A/N: Get ready for some whumps, chaos, near-death experiences, and protective Keith! He ended up ultra protective in this chapter and I'm not sure if he will be that intense in the later chapters. But, if you have read my other fics, you might have noticed how close I make Keith and Pidge.

It's a slight AU in that the injuries are more realistic and something is introduced that will at least be noticed in the later chapters. The italicized "Keith thoughts" thing that shows up later will hopefully be a continuing theme in other chapters.

This might be the most intense thing I've ever written! Which... isn't saying much. I actually tried to be more descriptive with the injuries, but made myself nauseous and had to take it out. So, it's only slightly harsher than my norm.

This chapter was inspired by some artwork from DeviantArt called "So Small," which prompted me to do the whole story. I don't know the artist's name.


Exploring new planets so often ended up with the paladins running for their lives that Keith wondered why they even bothered anymore.

"Next time, let's use that BLIP tech you're so proud of," Keith said to Pidge as he sprinted alongside her.

"Or, we can send Lance in first," Pidge suggested back, not missing a step as she hurtled a mass of tree roots.

"No, that's-" Keith paused as he and Pidge broke off to dodge around opposite sides of a tree, "-what got us in this mess in the first place."

"I'm right here!" Lance complained.

"Guys," Shiro cut in. "Focus."

Keith glanced at the black paladin. Namely, his flesh arm. There were large tooth marks in the armor and the armor was dented. Though Shiro wasn't showing signs of pain, Keith knew he had to have been hurting.

"How far are we from the lions?" Hunk cried.

"Two miles, as the cat flies," Coran said.

"It's crow!" protested Lance, who was the one attempting to teach Coran Earth sayings.

"Crow, cat, what's the difference, it's two miles," Coran huffed.

Keith shook his head at Lance's put out expression. "Those things are catching up. We won't make it to the lions in time. You four, keep going, and I'll distract them."

"Keith," Shiro said, catching Keith's arm. "You can't go off by yourself."

"I'll just slow them down and keep out of reach," Keith said. "Don't worry, I'll be right behind you."

Keith shook himself free and veered off before Shiro could protest more. He saw Lance steady Shiro, then Pidge dodged after him.

"What are you doing?" Keith asked as Pidge caught up.

"There's two of them. I'll even up the odds," Pidge said logically.

Keith scowled to show he disapproved, but it wasn't like Pidge would actually leave if he told her to. Besides, she was a fast enough climber, Keith knew she could get up a tree if needed.

"Just be careful," Keith said.

"I could say the same to you." Pidge smirked.

All conversation stopped as, with a massive roar, one of the pursuing creatures burst out of the brush.

As Coran had no name for them, Lance had dubbed them "sabers." They resembled a saber-tooth tiger, at a height twice Shiro's. Their mottled grey fur stood out in the greenery, but had blended well in the rocky den where Lance had accidently come upon them. Their canines were easily three feet long, with serrated edges. Their eyes were a piercing green, with slitted pupils.

Keith lost no time in leaping to the left. "Hey, over here!"

The saber roared and leaped at him, but Keith activated his jetpack and shot away to land on a low branch of a tree. Pidge lunged at it, smacking it upside the face with her bayard. The saber bellowed, then there was an answering roar as the second saber leaped into view.

The second saber was slightly smaller and leaner than the first, leading Keith to believe it was a female and the first was a male.

Keith jumped at the male as it turned toward Pidge. He formed his shield and ran into its face at full speed. It gave a screech and swiped at Keith, but he was already rolling away.

Bouncing to his feet, Keith saw that Pidge was tormenting the female by darting in to poke it, then shooting away.

"Keep it up, Pidge," Keith said, rolling under the male's paw. "Once the others are far enough away, we'll go."

"Got it! Woah!" Pidge yelped as she narrowly spun away from the saber's sharp claws.

"Careful!" Keith scrambled up the male's side, making it spin in a rapid circle, before leaping over its stumpy tail. "Don't take too many risks."

"That's great, coming from you," Pidge snorted.

Keith landed, then realized that the sabers were moving closer together. "Keep them apart!"

"Easier said than done," Pidge said.

She shot her energy whip into the trees and jerked herself up just before the female could step on her. She vaulted over the female, turning it away from the male.

Keith turned to see the male rushing him. He leaped and rolled out of the way, coming to his feet for another attack. Except the male didn't stop his charge, headed right for the female!

Keith ran forward, yelling, "Pidge!"

Pidge, on the other side of the female, couldn't see the male charging. She was on the ground and braced for the female's next attack, when the female leaped sideways. Her face barely had time to register shock, then the male's head collided with her body.

Pidge was thrown backwards, skidding head-over-heels and losing her helmet before somehow stopping in a crouch. The female, who had rushed forward when the male first struck, didn't give her time to recover. She raised a paw and slashed at Pidge, throwing her once more. She crashed to the ground and didn't move.

Rage surged through Keith. His jetpack activated, shooting him over the male who had turned to face him again and landing him on the female's head. Using the head like a springboard, Keith launched himself into a flying leap that landed him near where Pidge laid. Keith spared a moment to glance away from the stunned sabers.

Some of the black armor around Pidge's middle had been torn, and two long gashes were visible. Her hair was tangled from the rolling, and there was a bit of blood on her hairline. Her eyes were closed and her rapid breathing was her only movement.

"Keith! Pidge!" Shiro called over the coms. "What happened?"

"Pidge is down," Keith said, lifting his head as the sabers started to approach again. "And neither of the sabers look ready to give up."

"Lance, go on ahead to the lions and get to Keith and Pidge," Allura said.

"What? Alone? And what about Shiro and Hunk! Shiro's still hurt," Lance protested.

"Hunk and Shiro, climb a tree and keep quiet until Lance can fetch you," Coran said.

"Oh, yeah, brilliant," Hunk said. Grunts from him and Shiro suggested they were climbing, even as Hunk worried. "And what if the sabers decide to come after us?"

"Fight them off, hide, I don't care. Just burn that bridge when you get there!"

Under normal circumstances, Keith would have smiled at Lance's flustered exclamations at Coran's poor interpretation of the saying. But he had to focus on the sabers.

Sensing victory, the sabers approached slowly. As they started to circle in opposite directions, Keith knew he had to move before they could get far.

Keith ran at the female, who reared up for an attack. He dodged to the side, slashing at her side with his sword. Seeing the male move toward Pidge out of the corner of his eye, Keith whipped out his knife and flung it. The knife stabbed into the male's side, bringing it to a screeching halt. The female, untouched by Keith's sword, roared in fury. Keith had to duck quickly out of the way of a swipe of her paws, jabbing up with his sword into the paw.

While the female squealed, Keith dismissed his shield and ran back to Pidge. She hadn't risen, though Keith was relieved to see her eyes crack open. The bleeding on her side was slowing, but he needed to get it covered before trying to move her.

"Keith?" Pidge mumbled.

"Right here. Just hang on."

Keeping an eye on the sabers regrouping, Keith jerked off a glove to press against Pidge's bleeding side. She hissed at the pressure, but didn't try to move away.

The sabers hissed. The male swiped off the knife, and Keith realized it had barely pierced the skin. The female growled and retreated, limping heavily on the injured paw, but the male only looked angrier than ever.

Keith took Pidge's hand and pressed it to the glove. "Keep the glove in place, and don't move!"

Keith was in motion the next second. Reforming the shield, Keith leaped up to charge the saber. The saber lowered its head in a charge. At the last moment, Keith slashed at the saber's face before he threw himself to the side and activated his jetpack.

As Keith had hoped, the saber roared at the attack and turned away from Pidge. Keith half-landed against the side of a tree and kicked off again. The saber couldn't stop in time and crashed into the tree with such force that the trunk cracked.

"Lance, status!" Keith said.

"I'm almost… there," Lance panted. "Just… just hold on... for a few... more minutes."

"Got it."

The saber recovered, ending the conversation. Stepping away from the now-leaning tree, the beast growled.

"Just go away," Keith told it, swinging his sword.

The saber didn't listen, instead, pouncing at Keith. He dodged away and rushed in to attack its side, but the saber sprang sideways. The fight continued for several more minutes. Neither could touch the other, but Keith was rapidly getting tired. Luckily, the female had stayed away, or Keith would have been doomed.

Rolling away from the saber's claws, Keith found himself near Pidge. She was sitting up now, with a hand clamped to her side.

"Can you walk?" Keith asked quickly.

Pidge gave a pained shrug. Keith nodded. Even if she could, there was no way she could run fast enough to escape in her condition.

The saber was charging again, and Keith ran to intercept it. He was exhausted from the fight, but all he could think of was protecting Pidge.

The saber opened its mouth, and Keith hurriedly formed his shield and jammed it under the canines into it's gaping maw. The saber tried to bite down, only to find the shield forcing its mouth to stay open.

For a moment, neither moved. The saber appeared too stunned to try anything, and Keith was just realizing how bad of a situation he had just put himself in. If he dismissed the shield now, his arm would be crushed. Would the shield even hold against the saber's strength?

A chilling crack answered Keith's question. A series of cracks had appeared in the shield's surface. He swung up his sword, hoping the saber would flinch away and allow him to get free.

Instead, the saber's head jerked up, hauling Keith a foot off the ground. He hurriedly dismissed the shield, the possibility of being shaken more concerning than his arm. He fell, arm slipping free in time to avoid being crushed, but then the saber's paw flashed up and there's no way to dodge it.

The paw caught Keith in the middle. While he didn't think the claws had pierced the armor, Keith's breath was still forced from his lungs and he was flung twenty feet before crashing to the ground. He rolled several times before coming to an abrupt halt against a tree. Darkness flickered across Keith's vision, but he shook it off and struggled to stand. His right leg wouldn't move right, but he didn't have time to check why.

The saber was already running. It leaped at Keith, jaws open wide to finish him off. Keith yelped, drawing up his sword in front of him in a feeble attempt to scare it off.

Then the glowing green of an energy whip shot in from the side. It smacked the saber in the face, causing it to stagger, then was jerked back to snag around the canines.

Keith flipped onto his stomach. He winced at the pain in his middle, but thought for himself vanished as soon as he saw Pidge.

She was somehow standing, and had shot her energy whip to defend Keith. She was braced backwards, but Keith knew that if the saber hadn't been startled to a halt, she would have been dragged off her feet in an instant. As it was, the strain of standing was evident on her face. Her whole body was shaking and if the growing stain of dark on her middle was any indication, her wound was still bleeding.

"Pidge! Let-"

Exactly what Keith was afraid to happen, happened. The saber, whether or not it knew what had hit it, didn't like what had wrapped around its canines. It gave a massive jerk of its head. Pidge was yanked straight off her feet and into the air.

She crashed into a tree with a painful thud, her whole body jerking against the force. Her eyelids fluttered and she flopped bonelessly to the ground. She wasn't moving, Keith couldn't tell if she was breathing from her collapsed position.

The saber got the brilliant idea to go after the motionless paladin. Giving a low snarl, it took a step closer to Pidge.

Well, that did it.

An almost inhuman scream of rage ripped out of Keith's throat, so loud that the coms gave a squeal of feedback and the others gave startled yelps.

He didn't care about his hard to catch breath, not his aching sides, not the burning in his leg, not the tiredness dragging at his limbs. Pidge was hurt and defenseless, and that thing was going after her?

Big mistake.

Keith was on his feet in a second, throwing himself at the saber. It barely felt the impact, but it did feel the slash on its shoulder. Roaring, the saber turned to face Keith once again.

So, Pidge was out of immediate danger, but Keith also knew, even with the adrenaline of anger, he still couldn't beat the saber. He rapidly backed away, clumsy on a suddenly awkward right leg. He swung his sword to keep the saber at bay, as he looked frantically around for something he could use.

His eyes fell on the cracked tree. It was leaning and badly damaged. If he timed it right…

Keith ran off to the side in a lurching skip-hop to compensate for his leg. The saber crouched and leaped. Keith tried to spin away, but he wasn't quick enough and the saber knocked him on his back.

Pinned down with a massive paw on his chest, Keith still wasn't about to quit. His sword flashed up and around. The saber roared and fell back, now missing half of its left canine.

Keith rolled to his feet and rushed for the tree. He all but ran into the trunk, grabbing onto it for support and twisting around.

The saber was raging mad by then. It barreled toward Keith, who had seconds to act. He spun on his heel, grabbed his sword in both hands, and swung it with all the strength he had into the trunk.

The sword sliced through the trunk. The whole tree shuddered and creaked. It began to fall toward Keith.

Keith didn't even bother to look back. Activating his jetpack, Keith kicked off to the left. As he landed and tumbled to a stop, there was a startled screech and a crash. Keith scrambled to his feet, in case it tried to attack again.

The saber was off to the side, having avoided most of the tree. But it had a paw pinned, and it was growling madly as it tried to free itself. The female bounded forward, and the pair managed to shove the tree away.

The male saber stood, gave a weak growl in Keith's direction, then turned away. The pair leaned against each other, both favoring opposite paws, and limped away.

Dismissing the sabers now that they were gone, Keith turned to Pidge. She still hadn't moved.

He burst into a sprint, only for his legs to give out after a dozen steps. He fell to his knees, then collapsed full onto his stomach, arms flinging out in a sprawl. His sword flew out of his grasp, vanishing in a blink of light that Keith barely registered as he dragged himself to his elbows.

She wasn't moving. Her face was slack. The blood on her hairline had only increased. Was she even breathing? He couldn't look, he was too afraid.

"I'm in… Blue!" Lance's voice broke Keith out of his shock. "How… How's you two?"

Keith couldn't even answer. His hands pressed against Pidge's side, feeling too much blood, but she was breathing!

"Keith? Keith, what's… happening?!" Lance demanded breathlessly.

"It's Pidge, Pidge is down," Keith panted out, not caring that was all that he had told them the first time.

Keith grabbed Pidge in his free arm, scooping her to his chest. Her hand kneaded weakly against his armor. Her ragged, shaky breaths puffed against his neck. Her sides were warm and sticky, and he could barely bring himself to look.

The wound had gotten bigger. No matter how hard he pressed, he just couldn't….

"K-Keith?" Pidge murmured.

"I'm here, I'm here," Keith said frantically. "Lance, hurry!"

The paladins started to talk loudly, Keith's terrified tone bringing everyone's concern to flat out terror. Keith yelled at them to be quiet, Pidge was talking again.

"I'm… tired," Pidge said quietly. "I… I, uh, didn't… think that through… you know?"

"It's okay, Pidge," Keith soothed. "Just… just open your eyes for me, okay?"

"I can't…"

Pidge shuddered, and Keith had to wonder what damage had been done below the surface. Her eyes still weren't open, and the little motions of her hands were slowing.

"Pidge? Pidge, open your eyes."

Keith's heart about stopped when Pidge didn't even respond. He hugged her closer, desperate for some sign of life.

"Pidge, come on. Don't leave me, Pidge. Just hang in there. Lance is almost here. Pidge? Pidge, stay with me."

Keith's voice fell into a moaning croon as Pidge remained silent, begging, pleading for her to wake up. It felt like hours, but was barely minutes, when there was a rush of wind and a crash. Keith still couldn't raise his head.

Hands on his shoulders finally got him moving. He looked blearily up, there was a fuzzy blue figure above him.

Lance.

It took a second to register the shaking and yelling he was receiving. He pulled back, giving Lance a good look at Pidge and himself. Lance froze, voice ending with a shocked choke.

And then Lance was in motion. Scooping up Pidge himself, he ran for Blue. Startled by Pidge's sudden absence, Keith staggered to his feet. He wobbled over to Blue, barely registering the frozen trees snapped in half to make room for the lion.

Lance was inside with Pidge, calling desperately to the others. Keith struggled to make out the words as he slumped for the cockpit.

"...three pods. She's real bad, and he doesn't look so good. Hunk and Shiro, get into a clear spot and be ready! We'll grab you on the way, but there won't be time to stop!

Keith collapsed in the cockpit with a clank of armor. He reached for Pidge, needing to feel her presence. Luckily, Lance understood and laid Pidge back in his arms. A wad of cloth was pressed into his hand and something wrapped quickly around his leg. Lance was doing that thing with the shoulders again, and Keith realized that he's talking but his voice kept fading.

"...press against the wound... to not move... you even walk in here."

Then Lance's voice was gone, and they were moving. Keith tucked Pidge closer and dropped his head to listen to her hoarse breathing. Her face was pale -too pale- under Blue's lights, so Keith closed his eyes.

"We're safe," Keith whispered to Pidge. "Lance's got us, we're going back to the Castle, just hang in there."

The flight seemed to take seconds, then someone grabbed Pidge. Keith moaned in protest, and felt hands under his arms helping him stand. Opening his eyes, he saw Pidge being carried away by Coran and that prompted Keith to move. Lance -he was still there, holding him upright- told him to slow down, but Keith pushed himself to keep up until they reached the pod room.

Lance tugged Keith in the direction of an empty pod -why were there three? Only Pidge and Shiro needed one- but Keith wouldn't let him. He dragged Lance along with him to where Coran and Allura were removing Pidge's armor.

"Lance… pod," Allura said, voice fuzzy to Keith.

"...tried, but he…"

"I'll hold… get Shiro…"

Keith blinked, startled when Lance released him over to Coran. He heard Lance call to someone, but had forgotten the blue paladin in the next second.

"Come on… hop into a pod," Coran said to Keith.

"No," Keith mumbled. Why did they keep trying to get him into a pod? "Pidge."

Allura spoke again, and Keith concentrated on her words. "I've got her. She will be fine, Keith. Listen to Coran."

Keith nodded, having no intent in getting into a pod. Yeah, his chest hurt, but he'd been hit harder before. Coran moved toward another pod, but Keith planted his feet. Well, foot. He couldn't really feel the right one any more. Was that bad?

Shiro was suddenly in front of him, taking him from Coran like it was "pass Keith around" day or something. Keith just wanted to be left alone, but they wouldn't listen!

"Pod," Keith muttered, eyes trailing toward Shiro's injured arm. "You need a pod."

"And so do you," Shiro said gently.

Keith shook his head, the motion dizzying him and causing him to lose focus on the others' words again.

"Really out...

"... wobbly...? … fighting…"

"He… pod."

"Maybe… lift him?"

"...kicks, that will…"

"Drag?"

"Really? ...worse."

"I… knock him… that work?"

"No, Lance... "

"...him over…"

"Still… bad idea."

Keith's frame shook. He slumped against Shiro, but the action only spurned the black paladin to try and move him again. Keith jolted back to himself, kicking out.

"... offer still stands."

Keith whipped his head up to glare at Lance. Was he really wanting to knock him out? Lance had an impish grin, but his eyes were just so worried…. Keith looked at the others, and found their expressions mirrored Lance's.

Why was everyone worried?

Keith finally decided to see why his leg felt so strange. If nothing else, it was a distraction from everyone's worry. He dropped his head.

His armor was… bloody. A bit around his middle, but mainly around the right leg. It ran down the armor to pool under his foot. Was all that Pidge's? He strained to remembered which side he had held Pidge, but found his train of thought disappearing as quickly as the others' voices.

"Pidge… that much…."

"Quiz… coming from…!"

Keith's other leg suddenly felt as numb as the other. Both legs collapsed out from under him. Hands grabbed at him, voices rose in panic, his feet were swept into the air…

And then Keith found his eyes blinking open to the transparent blue of a pod. He had about two seconds of calm and mild confusion before his full-blown panic returned.

Keith stumbled forward, reaching out as the pod's front opened. His legs gave out within seconds, but arms swept out and caught him.

"Easy, Keith," Shiro said, the direction of his voice leading Keith to realize that Shiro had been the one to catch him. "Guys, he's up!"

Footsteps clattered over, and Keith forced himself to straighten as the others approached. Coran in front, with Lance right behind. Hunk and Allura stood from where they sat in front of another pod to come closer.

Between them, was Pidge. She was back in her normal clothes and had no signs of her injuries, but seeing her moving around still gave Keith a surge of panic.

"Pidge!"

Keith tried to shove away from Shiro to go to Pidge, but his arms were too weak to do so successfully. Shiro just wrapped his arms around the teen.

"I said to take it easy," Shiro chided.

Keith gave him a confused look. "What about Pidge? Why isn't she still in the pod?"

Pidge cocked an eyebrow. "I'd say a day in the pod was long enough."

"What?"

Pidge lowered herself to sit beside Keith, so Keith let Shiro guide him to the ground as well. He was still baffled about the day.

"What happened?" Keith asked, then remembered something. He looked up and leveled a glare at Lance. "You knocked me out."

Lance raised his hands defensively. "It was only an offer! I didn't actually do anything!"

"You passed out on your own," Shiro added.

"See?"

Keith ignored Lance's statement and asked Shiro, "I was out for a day?"

"Almost two days," Allura corrected. "After you fell unconscious, we put you into a pod."

"Why?"

Everyone looked at Keith. He shifted, uncomfortable under their stares.

"Really? Do you really not-" Shiro broke off to point. "Hunk, grab the armor."

Pidge started to explain. "I had a bad couple of cuts on my side and a concussion. It was mostly the shock wearing off that made me pass out. But, you…"

"You lost too much blood," Lance said seriously. "I saw the wound, but the armor hid how bad it was. I assumed it was Pidge's blood, since you were still moving around. You should have said something, but no, you had to go and bleed all over the floor and pass out first."

"Blood? I didn't get cut," Keith said, confused. "Maybe broke or cracked some ribs-"

"One broken and three cracked," Coran supplied. "Not to mention your left arm had a bad sprain and your right leg came close to dislocation."

Keith blinked. That explained why he had had a hard time walking.

Then Hunk returned with Keith's leg armor. It was… a mess. The armor had three huge gashes in it, straight through the armor and so long that it was inches from being ripped into four pieces.

Well. Maybe the saber's claws had reached him.

"Keith," Shiro said. "That's what your leg armor looked like. Your leg was so badly cut up, we were afraid the pod wouldn't even be able to save it."

Keith looked down, just noticing the the right pantleg of the jumpsuit had been cut away. His legs were normally rather thin, but the right leg seemed kind of shriveled now. The skin was discolored in three ragged lines.

"Um…" Keith raised his head. "I didn't notice."

"Didn't-" Lance dropped his head into his hands and took several breaths before wiping his face of emotion and said, "I shouldn't really be that surprised. Keith, how are you even still alive?"

Everyone burst into giggles. Even Keith and, eventually, Lance. It had been a stressful couple of days.

"Keith," Shiro finally said when they had calmed down. "I get that you feel the need to protect your teammates -we all do- but don't kill yourself in doing so. We've all got each other's backs. You understand?"

"I get it," Keith said.

"Uh-huh." Hunk nodded sagely. "You got it until the next time one of us is in danger."

Keith didn't answer; he didn't really need to. Everyone knew what Hunk said was true. No one bothered to continue the conversation, instead Keith and Pidge were helped back up.

Keith gave a hiss when he put pressure on his right leg. Pidge popped up beside him, somehow inserting herself between his right arm and body. She smugly grabbed his arm and put it over her shoulder so that she was easing the weight on his leg. Keith shook his head but didn't bother protesting, instead letting Pidge help support him as the team headed out of the pod room.

It hurt to walk and the day of the fight had been terrifying, but it was a small price to pay for Pidge's safety. Keith knew he would do it again -for Pidge or any of the others- in a heartbeat.


A/N: And he will. Five more times before this story has ended.

Up next: (Will be familiar to those who read the original Lance chapter in Takin' Care) When the team is ambushed and Lance is injured, Keith finds himself hard-pressed to keep the team sharpshooter in action.