A/N: I apologize for any medical inaccuracies. Most of my medical knowledge comes from Google, TV, or fanfiction, so take it with a grain of salt.

Everything was happening so fast that Veronica could barely keep up. One minute they'd finally defeated Zarkon, the next Voltron was battling against some new robot from space. Then the Atlas decided to grow legs and join in the fight. When the robot was finally down for good, Veronica was able to take a breath. All the crewmembers around her did the same thing, including Shiro. Today was without a doubt the craziest day any of them had experienced.

Then they saw that the lions had picked up the robot and were flying it away from the Earth. Veronica was confused. What were they doing? She checked communications and saw that they'd lost contact with the paladins.

She didn't know what was going on, but all she could do was watch. The lions made it out of the atmosphere, and then there was the bright flash of an explosion. Veronica felt her heart skip a beat and frantically searched the sky, looking for any of the lions. She saw a bright flash as one of them plummeted down, leaving a plume of smoke behind.

"No," she said. She looked frantically back at Shiro, who was watching with clenched teeth and a pale face. "We have to go get them."

He looked at her and nodded. Commander Holt stepped up and put his hand on Shiro's shoulder. "I'll organize the teams."

"Sir, let me go get Lance," Veronica said. No way was she going to wait here any longer. "I'll take a rover."

The commander held up a hand. "I know how you feel, but we're not even sure where any of the lions went down."

Veronica pointed to the plumes of smoke rising in the distance. "We'll just follow the smoke."

She noticed on her screen that the Garrison was trying to hail them, and she ran over and let the communication through.

"Sir, we have visual on three of the lions. Black and Red crashed right by us, and Green went down in the forest."

Veronica looked at Shiro, then Commander Holt. He nodded. "All right. Shiro, you lead a team to get Black. Veronica can get Red, I'll get Green, and Coran can go find Blue." He picked another crew member to lead the team to get Yellow, and they all headed to the vehicle hangars to get rovers. Veronica contacted the medical team and asked them to send five medics, one for each paladin. She didn't want to think about it, but they would very likely be needed. Even the lions of Voltron weren't indestructible, and their paladins were even less so.

She didn't have time to fret about Lance, so instead she focused on what she was doing. As soon as she and a medic arrived at the hangars, she took off in the nearest rover. Shiro took the one next to hers, and they drove next to each other until they reached the Garrison and split up. Veronica listened to the exact directions from the Garrison, and soon they reached the Red Lion.

It wasn't in good shape. It was sparking and smoking, clearly severely damaged. Veronica jumped out of the rover with the medic following close behind. "Lance!" she called out. She wasn't really expecting an answer, but she had to hope.

As they approached, the lion creakily opened up a hatch. Veronica crawled inside, trying to avoid debris and sparking wires. When she reached the cockpit, she saw that it was severely tilted and Lance was lying sprawled facedown on the ground.

She crawled over to him and took his helmet off. He didn't respond, so she shakily reached down to his neck to take his pulse. Veronica breathed a sigh of relief when she felt one.

"Don't move him just yet," warned the medic. Veronica stepped back to let him work. He carefully removed Lance's outer armor and checked for spinal injuries first. Then he carefully rolled Lance onto his side. Veronica saw him frown, then lean down near Lance's head and place a hand on his chest.

"What is it?" Veronica said, clenching her fists against her side.

"He's having a hard time breathing." The medic reached into his bag and pulled out a stethoscope and a clip that he stuck on Lance's finger. He listened to Lance's lungs and looked up at Veronica. "We need to get him back to base now. Help me grab a stretcher and oxygen from the rover."

Veronica cooperated, acknowledging that it was better to help Lance now and get answers later. When they got Lance into the Rover, the medic stayed with him in the back while she drove. "Can you tell me what's wrong?" she yelled back.

"There's fluid in his lungs," the medic responded. "If we were farther away, I'd have to operate on him now, but we're close enough that it's safer to just get him to a doctor."

"So he's suffocating?"

"Not exactly. The fluid is just preventing him from getting full breaths. He's getting some oxygen, but not enough."

Veronica risked a look back. "Is he going to be alright?"

The medic shrugged. "Too early to tell."

Veronica realized then that the medic probably didn't know that Lance was her brother. She wondered if he'd be so honest if he did know. She turned back to the road and guided them around to the medical entrance.

One of the other rovers was already there. She saw Shiro standing by as the medical team removed Keith on a stretcher. Veronica parked and jumped out. Shiro looked over, a pained look on his face.

Before they could say anything, Lance's medic stuck his head out and yelled, "I need some help over here! I have a possible hemothorax, and he's going into shock."

Shiro went even paler than he already was. "Lance?" he asked. Veronica nodded, feeling suddenly very exhausted. She stood out of the way next to Shiro as a doctor and a couple of nurses rushed out to help get Lance inside.

"How's Keith?" she asked, trying not to think about how Lance looked with his face covered by an oxygen mask.

Shiro sighed. "The medic thinks his collarbone is broken and he has some kind of head injury. He wouldn't tell me any specifics."

Veronica saw that another rover was approaching. "We'd better get out of the way." She got back in and drove the rover back to the hangar. She felt shaky and a little numb. When she left the rover, she had to stop for a moment and brace herself against the nearest wall because her legs were shaking too bad.

"Are you all right?" Shiro asked, coming to put a hand on her elbow.

She looked over at him and let out a semi-hysterical laugh. "You're the one covered in bruises."

"You are, too," he pointed out.

Veronica looked down at herself, remembering that she'd been in a crash of her own not too long ago. "Right." She ran a hand over her face, wincing as she felt a bruise on her cheek.

"Let's get back to the infirmary. We probably both need to get checked out ourselves, and then we can find out how all the paladins are doing," Shiro said gently.

"Okay," Veronica said. She stood up straight and let Shiro guide her, noticing as he did that he was walking with a limp. "I guess we all took a beating today," she said.

"You can say that again. But we're alive." He looked as exhausted as she felt.

"Yes. We've got that, at least." They fell silent until they reached the infirmary, where they were told to wait until a doctor had time to see them. They were taken to a waiting room, where the Holts, Coran, and a large man and woman who had to be Hunk's parents were waiting. Veronica panicked for a moment when she didn't see her own parents there. She turned to the nurse escorting them. "Excuse me, but has anyone let Lance's parents know?"

"Let me check." The nurse pulled out a tablet and typed something in. "No, they haven't been notified yet."

"I'll tell them, then," Veronica said, trying not to think about how much her mom was going to freak out.

Shiro patted her on the arm, and then went to sit next to Commander Holt. Veronica stayed standing as she pulled out her phone and dialed her mom's number.

"Mom?"

"Veronica! Please, tell me you know what's going on. No one will tell us anything."

Veronica rubbed at the bridge of her nose, trying to think of a way to say this. "Mom, all the lions crashed. Lance is alive, but he's hurt."

Her mom gasped. "Oh, my goodness." She let out a little sob.

Veronica felt herself starting to tear up, but she knew she had to hold it together at least until the end of the call. "He's in the infirmary now. Someone should be able to help you find it."

Her mom took a deep breath. "Thank you, mija. We'll get there as soon as we can."

She said goodbye and hung up the phone, then collapsed into a chair and put her head in her hands. Everything was finally catching up to her. She let herself cry for just a few moments, then reminded herself that everyone in this room was going through something similar. Veronica looked up and saw all the other somber faces. It didn't make her feel better, exactly, but at least she wasn't alone in this.

Her parents arrived about half an hour later, and they had a quick hug. Veronica winced as she felt her mom squeeze extra hard.

Her mom pulled away looked at her in concern. "Are you hurt, too, mija?"

Veronica shook her head. "No, just a little banged up."

Just then a nurse opened the door and poked her head in. "Are Veronica McClain and Takashi Shirogane in here?"

"Yes," Shiro answered.

"Come with me, and the doctor will check you over."

"It's just to be safe," Veronica said quickly when she saw her mom's eyes widen. "I'll be right back."

She and Shiro followed the nurse, who directed them to two seperate rooms and told them to wait for the doctor. Veronica hoped that the doctor would know something about Lance.

She had to wait for a while, but she couldn't feel too mad about it. She was glad that they were giving priority to those who were badly injured.

The doctor arrived and gave her a quick exam. "Nothing's broken, but you do have a mild concussion." She gave her a sheet of paper detailing the medicine and precautions she needed to take.

"Thank you," Veronica said. The doctor nodded and started to leave, but Veronica held up a hand. "Sorry, but do you know anything about my brother, Lance?"

The doctor have her a strained smile. "Sorry, I've been very busy. But I'm sure if you go back to the waiting room, you'll hear something soon."

Veronica nodded. That's more or less what she'd expected to hear. She walked back to the waiting room. Everyone tensed when she entered. Her mom stood up and gave her another hug.

"No problems?" she asked.

Veronica shook her head. "Nothing serious, just a mild concussion." Her mom fussed about that for a little bit, but eventually calmed down.

Shiro came back several minutes later and sat next to her. "All right?" he asked.

"Yeah. You?" Apparently, they were both too tired for complete sentences.

"Nothing serious. No news?"

Veronica shook her head. "Nothing yet." She was starting to really feel a headache now. It had probably been there all along, but she hadn't had any time to pay attention to it.

The first doctor came a little while later, asking for the Holts. He tried to pull them out of the room, but Commander Holt told him to go ahead.

"Katie's going to be all right," he said. "She has a broken arm and still hasn't regained consciousness, but otherwise everything is normal." He looked around the room. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you about any of the other paladins just yet."

"Can we go see our daughter?" Commander Holt asked.

"Yes, but only relatives for now." The Holts left, leaving a somewhat better atmosphere behind them. It was good to know that at least one of the paladins was mostly okay.

Keith's doctor was next, asking for Shiro. The medic had been right. Keith had a broken collar bone and a bad concussion, and like Pidge, had yet to regain consciousness. Soon after that, they found out that Hunk also had a bad concussion. The doctors found some mild bleeding in his brain, but they were able to fix it quickly and didn't think there would be any complications. Hunk's doctor also mentioned that he'd seen Allura, who didn't have any serious injuries but appeared to be in a state of severe exhaustion.

That left Veronica and her parents alone in the waiting room, since the others had all gone to see their respective child/friend. Veronica was glad that the others had gotten their answers, but it made her more and more worried about why they hadn't heard anything about Lance yet.

It was another hour or so before another doctor came. They had been falling asleep, but everyone sat up straight when the door open.

"You're the McClains?" the doctor asked. They all nodded. "Well, I'm glad to say that, barring complications, Lance is going to be alright. He had several broken ribs, and one of them punctured his lung. We were able to put in a chest tube, however, before it became too serious. He also started going into shock before he reached the hospital, but we were able to treat that as well. Other than that, he just has a mild concussion. Would you like to see him now?"

"Is he still unconscious, like the others?" Veronica asked.

The doctor nodded. He led them out of the waiting room and through the infirmary to Lance's room, where he left them alone. Veronica went over and took one of Lance's hands. He was shirtless, with bandages around his chest and a tube sticking out. They'd replaced his oxygen mask with a nasal cannula, and Veronica could hear the hissing of the oxygen tank. Her parents came in close, her mom grabbing Lance's free hand and her dad putting a hand on his shoulder.

"It could have been a lot worse," Veronica said, trying to convince herself. "Really. The lion must have protected him somehow."

Her mom kissed Lance's forehead. "You're right. He's still with us, and that's what matters."

That night, Veronica and her parents all slept in Lance's room. Veronica was glad, because she didn't think she'd have been able to sleep anywhere else. Every so often, a nurse would come in to check on Lance, and Veronica found it comforting even if it woke her up every time. She couldn't help but feel that something worse might happen after coming close to losing him so many times.

The next morning, Shiro came to visit. He knocked on the door, and Veronica looked up from her tablet, which she'd been using to keep track of how repairs on the Atlas were going. She'd been given leave for the next few days, but she was still curious, especially since she had plenty of time on her hands with Lance still unconscious.

"Hey, Shiro," she said. They were alone for the moment, since her parents had gone to freshen up and grab some food.

"How is he?" Shiro came in to stand by Lance's bed. Veronica gave him all the details, and Shiro looked somber.

"How are the others?"

"No one's woken up yet. The doctors are a little worried, but Coran thinks it's just because of their bond with the lions."

"What do you mean?" Veronica asked. She didn't really understand how the whole lion-bonding thing worked, although Lance had assured her that it was really awesome.

"Well, the lions and the paladins are connected in a way that we don't fully understand. Coran thinks that because the lions are all offline, trying to repair themselves, the paladins are kind of doing the same thing." Shiro scratched the back of his head. "Honestly, I don't really get it either."

"Oh." Veronica looked down at Lance. "So when Red wakes up, Lance will too?"

"Maybe. Hopefully."

Veronica saw her parents coming in and she gave them a wave. Shiro stayed for a little bit, sharing some stories about the things Lance had done as part of Voltron. Veronica listened with a wistful smile. It just would have been nice to hear the stories from Lance's perspective.

Shiro paused for a moment, then said, "I'm not sure if Lance knows this, but he really is an indispensable part of the team. Sometimes he gets written off as a goofball, but he's done a lot more than anyone could have ever expected of him."

Right now all Veronica could think was that being part of Voltron was the reason Lance was in a hospital bed. But she knew Shiro meant well. "Good," she said. "I'm glad he has a team that appreciates him."

Shiro nodded. "You know, you're kind of part of my team now, too."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I've been officially appointed as commander of the Atlas. I hope you don't mind, but I already requested you as my communications officer."

Veronica's mouth dropped open. "Seriously?"

He smiled. "Of course. You're one of the Garrison's top analysts, and you've definitely proven that you can handle extreme situations."

Veronica looked back at her parents, who were beaming at her. "I would love that." She looked down at Lance and thought about how he was going to flip out when he heard the news. Now he just needed to wake up.

Soon after that, Veronica decided to go check on Red. Maybe it was ridiculous, but she felt like if the lion and her brother were connected, seeing Red might help her better understand what was going on with Lance. She left her parents with Lance and went to the crash site. Red hadn't been moved simply because they were afraid of further damaging it.

The eyes were still dark, but at least the lion was no longer smoking. A few stray sparks still lingered here and there, but they actually appeared to be repairing the lion. Veronica watched, fascinated, as some exposed wires twisted themselves back together.

She walked slowly up to the lion's face and placed a hand on its nose. It was cold and metallic, but somehow didn't feel inanimate. A shiver ran down her spine as she felt a presence hovering in front of her. It was like Red was examining her.

"Hello, Red," she said hesitantly. "I'm Lance's sister. I came to check on you." She felt the presence respond through a slight warming of the metal under her hand, so she continued talking. "Lance was hurt pretty bad, but he's going to be okay. We're just waiting for him to wake up now." She looked around a little self-consciously, hoping no one would walk by and see her talking to a robot lion. The metal under her hand heated up suddenly, causing her to gasp and pull her hand away. "That wasn't necessary," Veronica said, inspecting her hand for blisters.

She could have sworn she felt Red's presence laughing at her. She looked up to see the eyes flicker to life. The lion creaked slowly into a sitting position.

"Thank you," she told it before running off. She hoped that the lion's waking up meant that Lance would, too.

She ran into Shiro just as she entered the infirmary. "Shiro!" she said, panting slightly. "Red is awake."

He smiled. "Really?" They both looked up as a ground trembling roar shook the whole building. Everyone else looked frightened, but Shiro looked relieved. "That's Black."

Veronica smiled. "Good." She left and walked quickly to Lance's room, where her parents were sitting in the same positions she'd left them in. "Any change?" she asked.

Her mom shook her head. Veronica went over and took Lance's hand. "Hey, hermanito. Time to wake up. Your lion's back, so no excuses."

She felt the hand tense slightly and saw that Lance's eyes were slightly open. He smirked at her. "So bossy," he said hoarsely.

Their mom burst into tears. Veronica felt her own smile widen. "Whatever it takes."

A/N: I'm debating adding a Part 2 to this. Let me know if you want more hurt/comfort stuff. I love it personally, so it's easy to go overboard.