Hi!

Okay, here is the sequel to the sequel to the sequel….I really had no intention of starting a whole series, but once I finish one story, another one seems to start.

All relative disclaimers apply!

Enjoy,

Failte

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

Darcy stood alongside the tarmac, swaying gently and looking down at her daughter.

"Where's your daddy?"  Darcy whispered.

Schuyler, or Little Sky as she was now called by the guys, looked back at her with wide eyes while she sucked furiously on her pacifier. 

"He's supposed to be here to meet Aunt Becca when her ship lands," Darcy ran her fingers over Schuyler's chubby little stomach.  The pacifier stopped moving and a small giggle escaped the little girl's mouth.  "You're so ticklish, just like your daddy."

"More like her mommy," Lance whispered in her ear, running his hand down her side, causing Darcy to jump and Schuyler to whimper.

"It's okay, sweetie, daddy's being bad, he didn't mean it," Darcy said, rubbing Schuyler's back.

"Come here my little Sky," Lance lifted her out of his wife's arms.  "You're just fine, aren't you?"

She squealed in response and the corners of her mouth turned up on either side of her pacifier.

"They just entered Arusian airspace, they should be landing very shortly," Lance told Darcy as he danced around her, relishing in the sound of his daughter's giggles.

"Be careful, Lance, she just ate and I don't want her to throw it up."  Darcy smiled and watched them. 

Life had take on some semblance of normalcy for all of them.  Darcy was working with Dr. Gorma on a workout routine that she hoped would build up her muscle strength and regain the weight she had lost.  The difficult pregnancy, the final attack by Lotor, and the stress had left her painfully weak.  Luckily, she and Lance were still living in the castle and she was able to spend most of her time in their room and the nursery, being with her daughter.

Lance was working with Keith as his second-in-command of the Arusian military.  He was in charge of training the pilots of the Arusian Air Brigade as well as overseeing some committees and other training programs. 

"I heard a transport ship has entered Aruisan airspace."

They turned to see Allura waddling out onto the tarmac.  She rubbed her hand soothingly over her swollen stomach. 

"Allura," Darcy smiled.  "How're you feeling?"

"I feel great.  Cady's down for her nap and my afternoon is free so I thought I would come and see Becca."

"How're things going inside?"  Lance asked her, glancing up at the castle.

"Everything is fine," she assured him.  "You have the day off, enjoy it, Lieutenant."

Before Lance could answer, the sound of an approaching ship drowned him out.  Schuyler began to cry, her pacifier falling from her mouth and swinging from the ribbon attached to her dress.  Lance turned his back to the tarmac, trying to shield her from the sound.  He whispered soothingly to her and rubbed her back as she cried.

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

Becca watched as the beautiful, green landscape of Arus came closer.  It had been a long, uneventful ride and she couldn't wait to set foot on solid ground again.  Her heart pounded as the castle came into view.  She knew Darcy and Lance would be waiting for her and she hoped Pidge would be there as well, not that she would admit it.  He was a busy person, in his last email to her, Pidge had said they were upgrading the entire computer system in the castle and it was keeping him up until two in the morning every night. 

She leaned back against her seat as the pilot told her they would be landing momentarily.  Taking a deep breath, Becca pressed a hand to her jumping stomach.  She would be on Arus for two months.  As excited as she was about seeing her sister and niece, she was even more excited about seeing Pidge.  They had been corresponding for almost a year, since Darcy and Lance's wedding, and Becca knew how she felt.  Pidge was a smart, kind, strong person.  She had seen pictures of him when he and the Force had first arrived on Arus, he had been a small boy with huge glasses and wild hair.  He was now tall and handsome, his hair a rich auburn, his eyes a dark brown and he had developed the muscular physique of a strongly disciplined soldier.  She had fallen head over heels for him, but she wasn't entirely sure how he felt about her.

Becca jolted when the ship hit land and rolled to a stop.  Shouldering her bag, she stood impatiently beside the exit.

"One moment, Ma'am," the pilot smiled politely as he went about opening the door and releasing the steps.

Darcy bounced from one foot to the other as she watched the door open and the steps unfold.  Lance chuckled as he watched his wife dance excitedly.  Schuyler was once again quietly sucking her pacifier, her eyes red and her cheeks wet.

"Becca!"  Darcy raced across the tarmac.

Becca glanced at the small group gathered and hoped her disappointment in Pidge's absence didn't show.

Darcy noticed it, though.  She threw her arms around her little sister and hugged her tightly, "Becs!  I am so glad you're here.  Don't worry, he's busy with the computer upgrade, but he said he will definitely see you at dinner."

Becca blushed at Darcy's words, embarrassed that she had been that obvious.  "It's great seeing you, Darc.  Oh, I am so glad to be on solid ground again."

Darcy laughed and turned, "Come on, lets get you settled in and then we can catch up."

"Hi, Becca, welcome back," Lance pulled her into a one armed hug.

"Hi Lance, it's great seeing you again," Becca pulled back and looked at her niece.  "Wow, Schuyler has gotten so big!"

The little girl suddenly turned shy, hiding her face in her father's shoulder.

"I'll try not to take that personally," Becca said dryly before turning to the other woman standing there.  "Allura, it's great to see you again.  Thank you so much for letting me stay here."

"Oh, Becca, you're welcome any time, you know that," Allura told her as they hugged awkwardly.

"Allura, you look great!  When are you due?"  Becca asked, indicating Allura's swollen stomach.

"Not for a couple of more months, but when you're eating for three, you tend to put on a little extra weight," Allura laid her hands on her stomach.

Lance raised his eyebrows, "A little?"

Allura stuck her tongue out at him.

"That's not very Queen-like behavior," he told her.

"I would think that would have learned by now not to insult a pregnant woman, she can exact her revenge and blame it on hormones."

"Is that a threat?"

"Keep pushing and you'll find out."

"Alright, alright children," Darcy interrupted, taking Schuyler from Lance.  "I'm going to show Becca to her room.  Please behave."  She gave Lance a quick kiss on the cheek.  "Can you get her bags to her room, please?"

Lance sighed dramatically, "I finally get a day off and I'm treated like a packing mule."

Darcy pinched his cheek, "But you're such a cute packing mule."

"Smartass."  He muttered, crossing toward the transport ship.

Darcy blew him a kiss before turning to her sister, "You tired?"

"Nah," Becca walked with her into the castle.  "I did nothing but sit and sleep and be bored for the past twenty eight hours.  I am hungry though."

"So am I," Allura spoke up.  "Let's go raid the kitchen and see what Nanny has."

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

Pidge stood in Castle Control and watched as the young Corporal sitting before him typed in the program.  He skimmed the checklist in front of him.  Upgrading the internal computer system was a lot more difficult and taking a lot longer than anyone had anticipated.  Almost everything in the castle, from the alarms to the door locks to the electrical output to the refrigeration units were regulated by the system. 

A few small bugs had been detected.  The day before the locks cut off on the nursery door and Nanny and Cady were stuck inside for half an hour.  Another time the alarms had gone off for no reason, which is something they can not allow to happen.  Just that morning, electricity had been cut off from the kitchens for two hours.  No miscalculations could be allowed.

He had an entire crew, as well as the rest of the Force, working with him on the upgrade, but Pidge was they kind of person who needed to be completely hands-on in a situation like this.  As competent as he knew they were, he needed to be a part of every step to ease his mind.

Pidge sighed and ran a hand through his hair.  He idly thought how he needed a haircut; it now brushed his collar and often fell over his glasses. 

"It's finished, sir," Cpl. Cheyen looked up at him.

Pidge nodded, "Good work, Corporal, now I need you to stay and watch while it is processed, you know what you need to look for.  If you notice any interruptions in the sequence, let me know immediately."

Cheyen brought his hand up and saluted smartly, "Yes, sir."

Pidge crossed to another terminal where Caleb was overseeing a scan that was running continuously, checking for viruses and bugs. 

"How's it going?"

Caleb smirked up at him, "So far everything's clear."

Pidge nodded and took his glasses off, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Good, good.  I think we may have finally worked everything out.  When are you going to be relieved?"

Caleb glanced at his watch, "Dante should be here in fifteen minutes or so.  What about you?"

"I'm going to stay here until this scan is finished and the program Cheyen just entered is fully processed."

"That could be hours."

"Yeah, but if everything works out, we will be finished tonight."

Caleb nodded, "I'm glad to hear that, but you're running yourself ragged, Pidge.  You need some rest."

"I'll get rest when we're done here."  Pidge looked down at the clipboard he held in his hand, scanning down the list of necessary updates.  "What time is it?"

"It's going on nine."  Caleb told him.

Pidge looked up, shocked and turned to look at the clock on the wall, "It is not that late!  It can't be.  I missed dinner."

Caleb smiled, "Nanny brought a tray in for you earlier, it's sitting over there, don't you remember?"

"No," Pidge looked over at the tray that sat on a side table.  "I didn't even hear her come in."

"You need to take a break, man." 

Pidge sighed and nodded, "Yeah, well, we're almost done now."

It was almost nine o'clock, which means Becca had arrived several hours earlier.  He idly remembered hearing the arrival of the ship and the guard granting them permission to land.  Too much was going on for him to leave and greet her, but he had promised to be at dinner.  He felt guilty about not seeing her, but he also knew she understood how important this was.  Besides, she was really here to see Darcy and the baby, not him.

Pidge sighed again, earning a grin from Caleb that he didn't notice.  Everyone seemed to know that there was something going on between him and Rebecca Barlow.  It had all started as a simple friendship.  He had been hurt and felt broken by the loss of Renata.  Renata.  The thought of her still brought a slight pang to his chest, but it didn't hurt as deeply as it once did.  When he thought of her now, it was more with fondness than regret.  He knew that was partially due to Becca's influence.  She had listened when he needed to talk, smiled when he needed a friendly face, and talked when he needed to listen.

When she had returned to Terra, they continued their correspondence with letters, email, and a few calls.  Their friendship grew and at first Pidge had felt some guilt for the feelings he felt towards her.  He felt as though he was being unfaithful to Renata's memory. 

Becca was the total opposite of Renata.  She was more outgoing, more sure of herself.  She laughed more and had the 'Barlow Wit', a personality trait that allowed Darcy and Becca to hold their own with the smartass attitudes of the guys on the Force.  Becca was shorter than her sister, her hair was lighter and her features softer.  She was not as quiet or introverted as Darcy had been when they had all first met. 

Pidge had to admit he liked having a friend outside of the military.  Someone he could talk to about things besides the latest tactics, proper protocol, and their regimen.  And he could talk to her.  Whenever he sat down to answer one of her emails, he found himself typing forever, sending pages of gossip, ideas, and idle chitchat.  She was so easy to talk to.

"You okay, Pidge?"  Caleb asked as he stood.

Pidge pulled himself from his reverie and nodded, "Yeah, sorry, I guess I spaced out of a minute there.  What's up?"

"I'm going to fill Dante in on what I've been doing and then I'm out of here."

"No, problem, Caleb, thanks for all your help."  Pidge crossed over to the tray and picked up the cold coffee, draining the mug.  As he turned to talk to Cpl. Cheyen, he mentally vowed to make up for his rudeness toward Becca the next day.

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

Becca sat in the rec room relaxing with the others, but her eyes kept shifting to the clock on the wall.  She was more than a little disappointed that she hadn't seen Pidge yet. 

She sat on the couch beside Darcy, who was leaning against Lance who had his arm across the back of the couch, idly playing with a lock of Darcy's hair while he talked to Keith.  On the loveseat across from the couch, Allura sat beside Keith, her feet propped up on the coffee table, one hand on her stomach as she and Darcy discussed baby names.  It was a very comfortable moment, but Becca couldn't help but wish Pidge was there.

Cady and Schuyler were both tucked in bed, two baby monitors sat on the coffee table.  Hunk was off with Paton where they were planning their upcoming wedding.  Dante had just left to relieve Caleb who had been on duty and there had yet to be a sign of Pidge.

Maybe she had been wrong.  Maybe he did just think of her as a friend and nothing more.  Becca suddenly felt foolish.  What had she been thinking?  Here he was, Lt. Pidge Audric of the famous Voltron Force, what could he possibly see in her?  A nobody from Terra.  It was silly to think he could like her.

She had just graduated from college with a degree in pre-med and she was going to start medical school in the fall.  There was so much going on in her life, this was for the best.  Getting involved in a long distance relationship would be a huge mistake at this point.

Becca decided then and there that she would just enjoy her time with her sister and her niece.  There was no ulterior motive for her visit.  She was not here to see Pidge. 

"What do you think Becca?"  Darcy asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Huh?  About what?"  Becca turned to look at her sister.

"It seems your mind is elsewhere," Lance teased.

"I, uh, I guess I'm more tired than I thought."  She muttered, blushing.

"Oh, of course," Allura put her feet on the floor and pushed herself up.  "I'm so sorry, Becca, we can show you to your room."

"No, Allura, sit down, relax, I can find my way," Becca kicked Darcy's foot to get her attention.

"What? Oh, yeah, yeah, I'll take her."  Darcy stood.

"That's alright, I need to use the bathroom anyway."  Allura led the way out of the rec room. 

"This has been a very busy week," Darcy whispered to her sister.

"What?"

"It's been a busy week for Pidge and the rest of the guys.  This entire castle is run by the computer system and they're updating it."

Allura turned to her, "Pidge is a great guy, he isn't intentionally ignoring you or anything, he's just very busy."

Becca blushed, "I know he's busy, I don't expect him to drop everything because I came to visit.  I'm here to see my sister and niece."

Darcy and Allura exchanged a look of disbelief. 

"And I'm glad you're here," Darcy slung her arm over Becca's shoulders.  "I was thinking that we could take Schuyler into town, do a little shopping."

"That sounds like fun, I will need to pick up some things to take home."

"Then that's what we'll do tomorrow."  Darcy said as they approached the guest room Becca was staying in.

"Good night, Becca, if you need anything, just ask."  Allura told her.

"Thanks, Allura, I appreciate it.  Good night."

Darcy waited until Allura had disappeared around the corner before turning to her sister.  "You okay?"

"Yes, Darcy," Becca sighed.  "I'm fine.  I don't know why you all seem to think that I'm upset or something."

"Well, I just know that you had hoped to see Pidge and I didn't want you to think that he…"

Becca sighed loudly and turned to open her door, "You're being ridiculous.  I'm just tired."

Darcy followed her into her room, "Come on, Bec, you can admit to the fact that you like him.  He's a great guy."

"Why is it so important to you for me to say that I like him?"

"Because I think he likes you too and I think you two would be good together."

"Okay, so I like him, but that doesn't mean anything.  We're friends, just friends.  I'm only here for a couple of months, I just want to have some fun before I have to go back to school."

Darcy watched as her sister went about getting ready for bed.  "Um, well then, I guess I'll see you in the morning."

Becca turned to her with a forced smile, "Thanks for everything, Darc.  Good night."

"Good night," Darcy excused herself and slipped from the room.