Author's Note: I need to apologize for taking so long to post, but we have had the flu, the holidays, and company at our house. I promise more regular updates from now on, and to make up for the delay I'm posting two chapters back to back.

Aftershocks

Allura left Romelle's room feeling bad for her cousin, but very concerned also. She could hardly wait to talk to Lance, about how his conversation with Sven went. When she entered the bedroom she saw, at the far end, the door to the balcony open. She walked across the room, smiling as she looked at the chaise lounge. Hopefully Lance would still be interested in spending time there.

As she walked out to the balcony though, she rather doubted it. Lance was sitting at the table, having a cigarette, with a bottle of Bushmills and a glass in front of him. He never smoked this late at night, and the Bushmills was not a good sign either. Allura stepped inside for a minute, and walking over to a small cabinet in the corner, she pulled out a glass.

When she got back outside she went over to the table and sat down next to Lance, pouring herself some of the whiskey. Lance looked at her with relief, glad that he didn't have to be alone with his thoughts anymore. He took a deep drag on his cigarette, as she took a swallow of the whiskey.

"Let me guess, you had a short, unpleasant conversation with Sven." Allura observed, and Lance nodded his head, giving her a rueful smile. He appreciated how well she read him, and how comfortable it was to be with her. Lance never had to hide anything from her, which he appreciated.

"Darling, unpleasant doesn't even come close to describing it!" Lance informed her. He then went on to tell her all of Sven's grievances, finishing up with the detail that he'd stopped the treatments. Lance had been appalled at how Sven was treating his life, and his son's life. He told Allie that, and she looked at him in shock and horror.

"No, he's not willing to die, just because he isn't getting his way!" Allie exclaimed, as she took a large swallow of whiskey. Lance looked at her sympathetically, as he took another drag on his cigarette. She looked at the ashtray and realized that he was smoking his second cigarette. Allie knew that he only did that when he was very upset, and it had been a long time since he'd been in that state.

"His pride is hurt by what Romelle has done, Allie. Not that I blame her." Lance stated, upset that his friend was acting the way he was. It had taken a great deal not to push him against the wall and get in his face like he'd wanted to.

"Well I talked to Romelle, and she was very matter of fact about the whole thing. She feels they really needed more time together under normal circumstances, to get to know each other better." Allie went on to explain Romelle's logic about her getting her own house.

"Lance, I think Fauk is already causing mischief." Allie confessed, wishing she hadn't seen what she had on her cousin's face. Lance went to pour himself more whiskey, and noticed that she had finished hers. Allie nodded her head when he offered her more, smiling at him with tenderness.

He was already feeling better having Allie here, to talk to about his frustration with Sven. Allie told him what she had noticed with Romelle, when Fauk was mentioned and Lance gave her a knowing glance as he finished his cigarette. He was glad Allie was with him, otherwise he'd have been lighting another one.

"Darling, Sven has one foot in the grave as it is, and Fauk is not going to help how he feels. I tried to tell him that you had spent time with Fauk the other morning, having coffee and talking." Lance explained, and Allie nodded her head as she remembered it. "Sven wanted to know why I was letting you talk to Fauk without me being there." He finished in horrified tones, as he thought about earnest Sven had been.

"Oh, that is not good. Do you think it is the haggerium that is exacerbating the situation?" Allie asked with a hopeful tone in her voice. She watched as Lance got a very sad look on his face, as he shook his head.

"Allie, the man is one of my best friends! He saved my life, and sacrificed his! I can't forget that, but I just don't know what to do for him?" Lance's voice was filled with anguish, and she felt his pain. She rose up from her chair, and went over to sit in his lap. Allie wrapped her arms around his shoulders, as she pulled his head against her chest.

Lance sagged against her, just wanting to feel her warmth and love. He knew that she understood the pain he was in, and she didn't flinch from it. Allie held him tighter, as he worked through the emotions that were racking his body. After a while, Lance calmed down some, but let Allie continue to hold him. She made it a point to breathe along with him, and she knew he was in a better place with it all.

"Darling, what can I do to help him?" Lance asked, reaching for his glass slowly. Allie laid her head against his, and sighed as she thought about his question. She sat up and looked at him, lightly kissing his forehead and nose.

"I think we need to get him back on the haggerium treatments, first thing Lance. That has to be affecting his physical and mental health greatly. Maybe once he is doing better with that, he would be willing to listen to reason." Allie thought out loud, and added "We can get Keith to talk to him. He'll listen to Keith!"

"Actually, Keith already tried to talk to him, according to Sven; I guess it didn't go well! Our fearless leader needs to work on his lectures." Lance gave a wry laugh, as he looked at his cigarette case. He wondered what Keith would think if he knew the reason why he'd started smoking again. Allie gave Lance a pointed look.

"Keith said something to him?" Allie was trying to visualize the conversation in her mind, but it wasn't happening. However, the fact that Keith had tried brought home how serious the situation must be.

"I guess that Keith told him that he needed to work with Romelle, because of Erik. It actually sounded very sensible, but Sven didn't see it that way. He is mad because he thinks everyone is taking Romelle's side in the matter." Lance shook his head, as he remembered listening to Sven.

"Lance, it might not matter whether Sven works with her or not. I picked up, reading between the lines of what Romelle told me, that once Bandor gets back from his honeymoon, he will put his foot down." Allie explained slowly, and told Lance about Bandor wanting Romelle to get along with Sven until after the wedding.

"Sugar that explains why your pompous cousin hasn't done anything before. Listening to Sven, I felt very bad for Bandor and Romelle having to cope with him. At the back of my mind I wondered why Bandor had let the situation simmer for as long as it has." Lance's tones were thoughtful, as the pieces all fell into place.

"Allie, I don't think Sven realizes what Bandor, as King of Pollux, could do to him. He might never see Erik again, if Bandor really snaps." Lance knew all too well how Bandor, still struggling with his throne, felt if someone offended the dignity of the royal house.

"I have a thought, Lance, and it would solve several problems!" Allie suddenly declared, seeing the plan come together in her mind. Lance looked at her with interest, and she gave him a smile.

"It can't be good for Sven to be alone on Crydor, with his thoughts, I am sure. Why don't we have Daniel go back with him? He could keep Sven company, and make sure that he does the haggerium treatments. I know that Pidge wanted to beta test it on Sven first, but since Daniel has the same infection, why not kill two birds with one stone?" Allie looked off in the distance for a minute, before she looked at Lance for an answer.

"You know Darling; you might be on to something there! It would be company for Sven and more research for Pidge." Lance felt a lot happier, and then a thought occurred to him, which made him laugh. Allie gave him a puzzled look, but was glad to see that he was more cheerful.

"If they are both going to be smoking weed, we'd better make sure they have enough food." Lance gave Allie a sly smile, and she almost blushed, knowing what he was referring to. Allie had been on earth, for a visit, and one night they were watching a movie at Lance's parent's apartments. His father was away on a trip, and his mother was in South Carolina writing.

However, his parent's movements were kept out of the news, so people always assumed they were in residence at the splendid apartment. The household staff was very loyal to the family, and knew to keep their mouths shut. The end result was that Allie could stay with Lance, and everyone assumed she was properly chaperoned. It was a comfy arrangement that she had enjoyed, liking to get away from the stiffness of the Embassy.

The movie had involved smoking pot, and Allie didn't know what it meant. Lance had explained it all to her, and she said she was curious to try it. Lance wasn't a big fan of marijuana, but didn't mind it either. By the next evening he'd purchased some, and proceeded to show Allie what was involved in smoking it. They had both ended up silly and giggly, then so hungry that they had a Chinese dinner for six people delivered, which they ate all of.

"I don't think Eliza's delivers to Crydor, Lance." Allie told him, thinking about their favorite place to get take out from. He looked at her with love, as they laughed about that night. She had not been interested in trying pot again, which was fine by him. It was a fond memory though, and he had liked how she had been willing to try something totally out of her comfort zone.

"Maybe having Daniel to think about will give Sven a purpose." Lance speculated, once they finished discussing their favorite dishes from Eliza's. He was back to his normal self, and knew that if it hadn't been for Allie he would have spent the whole night drinking and smoking. He told her that, as he reached up to lightly kiss her.

"I think before I have more whiskey, and you have another cigarette, we should go to bed. It is late, and things always look better in the morning." Allie told him when he broke off the kiss. She nuzzled against his ear, and he sighed heavily.

"Allie, can we just hold each other until we fall asleep? I am totally wiped out by everything." Lance murmured, and he felt Allie stand up. She held out her hand and he took it gladly.

"I think a good night's sleep, and a very slow morning is what we need Lance." Allie said tenderly, as they walked into the bedroom. They dropped their clothes by the side of the bed, and quickly snuggled under the covers. Lance felt her body against his, and knew that his life was perfect. Allie understood him, loved him, and liked him just as he was. He also appreciated her dry wit, which usually only he had the benefit of.

"Look at it this way; Keith won't be dragging you out of bed at 4:00am! Let's hope Eimear is keeping him busy." Allie voice's was muffled as she was snuggled against his chest. He laughed heartily, hoping that was the case.

The next morning Allie woke up around 6:00am, getting out of bed carefully, not wanting to disturb Lance. She put her robe on, and then walked over to her desk bringing up a holoscreen. She sent a message to Rigsby, telling him that she would be too busy with family matters, and wedding guests to see anyone today. They had already kept the schedule clear, but sometimes things came up at the last minute, and the sentry needed to know how to handle the issues. Rigsby knew everything, and everyone, so he would understand what her message really said.

Looking over at Lance, still sound asleep; she decided to do a little snooping on her own. In going through the security logs, she saw that Keith had not come back to the Castle last night. Allie felt very cheered, hoping that he was at Eimear's, happy in her bed. She wrote a memo to Keith, outlining what Lance and her had talked about, regarding Daniel going to Crydor with Sven.

She then climbed back under the covers, and snuggled up next to Lance. He was warm, and smelled very masculine, spicy, and musky at the same time. Lance moved against her, positioning his body tighter against hers with a contented sigh.

"God, I feel like hell! And I am hungry!" Lance rolled over several hours later, sitting up very carefully. Allie looked with sympathy and her husband, remembering last night.

"Just lie back for bit; let me get you some water." She told him, and he took her advice. His head hurt, and he remembered why he didn't like to indulge late at night. Getting up, he met Allie in the bathroom and she looked at him curiously.

"I need to brush my teeth." Lance told her, and she waited while he did that. Allie looked at the bathroom, and remembered their talk about a bigger bathtub yesterday. The room was good sized, but only set up for one person. She looked over at Lance, using the one sink, and admired his body. He caught her looking at him, and smirked.

"Once I feel better, and have some food in me, what do you think about a shower together, Sugar?" Lance asked her, after rinsing out his mouth. He put his arms around her, and pulled her against him.

"Mmm, I would like that Lance. Here take this, and I'll order us some food. I have also taken care that we won't be disturbed all morning, dear." Allie told him, and Lance gave her a grateful look.

"Allie, I just want a slow, private morning with you and no one else, ok?" Lance asked softly in her ear, and she nodded her head.

"I'm going to order us breakfast, along with bloody Mary's, and while we eat I think we need to talk about remodeling the bathroom here. The work could be done while we are on earth in a couple of months." Allie informed him in a pleased voice.

"Can we get a bigger tub?" Lance asked as they went back into the bedroom, and she replied with happy laughter.