The Chariot = Strong Will and Pure Intentions
"Oh, Serenity," Mrs. Holt's voice wobbled, her hands covering her mouth as if the physical blockade would dam the tide of emotions. "I didn't think you'd be able to make it."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Ren waved with her free hand, her other arm looped around the I.V. pole to keep it close. One of her legs was in a full leg cast, confining the mechanic to a wheelchair; the other leg braced at the knee. Ren hoped her smile looked more convincing than it felt.
From behind her, pushing the wheelchair, her cousin snorted. The corners of Aileen's smile twitched, despite her light hearted tone, gaze shifted sideways as she spoke. "Even if she wanted to, at this point I wasn't going to let her."
"I told you," Ren began, shifting as much as she could to look back at her cousin. Mrs. Holt stepped past them, discreetly dabbing at her eyes and patting the brunette on the shoulder as she passed. "I had it under control."
Katie watched as her mother stepped out of the waiting area, arms crossed and waiting for the door to close before she spoke. "Did you...break out of the hospital, Ren?"
The mechanic opened her mouth to protest at the same moment Aileen laughed. "She tried! Would've hurt herself more trying to heave herself out of the bed if I hadn't showed up."
"I had it under control," Ren repeated, making a sweeping gesture with her empty hand and earning more snickering from her cousin. Frowning she turned to the Holt girl, "What tipped you off?"
Polite enough not to openly snicker, Katie lifted a finger to point at the I.V. pole. "Most people don't get out the doors with those still attached."
"You're not supposed to pull those out, you know." Ren protested weakly as the corners of Katie's mouth twitched upward.
"You know what else you're not supposed to do, Ren?"
The mechanic bristled, turning her head to glare over her shoulder at the blonde. "I can still kick you, Aileen."
The wide grin that slid across her cousin's lips was almost intolerable. "No you can't! You can't even turn this wheelchair around on your own. I have all~the~power~." Aileen wiggled her fingers to emphasize her words.
"Oh, you think so?" Ren arched an eyebrow, propping an elbow up on the arm of her wheelchair and resting her chin on the palm. The mechanic glanced over, smiling. "Katie?"
Aileen snorted, hands on her hips. "She is not going to kick me for y- OW!" The blonde jolted, grabbing the younger teenager in a headlock and shuffling a hand through her hair. Katie squawked indignantly, smacking at Aileen's arms in an attempt to free herself as Ren laughed.
"Ah, it's good to see you girls getting along." Mr. Holt grinned, arms thrown wide as he stepped into the waiting room. "Warms my heart, it does."
Matt ducked under his father's arm, glancing between his sister and her friends. "Is that what we're calling it?"
Katie finally managed to wriggle herself free of the blonde's hold, scurrying over to her father. Mr. Holt scooped his daughter up, swinging her around and nearly knocking into his wife and mission pilot as they entered.
"Whoa," Shiro side-stepped, narrowly avoiding an accidental foot to the stomach. He chuckled but made sure not to get to close as he moved into the room.
"Oh, Sam, now really." Mrs. Holt attempted to frown as he husband spun their teenage daughter around like a toddler. The expression stuck for several seconds before her smile broke through as she watched the two of them fondly.
"Aileen," the pilot greeted as he approached. "I see you're keeping Ren in check."
"Of course," the blonde smiled, completely ignoring the way Matt was looking between them and the I.V. pole.
"Personally," Ren began, turning her head to kiss Shiro's cheek as he bent down so she could reach. "I'm a bit offended that you think I need to be kept in check."
Shiro arched an eyebrow as he straightened, the corners of his mouth twitching in a failed attempt to not smile. From behind him Matt snorted, the sound turning into open laughter with little hesitation. "Even if you could say that with a straight face, we've known you too long to fall for a line like that, Ren."
"Fair," the mechanic admitted with a shrug. "How long until departure?"
Mr. Holt hummed, finally returning his daughter to her feet. "As soon as final equipment checks are finished."
"Oh, yeah?" Ren arched an eyebrow, propping her chin up with the heel of a hand. "Who's running systems checks? Were you able to get Hofstetter?"
"No, no. He was still busy. It's, ah, what's his name?" Mr. Holt tapped at his chin, completely missing the cease-and-desist hand gestures his son was making. "Jenkins?"
"What?" The injured brunette balked, sitting upright as Matt groaned. "Jenkins? What do you mean Jenkins?"
"Please just let it go." Matt pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing full and well their mechanic would do no such thing. "Let him do his job, Ren."
"His job," Ren scoffed. "Jenkins doesn't know his wrench set from his-" she cut off, glancing over at Katie, who arched an eyebrow and Mrs. Holt, whose face was decidedly neutral. "Well, I could still do a better job. Infact…"
"No." Shiro placed a hand on the wheelchair before Ren could even attempt to move it on her own. "We're not doing that. We're going to stay here and leave Jenkins alone."
The mechanic harrumphed, settling into the chair in a way not unlike a pouting child. Katie glanced at Aileen, gesturing her confusion, but the blonde simply shrugged.
"It's just," Ren began, tapping her fingers against the back of Shiro's hand. His hand turned, releasing the chair's arm and turning to catch her fingers. "I haven't been able to be involved for months. It's bad enough I can't go with you, I should at least be able to do this much."
The Science Officer adjusted his glasses, side-eyeing the brunette. "So you're upset because Jenkins gets to touch your stuff?"
"God d- Yes, Matt," the mechanic scrubbed her free hand down her face. "You know how I feel about people touching my stuff. Why don't you let Jenkins touch all of your science-y things and see how you feel."
The Holt boy bristled, puffing up like an irritated kitten. "You know what they're called, Ren. Why don't you ever use the name?"
Ren dropped the hand from her face, grinning, her words lined with amusement. "Because if I did that then you wouldn't make your angry face. It's cute. Your nose crinkles."
"It's not cute!"
"Alright, children. That's enough." Mr. Holt laughed, clapping his hands for emphasis. "Let's not bicker before departure." The mission Commander turned to face the injured mechanic, concerned. "It bothers you that much, Serenity?"
"No," Ren replied. Then, almost as soon as the word had left her lips, "Yes. I don't know."
"What's that saying you use?" Shiro gave her hand a squeeze and Ren almost missed the laughter in his voice. "This isn't our first rodeo."
"I have never said those words before."
"You definitely have," Aileen snickered, Katie nodding her agreement. "Like, at least twice today."
"It was the first thing you ever said to me." Matt added, sounding pleased with himself.
"It was not," Ren frowned, half-snapping. "And I know this isn't your first time off-world, but it's never been for this long or this far. It's bad enough I can't go with you. I should at least be able to do this." She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with her free hand. "I don't like not being involved when roughly half of my important people are blasting off into space. It makes my fingers itch."
"Ren, look at me," Shiro began, gently turning her head when the brunette made no effort to move. He leaned down, foreheads nearly touching, to hold her gaze. "It's going to be okay. Everything will be fine. You don't need to worry so much."
The mechanic was silent for a moment, watching his face and debating the merits of arguing. "Don't ask the impossible, Shiro."
"Just this once," the pilot smiled.
"Get a room," Matt interrupted and Ren laughed as Shiro went pink and moved away.
"Oh, I almost forgot." Ren waved a hand to get the Kerberos mission crew's attention, the other checking her pockets. "Take these with you."
From a pocket the mechanic produced several meticulously folded origami stars; as near-perfect as she could make them, the paper shiny and gold.
"For luck." Ren added quickly.
"Why, Serenity," Mr. Holt chuckled, tucking one of the little stars into his uniform pocket. "I didn't realize you were so superstitious."
"Humor me," the brunette insisted, passing the other two to Matt and Shiro.
"Really, Ren?" Matt sighed, turning the shiny paper star over in his fingers. "I'm still finding these things in pockets." He paused, glancing over at Aileen even as he tucked the trinket safely away. "She's just run out of room at the hospital, right?"
The blonde snickered, patting her cousin's head. "They stopped giving her paper about a week in."
"Alright," Ren huffed, waving off Aileen's hand. "If you're just going to make fun of me then get out of here."
A final round of goodbyes were exchanged. Mr. Holt giving his wife a very well done Hollywood-style kiss before the Kerberos crew filed out for final mission checks and departure protocol. The door to the waiting room swung shut behind them, leaving the room suddenly silent.
"It'll be alright," Ren repeated Shiro's words, more to herself even as Katie took ahold of her hand. "They'll be back before we know it."
This is my friend Kado's fic. She kinda hates having to deal with this site anymore but craves validation through reviews so I'm doing the posting. You should totally go bug her on her voltron sideblog spacelionsrampant over on tumblr.