head, "No, apparently Miriya convinced the committee that I should have a room at the hotel that they are holding the event at. She apparently stressed to them the importance of the introduction and entrance. I argued against it, but she said it would be better to just get ready there and now worry about being on time."

Rick was disappointed, but didn't let it show. "Well I hope you will save a dance for me."

Lisa arched one eyebrow at him, questioningly. Rick enjoying the play of emotions on her face smiled. "Well, as Captain I do have certain social expectations to meet. It's not a favorite activity of mine, but can execute the waltz passably well."

"I look forward to our dance then Captain. For now though, I need to turn in, it's been a long day and I think tomorrow may even be longer!"

Rick stood and helped Lisa gather her packages and helped her to take some back to her room before entering his own room. Rick waited until Lisa was done with the bathroom and washing up before he could settle down for the night. He kept his door slightly ajar in order to monitor any sounds that came from Lisa's room and was glad that there didn't seem to be any interruption in her sleep that night.

AN: Apologies to everyone who has been waiting for updates. I am working on Chapter 19! There just never seems to be enough time and I never meant to let this linger on without an update. My plan is still to complete this story, so thank you all so much who have continued to "remind" me not to leave this out there without an ending!