Chapter 9: From this moment.


The days past fast for Rick and Lisa. Between their jobs and patrols, they prepared everything for the wedding. Thousands of little details came at the last moment, but luckily they were able to count on the help of their friends.

More than anything, Lisa and Rick had to manage their personal situation. The passion between them was now, obvious to everyone. After the incident with Jake, Rick became more cautious. He always checked on her, and they never walked back home without the other. Lisa was so overwhelmed with all the things about the wedding that she missed all the looks Rick gave to her when she wasn't looking.

Day after day that previous week before the wedding Rick and Lisa learned to accept the fact that they were very attracted to each other. Their kisses become more urgent with the days, but they managed to turn that passion into tenderness every time they went to bed and fell asleep in each other arms.

Suddenly, the wedding was just 28 hours away. That Friday, both of them had the day off, thanks to Gloval, and that Friday morning, was the last one they would live as singles. The wedding was at noon on Saturday and Rick Hunter and Lisa Hayes looked into each other eyes that Friday morning at 8 AM, looking scared.

"Morning" murmured Rick.

"Morning" Lisa murmured back, eyes half opened and wearing a frown "Can we stay here until sunday and get married in bed?" she said and covered her head with the covers.

Rick laughed a little and then hid under the covers with her. From behind the sheets, he looked into her scared eyes and smiled. "Don't worry, its not going to be so difficult".
"Yes it is…this is more awful than any other combat, confrontation or anything else I knew before. This is something…I don't know how to manage!" she said and hid her face with her hands.

Rick moved closer to her, still under the covers, and hugged her. Then she hid her face in his neck and her senses filled with the smell of his skin.

"Did I ever tell you that you smell great?" asked her before she noticed the words were actually said. To her surprise, Rick didn't tense, he just laughed and kissed her hair.

"No, you didn't, but I'm glad that we have another thing we agree about" he said and looked down at her eyes. She smiled sweetly at him and felt sleepy again. Rick came closer to her and barely kiss her lips.

"Sorry honey, you can't sleep again, there's a lot we need to do for tomorrow" he said against her soft sweet lips. Lisa took a big breath and then opened her eyes one more time and raised an eyebrow to him.

"What if I suggest a better activity that needs out presence in this bed, Mr. Hayes?" she asked sexy.

Rick smirked and came closer to her. With the days, his self control was getting weaker and weaker and every single little remark that Lisa made was more and more effective.

Still under the covers in their little private world, Lisa rolled over Rick and was in top of him. He raised an eyebrow to her.

"Well Mrs. Hunter, I'm not really shocked that you want to be on top of the situation…you are so bossy…" and he smiled at her, she giggled.

"I am bossy, Mr. Hayes, just because you love to be a rebel…" then she lowered herself down and was just an inch apart from his lips and murmured "…and you know what I do with rebels?" she whispered sexy and feeling how exquisite Rick body felt underneath hers.

Rick moaned aloud and just nodded a 'no'. Lisa then smirked and moved her hands from his chest down, slowly. She loved to see how Rick's eyes closed slowly in ecstasy when her fingers left a road of fire on his skin everywhere she touched. Slowly her hands come lower and lower and moved to his sides. Rick's started to arch his back, and moaned again, when Lisa's fingers suddenly stop a little lower from his ribs. Rick opened his eyes in protest, but when he looked down at her face, she had that predator look he loved so much.

Suddenly, Lisa started tickling Rick without mercy. He wasn't prepared for this and he jumped so high that the covers fell from them. Lisa laughed aloud never stopping with her tickles until Rick almost cried.

"Stop, stop!!" yelled Rick on the edge of tears and laughing so much.

"Say it!" she commanded.

"Say what? OH No PLEASE STOP!!" He begged.

"Say that you give up, I win over you and that…I'm the most beautiful women you ever saw!" she said evading every time he tried to grab her wrists.

"All right all right!! YOU WIN, I'M A LOSER, YOU ARE THE BEST, GORGEOUS AND SEXY WOMAN I EVEN SAW" he said and then Lisa stopped.

Rick was breathing hard and his face was covered with tears. He couldn't stop Lisa from jumping off the bed and looked at him from the doorframe of their bedroom, with a triumphant look on her face.

"Told you Mr. Hayes, you didn't know what you got into by marrying me" she winked and then disappeared into the bathroom.
When Rick could breathe normally again, he turned onto his side looking into her direction. He smiled widely and said to himself "I have no idea Mrs. Hunter and I'm far from complaining about it".

*************************

The "wedding meetings", as Roy smartly named, were at the Sterlings house. The place was full of people who were checking the latest details for the wedding of the century. It was amazing how Claudia could handle a 550-person wedding reception. Lisa told her that if at any time she wanted to leave the army, she can always become the most popular wedding planner in town.

Everybody who was important was there that morning. The trio finished their duties so fast that Gloval wonder if they did it already, but after checking their impeccable work, and looking with pleading faces from the three of them, he authorized them to leave. The girls ran away happily and Gloval realized that until next Monday, he wasn't going to have his crew with him again.

Dana was sitting on Claudia's lap with all her attention to the papers in front of her. It was like the baby was reading them, if they weren't upside down.

"Well, everything is done I think. But we don't have to forget about the last minute details. This is our last meeting, and from now on, we are on our own" said Claudia seriously and Roy smirked behind her.

Everybody nodded to her and somehow they were expecting a "you are dismissed" somewhere, when they realized that, they weren't at a real meeting. They laughed at the same time.

"All right…" said Miriya looking at her watch. "Its just time, Rick…go away with Roy".

"What?" asked Rick wondering.

"You heard me, you have to go now. It's 11:45 AM, and you can't see the bride until tomorrow". Miriya answered firmly.

Rick was shocked at first, and then just looked over to Max who just nodded.

"Yeah boss.." he said with resignation "tradition is tradition…and you don't want to have bad luck, don't you?" said Max.

Rick didn't wanted to leave. Didn't wanted to leave Lisa for a whole complete day. He was scared for her. He never told her about Jake and he felt really vulnerable if he didn't have her around. Some part of his brain also told him that we didn't want to sleep alone, not even for one single night, but he put that particular thought, and all similar ones about that particular topic, in the back of his head.

"I don't believe in luck" he said firmly looking at Max.

The trio gasped in shocked.

"NOO!" they said aloud, then Kim spoke for the other two "You can't do that! You have to go! Its not bad luck for you, its bad luck for the marriage, you can't!" she said and the other two nodded furiously.

"That's crazy" he said looking to ceiling "I'm not going to leave!".

"Now, now flyboy…" said Roy coming behind his back touching his shoulder "I know you don't want to leave your beautiful bride, but I think this is part of the show…er…event" said Roy when he saw the reproachable look on the trio's faces.

"I don't think its necessary, Roy" said Rick looking into his eyes, trying to make him understand his worry.

Roy wasn't fooled. He knew better and patted his back "Don't worry…you are going to be with me, and Lisa with Claudia are going to stay here, with Max, Miriya and Dana". When Rick read the hidden message from his eyes, he relaxed a little, then Roy add to his amusement "And you will have the honor of sleeping with a handsome blond for the first and last time Hunter, don't missed your chance…" he joked.

Rick made a face of disgusted and Roy faked to be awfully hurt "Oh well…I know you are now used to sleeping with Lisa, and believe me, I'm not happy to sleep without my woman!" said Roy and blew a kiss to Claudia. She just rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Well…7 minutes" said Miriya looking at her watch and standing up "If you want to say goodbye to her, you have 7 minutes" she said firmly and took Dana into her arms.

Rick walked next to Lisa and noticed that everybody was looking at them. He cleared his throat for a second and they got the message, and left.

"So, looks like this is goodbye" said Rick and smiled at her.

"Yeah, looks like" she answered back, coming closer to him and playing with his shirt.

"Behave yourself" he smirked to her.

"You too flyboy" she raised her eyebrow to him, smiling.

"I will, and take ca…" but she interrupted him with a fast kiss.

"I will…I know what I have to do…can you kiss me now?" she asked against his lips.

"Just if you can hold your breath for the next 5 minutes" he said and before she could answered, he kiss her hard.
They stayed kissing each other for 3 minutes and 30 seconds before Rick broke the kiss, she smiled at him.

"I thought you said 5 minutes" she said breathing as hard as he.

"Yeah, but my lungs needs more practice" he smirked to her.

"They will…don't worry" she answered back and hugged him. Rick hugged her back almost breaking her bones, but she didn't complain. He didn't want to go, he didn't want to leave her…he didn't want to be alone.

Lisa's heart pounded hard against her chest, she was so happy, but suddenly realized that she wanted so much to tell him 'I love you' and couldn't. She knew she shouldn't because Rick didn't felt the same way, and that still hurt her, because she knew, deep down, that Rick was sacrificing his life for her.

Lisa step back from the hug and hid her pain behind her smile.

"Tomorrow I will see you Mrs. Hunter" said Rick kissing her hand slowly.

"And I will see you Mr. Hayes" she answered back, before Miriya shouted aloud "30 seconds!!!" and Roy grabbed Rick by the collar of his shirt and disappeared from the door exactly at 11:59 and 55 seconds AM.

***********************************

The day passed faster than Lisa expected. She didn't have the time to miss Rick until 10 PM that Friday night. Between the last minutes details, a few hair rehearsal session with Sammie, playing with Dana, talking to Miriya and taking her last single deluxe bubble bath, courtesy of the Trio, Lisa found herself finally alone on the couch of the living room wearing her most comfortable big t-shirt and sweat pants.

Lisa sighed and looked at the window. It was a cold night, but the sky was open and she could see all the stars. Her eyes wondered about the distances and the creatures and different lives that they had, but her heart just admired the beauty of them. She slowly closed her eyes and felt the absence of Rick. She felt so cold without him. Miriya and Max's house was comfortable, but she fell in love with her own place. It wasn't because they had special things, it was because they were there.

She remembered when they arrived home that Monday evening, the first day they were officially a couple in the eyes of everyone. Rick stopped her before they came inside and Lisa looked at him wondering.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"What happened?" she asked him, and he just looked at the house in front of him.

"I want to make a deal with you" he said, taking her hand in his, still looking at the house.
She squeezed his hand and then he finally looked at her and smiled shyly.

"I want to make a deal with you. I want to ask you if we can make a promise together". He said and she nodded. He smiled at her again. "I want, from now on, to leave work outside our door everyday. I know that your job and my job are one of the most important things in our lives, and we love it. But…I don't know, but… this time with you, even it was short, was amazing, and I want to try to know you better, but the real you, more than the captain. Don't get me wrong, being what you are, what you do, is a very important part of you, but I can see that at work, and even I'm proud of you for that, I want to have the chance to meet the real Lisa, the one who jokes and the one who teases me. If we are going to fight over work, I want to leave it behind our door, not inside. I know its kind of silly…" he said and took both of her hands and looked at her, face to face "…but look at this, this way, I'm sure you and I have a lot more to talk about than military procedures and VFs flying maneuvers…" and Lisa laughed a little and raised an eyebrow in disbelief, Rick squeezed her hands one more time "…I know you do, the weekend we talked about a thousand different things and I think we are a little more complex than what we thought about ourselves. Let's give us some credit here!" he joked and Lisa nodded in silence again.

"So, what do you think?" he asked her, looking into her emerald sparkling eyes.

"I think that you have more than one neuron working Rick", she said remembering when she insulted him that morning. Rick laughed aloud and hugged her.

"Well, maybe a couple more, but don't expect too much either" he said and Lisa laughed in his arms.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"A penny for your thoughts" said the warm and calm voice of Max when he enter through the door.

Lisa opened her eyes and came back to reality. She didn't realized that she had a smile on her lips.

"Hey there Max" she said to him.

"Hey Lisa, do you mind if I turn on a couple of lights here?" he asked and Lisa noticed that she was in the dark.

"Of course, I been here for so long that I didn't realize I was without any light" she said.

Max walked to the table and turned on a soft lamp there. He walked and sat next to her, smiling.

"How's Rick?" Lisa asked.

"I think exactly like you…" he said smirking and Lisa blushed a little "Nah, don't worry, I understand. I can't imagine sleeping without Miriya one single night either" he said shyly. Lisa grinned happy.

"By the way? Where is my wife and daughter?" asked suddenly Max looking around not used to so much silence in his home.

"Dana and I played a lot today, and after I took my bath, Miriya bathed her and took her to bed, she fell asleep immediately and Miriya almost run to sleep too. She said something about watching a miracle for the first time on earth…" said Lisa a little confused, but Max laughed at that.

"You mean Dana fall asleep voluntary? That is a miracle! I'm going to hire you as our official babysitter from now on…" said Max.

Lisa grinned and shook her head "To be completely honest, I love to be with Dana. I love how she is, her personality, she can be terrible, but always so sweet. Believe me, you can count on me every time you want a nanny". She said and Max face shined.

"Thanks! I'm going to take your word. Miriya and I could use one free day every six months" he joked "do you think Rick is going to be ok with it?"

"Of course! He complained a lot, but he's like a dog, bark a lot but no bite. I'm pretty sure he loves Dana as much as I do…I saw him with her when nobody is looking, he adores her, even calls her "the warrior princess" or something like that…"

Max laughed again and nodded "yeah, I listened that the day we went to buy the tuxedo. I'm glad to have you guys in our life. There is just a few people we trust Dana with, and you are always the first option. Actually with Miriya we were wondering that, well…now that you guys are going to be married and everything, maybe you will accept an offer to be the godparents of Dana?" he asked.

Lisa's eyes grow wider "Oh Max! I will be honored!! Thank you!" she said and they hugged each other.

"Thanks to you" said Max "Dana will need strong godparents, not everybody can do that job!" he said smirking, Lisa looked down a little.

"You are going to be terrific mother some day.." he replied to her sudden silence.

"Don't worry, I'm thinking nonsense…" said Lisa trying to put the sudden image behind her. This was the second time in her life that she pictured Rick and herself with a baby.

"No, you aren't. I'm sure you are going to be a great mother, and I'm sure Rick is going to be great father too…" he assured her.

Lisa smiled sadly at him.

"I'm sure he's going to be a great father, but I'm sure I'm not going to be the mother of his child" she said in a weak voice and then Max patted her back.

"I think you are thinking too much. Don't worry about it" he said trying to comfort her.

"Yes, I know…I know" she said.

Max stood up and kissed her on the cheek, before going to his bedroom. Lisa was alone again in the living room, but this time, she turned the lights off and kept in the dark, hiding herself from her own thoughts.

*******************************

Saturday morning started early in the house of the Sterlings. Claudia spent the night there, and at 7 o'clock Sammie, Vanessa and Kim knocked on the door. Max kissed his wife and child goodbye and hugged Lisa hard, before he went to Roy's apartment to help Rick.

Everybody ran around the house, and Lisa started feeling too nervous. After she took her shower, she went to the kitchen and listen the conversation around her.

"I can't believe everybody said they were going to the wedding! The 550 guests say yes!" expressed Claudia shocked.

"It's unbelievable…" said Miriya taking more coffee "This is the wedding of the year. I even receive some phone calls from some reporters asking about the wedding".

"That's not weird, I mean, Rick and Lisa are very high and well known officers, they saved a lot of lives" said Vanessa.

"Yeah, and this wedding put an end to a well known love-triangle" said Kim, looking to Lisa, but she just held her coffee mug, wondering how dark the coffee was.

"And I'm sure this is the perfect end. Minmei is a loser, always was, always will be" said Kim making a face and the rest of the woman agreed.

Lisa felt without energy suddenly. Her head was light, and suddenly she felt dizzy. Her face turned very pale and Sammie noticed it.

"Lisa? Are you all right?" asked the girl with concern.

Lisa looked up and everything in her eyes was spinning around. Her face turned a pale tone of green, and she couldn't focus her eyes.

The women looked at her, but couldn't reacted on time when Lisa stood up and run to the bathroom, feeling sick.
Claudia followed her and held her after she vomited. She was exhausted. Claudia smiled wisely.

"I think you are a normal bride after all" said Claudia sitting on the floor with Lisa in her arms.

"Yeah, I think so" said Lisa visibly pale. Claudia cleaned Lisa's face tenderly.

"Thanks mom" said Lisa smiling a little.

"You are welcome honey" said Claudia waiting a few minutes before standing up and helping Lisa up.

They left the bathroom and everybody was looking at her with concern.

"I'm fine" said Lisa sitting on the coach. "Its just…I'm a little nervous" she explained closing her eyes.

"We know" said Miriya sitting next to her and taking her hands in hers. She noticed how cold she was and rubbed her hands "and we didn't help a lot with our conversation".

Lisa smiled and nodded "It's ok, I just wished I can close my eyes and all this already happened".

"Well Lisa, I think it's going to be like that. I hate to be rude, but we have to start right now" said Kim standing up.

Lisa stood up, feeling better. She took a big breath and let her friends take this weight away from her hands and help her got ready.

After a really fast morning, Lisa was done. She looked at herself in the mirror and never thought she would look, like that. She was alone in the room. The girls ran to change into her bridesmaids dresses and left her for a second.

Dana walked into the bedroom and watched with her mouth open.

"Cinderella?" asked Dana with admiration. Lisa laughed aloud and knelt next to the little girl. "No Dana, its me, Lisa" replied. Dana was ready with her dress. She looked like a candycane, a little princess. She smiled at Lisa and hugged her. "Lisa?" said the girl and she nodded "Yep, your old aunt Lisa". Dana kissed her cheek and ran to the living room.

She stood up and looked herself in the mirror one more time. Claudia really found the most gorgeous dress. Sammie was an artist with her hair. Everything was ready and she was glad.

Lisa was admiring herself shyly in the mirror, when a soft sigh came from the door. Lisa turned around and saw one of the most important men in her life, Admiral Henry Gloval.
Gloval was stunned. He looked at Lisa with visible pride and she blushed. He walked next to her and took one of her hand and kissed it.

"You have no idea how proud I am of you" he said in a paternal tone of voice. Lisa's heart skipped a beat.

"Thank you…it's the dress" said Lisa and Henry smile until she was embarrassed.

"The dress helps, child. But just because its perfect for you. It helps to show the beauty of your soul, nothing more, nothing else".

Lisa almost cried. She felt so happy and hugged her surrogated father.

"Well Admiral, you look handsome yourself" said Lisa proud too.

Henry blushed.

"You deserved the best uniform I can give you!" he replied.

Lisa looked down a little. She couldn't stop feeling nervous, and she had all these mixed up feeling inside her right now. She was happy, and sad at the same time. Henry noticed it and walked with her and sat on the chairs.

"Don't worry Lisa, you are doing the right thing" he said holding her hands.

Lisa's heart was in pain. She almost could not breath and only nodded.

"Listen Lisa. You are one of the most important and brave officers I ever have the honor to know. You are doing the best, you chose the best". He said.

Lisa looked at him, holding her tears "I'm scared" she simply said.

Henry nodded, understanding her "Look…" he said talking tender but firmly "…the wedding day is always hard. Its not exactly the most greatest day, no matter what they said. There are always mixing feelings, because you are taking one of the most important steps in your life. Nobody is really sure about their decision. No matter how much they loved each other…" Lisa looked down again, he squeezed her hand and made her look at him again "…even if there's no love, sometimes the best married couples come from those who weren't exactly "in love" when they got married. Love is a tricky thing, sometimes it comes easily as a first look. Sometimes it comes after years. You will never known. The only thing we can do is to hope for the best. And that's what a wedding is about, its the beggining of a new journey, a hopeful one, but you will never know what its going to bring to you."

Lisa looked at him, feeling a little better. She smiled at him and he smiled to her. They stood up, and he offered her his arm.

"Well, I think its time" he said. Lisa took a big breath and accepted his arm

"Just hold me tight" she told him "because I'm not sure my legs are going to hold me for a long time".

******************************

Rick was at the church 45 minutes earlier than he should be. He didn't sleep at all during the night. His mind was racing and he felt like an elephant was tap-dancing on his stomach. Roy's snoring didn't exactly help him, even though he was sleeping in the other room. He wondered how Claudia managed to sleep next to that bear.

Rick woke up at 6 AM after no more than 3 hours of uneasy sleep. He missed Lisa's warm body next to him, and he promised himself to never sleep alone again. It was awful. When he got up, he went to take a shower, and by the time he was drinking coffee, Max knocked the door. Roy was in the bathroom, cursing Rick for waking him so early, but he just chuckled. Roy wasn't exactly a morning person.

They ate and Rick asked Max about Lisa. He told her about the night and how he noticed her a little green before he left and, of course, he remarked that he had the exact same kind of green look on his face now.

Rick didn't get sick because he barely ate anything. He put on his tuxedo, and was ready 2 hours before everyone. He just sat waiting on the couch.

Max took that time to tell Rick about being the godparents of Dana and Rick smiled like a fool. He loved that little terror of Dana. He accepted immediately, feeling proud.
Sadly that brought him little joy, before he realized that he still had more than an hour.
Unable to wait for Roy, he picked a taxi and arrived at the church.

At that time, nobody was there. He walked around the church looking around. It was obvious that the girls were there early in the morning, because everything was ready. Candles were everywhere, and the light was beautiful. The flowers were fresh everywhere all of them simple flowers in light pastels colors. A red carpet was on the floor, waiting for the bride and Rick's heart start to beat faster.

He didn't notice when Max and Roy walked next to him and he jumped.

"Jesus! You guys almost scared me to death!" said Rick, both men laughed.

"Don't worry Rick, I'm not going to give another reason to Lisa to kill me" said Roy smirking, looking handsome.

"Not-funny" said Rick feeling how slowly his heart started to pound normal again.

"Well, well, why did you come here so early? You know that's tradition for the bride to be late, don't you?" asked Roy again, Max nodded.

"Yeah…someone told Miriya that, and she made me wait an hour and a half" said Max raising his eyebrow.

"I hope Lisa doesn't make me wait that much" said Rick worried, Roy smirked again.

"You are the one who made her wait…like 3 years! I think she should make you wait until tomorrow" joked Roy.

"Not-funny!!" said Rick again, warning.

People started coming to the church a few minutes later. The whole place was full 15 minutes before the ceremony and Rick was paler than before. Even some reporters were in the back and Rick frowned about it. They weren't there for him or Lisa, it was because of Minmei. He knew that she was going to use it for publicity, and he wanted to send them to hell, but Max stopped him. He went to talk with some privates and officers that were on duty outside the church, and they said to the reporters that this was a private ceremony, invited only.

Rick thanked Max when he come back. The only thing he had to do now was wait for Lisa.
Just 10 minutes later, the front doors of the church opened and a soft background music started. Rick's hear was beating so fast that he was sure everyone could hear him.

The first ones were the bridesmaids. Walking slowly and smiling wide, Sammie was the first. She was wearing a simple knee long blue dress. Her hair was shinning and a simple blue flower was there. Behind her came Vanessa, without glasses. Her hair was wet and she was wearing a green strapless dress that fit her body perfectly. Several officers noticed it and she blushed a little.

Behind them was Kim wearing a light pink dress with spaghetti straps. Her hair was normal with the exception of a silver and shining pin. After Kim, came Claudia wearing a silver long dress. Roy's mouth went dry when he saw her and she smirked from a distance. She looked sexy, specially because the dress fit her like a second skin and her short hair had something that made her sparkled, like stars.

Rick smiled when he saw Roy from the corner of his eyes. Claudia looked stunning but then Rick looked at who came behind Claudia. And he couldn't breath anymore.

Everybody stood up when the bride come in. From the arm of Admiral Gloval, Lisa Hayes walked to meet Rick Hunter.

From head to toe Lisa looked like a Greek statue. Her hair was up, showing her elegant neck and just a few strands of hair in little waves framed her face. Sammie put some very little white glitters in it, that shined like magical snow and behind her hair, was her almost transparent veil. Her face was perfect. She just used very little makeup, her eyes glowing when she saw Rick waiting for her. She just wore a very light silver eye-shadow that somehow made her eyes look bigger and more greener and she wore lip gloss on her lips.

Her dress wasn't exactly white, more than a very light cream white. The dress had a perfect cut that showed just enough cleavage, held in place with two thin straps. The dress was like a second skin to her waist, with a beautiful handmade design. From her waist to the floor fell a plain silk skirt that barely touched her legs. She didn't look like a princes, thought Rick, she looked like a queen.

Somehow when Lisa looked into Rick's eyes her fears disappeared. He looked at her with so much admiration, lust and pride. But deep down in his blue shining eyes, she saw it…she saw love. She was sure, but then put that thought behind her. It wasn't the moment for fake hopes.

Lisa walked with Admiral Gloval slowly. Everybody looked at her with new eyes, like if it was a dream. The flashes of the reporters could be visible even from in front of the church, they probably didn't expect that the bride was, actually, so much more beautiful and attractive than the younger pop star. Someone even whisper that if Lisa participated in the first Miss Macross contest, she probably would have won.

But Lisa and Rick were looking at each other with new insight. It was like every single wall, every single fear left them. Rick couldn't think about anything. He just looked at her and wondered how it was possible that the beauty of her soul was showing at this moment. She was light, pure and magic light. The only thing that made Rick come back to reality was when Max elbowed him in the ribs slowly and whisper "Breathe". Just then, Rick noticed that he wasn't breathing since she was in sight.

Lisa looked to Rick and smiled wider to him. She felt relived, she felt perfect. In front of her was the man she loved, and no one single sad thought crossed her mind.

When they arrived finally, Rick barely walked. Gloval handed Lisa's hand to him and he took it. She was shaking.

"Rick…" said Gloval looking to his baby blue eyes with hope "…I give you, in name of her father, her hand. She is a gift from God. I hope you learn to treasure her". Rick nodded to him with determination, then Henry Gloval looked to Lisa who had tears of joy in her eyes "Lisa, you were the joy of your father's life, I know that, because you are the joy and pride of mine, and I can't imagine how much prouder I could be if you were my real daughter" he said with emotion. Lisa kissed his cheek sweetly.

After that, Gloval walked and sat next to Miriya who had Dana in her arms, the little girl was almost asleep. Rick took Lisa's hand and stepped closer to her. He couldn't stop looking at her and she blushed.

Rick didn't hear any of the words from the priest. He sat next to Lisa and couldn't stop looking at her and she looked to him back. The man went on and on with the ceremony, and the bride and groom just looked into each other eyes.

"Well, I'm glad to say now that the bride and groom decided to write their own vows, because I hope that they listen to each other, because they aren't listening to me at all…" said the priest joking. Just when everybody in church chuckled, Rick and Lisa realized what they were doing and blushed furiously.

"Please, stand up and read your vows, Lisa, you go first" he said and she did it. Claudia stepped closer and give her a little piece of paper. Lisa took it shaking and cleared her voice. She wasn't sure if she could speak aloud.

"My dreams are coming true this day…" she begun her voice a little uneasy at first, but still beautiful and secure "…I thought so many times that this was an impossible dream, like the sun in winter, when you see it shine in the blue sky, but you know, deep down, that I will not bring any warmth to your skin.
You are the one who brought the shine and warmth back to me, and after all this time I feel that I can be complete.
That's why today, in front of God and our friends, who are our family, I promise to be with you, support you and help you for the rest of my life.
Today I promise to try, with all my heart, to fill any hole in your heart, to try to be the best for you. I promise to open my heart to you, and let you fill me with anything you want to give me, and be glad. Today, I promise to trust you, to be faithful to you and to give you everything I am and everything I have, because you are my chosen partner, my love and my best friend, for the rest of my life".

When Lisa ended, tears were running from Rick's eyes. He couldn't stop them. He was overwhelmed with her words. She promised everything to him, and even that, she said that she was going to be glad with what he could give her. She didn't ask for anything in return.

Roy walked next to Rick and touched his shoulder. Rick jumped a little and realized he was holding a piece of paper for him. He took it and Roy went back to his place.

Rick looked at the piece of paper for a second and was unsure to read it or not. It was so simple, he thought. But more than that, he wanted to promise her more, but he couldn't lie to her, as much as he wanted to say it.

Rick looked at Lisa and she nodded to him, encouraging him. She knew these words where going to be sincere, but that also meant that he wasn't going to promise the impossible. She expected him to start and hid, as best she could, the pain she was feeling in her heart.

"Today I finally become a man. Today, thanks to you, I start the road I was so scared to take, and I do it for you, because of you.
I'm not the same man I was yesterday, I am a better person, and I hope to become even better if you hold my hand in this new journey, together.
I trust you Lisa, with more strength than I ever thought I would have. I admire you for the woman you have become, but even more for the person you are inside.
That's why today I commit myself to you with my mind, body and soul. I promise to help you and take everything you want to give me and treasure it. I promise to be with you, be faithful to you and respect you.
You are my strength and I will be yours, I promise you that.
And I promise also, to do my best to…give you whatever you need, to give you what you deserve, because you are the best. I hardly deserve you, but I will try, for the rest of my life, to thank God for putting you on this earth, at this time and on my path, to become my guardian angel and my wife"

When Rick finished, he looked up and one single tear escape from Lisa's eyes. He knew he hurt her, even if he didn't want to. He blamed himself and wanted to make it up to her, but didn't know how. Her eyes cast down and he reached for her face and made her looked up to him again. With his thumb, he cleared the tear away and tried to promise her, with his eyes, that he will love her the way she loved him. His throat was closed, he almost couldn't breath, and just whispered to her "I will…"

Everybody, except the eight persons close to them, thought that she was overwhelmed with his words. Nobody, except the eight in front, noticed that she was crying because her heart was broken again, and nobody, except them, knew that Rick was doing the best he could.
The priest continued with the ceremony, but Lisa was far away. Her mind was trying to convinced her heart to be glad with his words, as she promised him. To be glad for what she had, and not for what she couldn't have. Rick took her hand and noticed how cold she was. He felt terrible.

The ceremony went on, they exchanged rings with each other, but Lisa couldn't meet his eyes yet. He didn't know what to do to bring back the smiling woman who entered the church minutes ago. He blamed himself for his words, he blamed Jake for coming into their lives and rushed what probably, was meant to be in the future. He blamed his blindness, he blamed himself.

"Family and friends, we now see the glory of God in these two beautiful people who are committed to each other until death do they part. We have to feel joy for them because they took a new brave step together. Now, it is my honor to introduce to you Mr. And Mrs. Hunter" said the priest smiling and they looked at each other.

The pain in Lisa's eyes was visible, and Rick didn't wait for the priest to finish. Rick took Lisa in his arms and kiss her hard. Everybody gasped and smiled in joy, because they though that Rick was too excited. But just 8 pairs of eyes watched the scene understanding the real meaning of Rick's actions, they just could imagine part of the pain Lisa was feeling.

Rick took Lisa's face in his hands and kissed her with all his conviction. His own eyes were full with tears when he felt the bittersweet taste of her mouth. She felt like she didn't have any energy at all. He held her closer and deepened the kiss, trying to make her come to life again, trying to erased the pain he caused her.

But Lisa was far away, she was barely breathing and felt the weight of her own action over her. When they finally stopped the kiss, he looked at how her eyes lost the spark and the life one more time. And again it was his fault. 'I'm just going to sit…and watch you lose the only good thing that happened to you' repeated Jake's deep voice in his brain over and over again. "No" he said and Lisa looked at him confused. He touched her cheek and nodded "I'm not going to lose you…" he whispered against her lips and Lisa's eyes grow wider. He touched his nose against hers tenderly and repeat again "I will not" and he kissed her softly on the lips. This time she responded barely, but responded at least. A sigh came from their friends, and they finally smiled a little.

After the little kiss, Rick took Lisa's arm and they walked outside. She wore a smile all over her face, but Rick knew she wasn't exactly smiling under it. He sighed and hoped that she will be better later. He was going to do everything in his power to make sure that she was going to enjoy this day.

After the ceremony, everybody came outside and throw rose petals at them. It was a beautiful scene and they smiled happily. Sadly the reporters where outside and they couldn't hug their friends there. Quickly they got into the car and left for the reception.

*****************************

The didn't talk much on the way to the reception. Rick didn't know what to say at all and Lisa was lost in her own thoughts. He just took her hand and she looked into his eyes smiling.

"I'm fine" she assured him.

"No, you are not" he answered back.

"Yes, I am. It was a long week, and I didn't sleep too much last night, I'm just tired" she replied.

"yeah, well…me too" he said knowing that she wasn't going to accept it so soon.

"It was…a beautiful ceremony" said Lisa quietly.

"Yes it was"

"We have to thank everyone, they made all this possible" she said again looking out the window, her eyes lost in the view.

Rick looked at her and his own heart skipped a beat.

"You look so beautiful" he simply said.

Lisa looked back at him and blushed a little

"You look handsome too"

"No, well…maybe…" he said winking and she giggled a little "…but I mean, you look gorgeous…I couldn't breathe when I saw you…" he said honestly.
"That's why Max elbowed you?" she asked smirking a little, Rick blushed this time.

"Yeah…well, it's not my fault you look so perfect, I mean…why did you hide it anyway?" he joked to her and she slapped his arm.

"Ohh…that's spousal abuse!" said Rick and she finally laughed. He was glad.

"Well…you…you deserve it!" she explained.

"That's not a very convincing answer Mrs. Hunter" he smirked to her.

"Its the only one I have, Mr. Hayes" she replied felling a little more relaxed.

Rick took her hand and kissed it. She blushed more and then he whispered to her.

"It's going to be so easy to fall in love with you Lisa…"

Lisa was speechless. Her heart beat faster and faster when Rick came closer to her. He was just an inch apart from her, his blue eyes hypnotizing her.

"I couldn't promise it…but I will, I'm sure…believe me Lisa, I will…" he said teasing her lips with his own.

Lisa closed her eyes and parted her lips, and Rick closed the space between them with a promise kiss. A love promise kiss.

********************

When they arrived at the reception, the 550 guest where already there. The place was a huge and elegant ball room from the XIX century. The ceiling was high and had beautiful ornaments, and a huge crystal lamp in the center. There weren't almost any walls, just glass windows that showed the huge garden outside. The place was ready with the tables done, and a dance floor. A DJ was setting his things in the corner.

Everybody applauded when they enter to the reception. First in line were their friends. Gloval was the first who hugged Lisa "I'm so happy for you, I know it's going to work it out" he whispered into her ear and she nodded a yes into his arms.

Everybody hugged them in turns, but Roy took Lisa into his arms and spinned her around. Lisa laughed. When he finally put her on the floor, he hugged her tenderly. "You are going to be happy, I can assure you that" he said to her and she almost cried again.

"Enough Roy, I don't wanted you to make my wife dizzy…" joked Rick and Roy hugged him and almost broke all his bones.

"Don't worry little brother, she is going to be intact for your wedding night" he smirked and Rick look away embarrassed.

The reception was great, they chatted and ate happily. Rick's words gave her some peace and she was enjoying her time now. It was amazing to see everybody there. The high officers were using their better uniforms, but all their friends were wearing civilian clothes. Dana was running everywhere and Max tried to catch her. Lisa laughed.

Rick disappeared from her side for a few minutes, and when he came back, he was smiling like a fool

"What did you do?" said Lisa raising her eyebrow.

He smiled more and just said "you wait and see".

Suddenly the background music stop and the DJs voice sound everywhere.

"It's time for the newlyweds to have their first dance together. This song is a special request from the groom for the bride…please! Go to the dance floor!" he said and everybody clapped.

Lisa turned red and looked in shock to Rick who just took her hand and walked to the center of the big dance floor with her. Everybody looked at them, when Rick put his hands in her waist and she shyly put her arms around his neck. Then the soft melody begun.


I'm the one who gets that look in your eye
And I'm the one who feels you tremble inside
I'm the one who steals those kisses from your breath
Sometimes it's so good at night it scares me to death
Thinkin' what would I do if I didn't have you
I'm as strong, strong as I can be
But ooh ooh ooh, baby you leave me weak


Rick dance slowly with her cheek to cheek and whispered to her "Just listen, this is what you do to me…"

Put my hands upon your skin
And it warms me to the touch
All that I can think about while we're makin' love
Is I'm the only one who knows how passionate you get
About all of our deepest little secrets that we've kept
As the night gets longer, girl you just get stronger
And you pour yourself all over me
Ooh ooh ooh, baby you leave me weak

Lisa shuddered against him and hugged him more. She hid her head on his shoulder.

And it always blows me away, by the power that you hold
When the moment kicks in, and the magic unfolds
And you wrap your love around me and it brings me to my knees
Will you give me strength, all the strength that I need

Rick looked for her eyes and she had a dark kind of green that Rick loved. He looked for her mouth and kissed her deeper as the song played on.

As the night gets longer, girl you just get stronger
And you pour yourself all over me
Ooh ooh ooh, baby you leave me weak
Ooh ooh ooh, baby you leave me weak

When the song ends, they stop kissing each other and looked into each other eyes. Lisa finally smiled from her heart for the first time this day.

The didn't noticed the looks around them, but there was joy in Claudia, Roy, Max, Miriya, Kim, Vanessa, Sammie and in Admiral Gloval's eyes. There was hope, that was what they thought, and they silently prayed for it.