A/N: This is a story UsagiRyu and I are writing together. We've talked many times about the VF cadets, and how their actions never seem to have logical, long-lasting repercussions. One night we asked ourselves what would happen if there WERE repercussions, and this dark little fic was born. There will be a lot of angst, a lot of change and adjustment for several characters, and, advance warning, no magical happy ending. That said, we welcome you to The Darkest Hour.
Additional note: For our purposes, Sven wasn't infected with Haggarium, and didn't go to Crydor. He's married to Romelle, they have a baby son, and live on Pollux.
The last steps Keith Kogane ever took saved Daniel Chandler's life. Keith saw a smuggler take aim at the cadet and knew that if the shot connected, Daniel was dead. "Only one choice," he thought, and pushed Daniel to the ground. A split second later, Keith screamed as the laser connected with his lower back.
Lance's head jerked up at the scream. "KEITH!" A volley from his magma pistols took out the last of the smugglers, and he sprinted for Keith, sliding to his knees at his unmoving lover's side. "Oh my God," he breathed, trying with both hands to stop the blood flowing from Keith's back. Daniel stared, horrified, and Lance whipped around to snap at him, "Get the first aid kit from Black, NOW!" Daniel stood frozen; Lance lost his grip on his temper. "MOVE YOUR DAMNED ASS, CADET!" The boy snapped out of his shock and ran for Black; Lance returned his full attention to Keith. "Please, please, hang on," he whispered, pressing against the wound with his gloved palms in an attempt to stanch the bleeding.
Daniel came back with the first aid kit; Lance grabbed the gauze and carefully packed the wound as his teammates knelt beside him. "Damn, this is bad," he said softly. "Find something we can put him on, guys; I want to keep him as still as possible."
Hunk spied a piece of metal and grabbed it. "I can make a back board out of this," he said quietly. "It'll keep Keith still. Better call Dr. Gorma and let him know."
"I already called," Pidge pushed up his glasses. "He has a trauma team on standby."
Lance grunted and changed the blood soaked gauze. Vince and Larmina stared in shock at Keith's still form. Larmina shivered, remembering when Keith almost died after receiving the severe laser sword cut. The memory of her favorite uncle lying in a hospital bed with a tube down his throat and a bandage across his chest seared into her then five year old mind. "Not again," she murmured. She turned to Daniel. "This is your stupid fault!" She punched Daniel.
"Now, Cadets, don't go fighting between yourselves. We have to focus on saving Keith," Hunk admonished them. "Save the blame for later."
Lance swore frantically, grabbing everyone's attention. "Damn it all to hell, I can't stop the bleeding! We've gotta get him to Gorma. Hunk, help me get him on that plate." The two of them slid the plate as close to Keith as they could, then carefully worked it under him.
"Take him in Black, Lance," Hunk directed. "Princess, go with him and keep pressure on that wound. Daniel, Larmina, you two take Blue and Red back to their dens. Let's move, people!" He helped Lance carry Keith to Black, then ran for his own Lion.
Lance barely waited for him to get clear before he yanked the controls and sent Black streaking for home, heart racing and palms clammy with more than just Keith's blood. "Damn Daniel and his fucking joyrides," he growled, risking a minute to turn and look at Keith.
Allura met his gaze, tears running down her cheeks. "Lance, I don't think he's going to make it!" Keith's body hitched under her hands. "Oh Goddess, he stopped breathing!" Lance flew out of his seat, shoving Allura to the side and reaching for his Academy CPR training. He stayed there, breathing for his partner, until Allura landed Black and the trauma team took Keith to MedTech. Lance watched as the medics carried his beloved away. Allura put her hand on his shoulder. "Let's get to MedTech," she said quietly.
In MedTech, the Voltron Force stayed in a group with Larmina and Vince, waiting for news on their Captain. Lance had called Sven on Pollux as soon as they got to the castle, and the Norwegian waited silently with his friends. Daniel found himself ostracized to a shadowy corner, near a creepy painting of the first Royal Physician. Hours passed and Dr. Gorma did not appear to announce that Keith was fine and would be back on duty soon.
"What the hell is taking so damned long?" Lance demanded of a nurse. "Is he playing golf in there?"
"Commander McClain, please, he's still working on Captain Kogane. He'll give you an update when he has one," the nurse pleaded. "I'm sorry but that's all I can tell you right now."
"Dammit!" Lance punched the wall.
"Lance, don't!" Allura jumped up and grabbed her best friend. Lance looked at her, wild-eyed and unrepentant. "Sit down," she ordered.
Lance shook his head. "I can't," he whispered. "God, Allie, what if he's. . ." he couldn't finish the sentence, and Allura took him in her arms.
"Shh. . ." she whispered, swaying back and forth with him as she had done with Larmina so many times. "He'll be all right, he's strong. And he loves you too much to leave you."
After several more hours, Dr. Gorma appeared at the waiting room door, looking more dragged out than anyone had ever seen him. "The Captain is alive . . . barely," he sighed. "It remains to be seen how he will come out of this."
Lance choked. "What the hell does that mean?" he finally got out.
Gorma sighed. "The Captain has injured his spinal cord. If he lives, it is almost a certainty that he will be paralyzed. Unfortunately, we won't know if and to what extent until he wakes up and the swelling in his spinal cord subsides."
The team gasped in horror; Lance was white. "Please, can I see him?"
"Of course, Commander. You are probably the best thing for him right now."
Lance started to follow the doctor, but was stopped by Allura's slim hand on his arm. "Tell him we all love him," she said softly. Lance nodded, unsure of his voice, then joined the waiting doctor.
In the ICU bed closest to the nurses' station, Keith lay unmoving, his only sign of life the artificial respiration of the ventilator. His private nurse slipped out to give Lance a semblance of privacy, and the pilot fell into the chair at Keith's bedside, gently taking his lover's limp hand. "Come back to me," he whispered, voice breaking. "We can handle anything together; just don't leave me." Something gave way inside him; he abruptly left Keith's bedside and stormed back into the waiting room. Allura got up and came to him, but he brushed by her and got in Daniel's face. "ARE YOU FUCKING HAPPY NOW? THINK YOU'VE GOT YOUR CHANCE AT BLACK? OVER MY DEAD BODY!"
Lance lost control of his temper entirely; before anyone could do or say anything, he drew back his right fist and punched the cadet in the jaw. Daniel went sprawling." Let me tell you one thing." Lance's voice was deadly quiet, and Daniel wished he'd go back to yelling. A quiet Lance was a terrifying Lance. "If-if he dies, there won't be a safe place in this entire fucking galaxy for you. God have mercy on you, because I won't." Lance spun on his heel and ran out of MedTech.
Allura, worried, started to follow him, only to find herself held back. She looked up to find Sven shaking his head at her. "Leave him be, Princess. Lance is not safe to be around in dis state of mind. I'M afraid of him."
"Lance would never hurt me," she protested. "Please, Sven; he shouldn't be alone!"
Sven didn't budge. "He vould not hurt you if he vere himself. Right now, he is not himself, and de only person who vould be safe is in a coma. No, Princess. Let him be for now." He crossed the room and gave Daniel a hand up, expression unreadable. "You are very lucky," he told the cadet. "If Lance had not pulled dat punch, you vould be dead. Go get some ice on dat jaw and get some rest." Daniel looked around the room a minute, then dropped his head and slowly walked out.
Lance made it to his room without running into anyone, a fortunate thing given the killing rage that still consumed him. He flopped across the bed, trying desperately not to think of the last time he was in it, then grabbed a pillow and screamed his anguish and heartbreak into it. No matter what happened, his and Keith's lives as they had known them were over. All because a cocky brat of a teenager wouldn't listen to anyone that wasn't him.
The rage was threatening to overwhelm his control; Lance only knew one thing that would stop it. He got off the bed and knelt at his closet, rummaging in a box at the back. A few minutes later, he came up with a bottle of scotch, and settled back on his bed. The tears started after the first couple of swallows; when a tenth of the bottle was in him, he was openly sobbing. A few drinks more, and he passed out cold, whispering Keith's name.