Thanks again for the reviews. Still traveling...enjoy this chapter in the meantime.

Chapter 10

Walking down the corridor the next morning, Allura wipes at her tired eyes. Entering the team meeting room, she sits down next to Lance. She leans into him and drops her head on his shoulder without speaking.

"Bad night?"

"Bad dreams."

"How bad?"

She considers not speaking, but this is Lance. "Stuff that happened. At least that's what Keith said it was."

"He was in your room last night?"

Allura sighs before answering, "Only long enough to help me calm down from the nightmare." A sniffle escapes her, "He left me…after."

"Bastard."

It makes her smile, but not for long.

"Did you get any more sleep after he left?"

"Not really."

His arm wraps around her from behind, "Sorry, beautiful."

"I'll be all right."

She feels a kiss on the top of her head. The sound of a baby gurgling has her sitting up and looking behind her. Romelle stands in the doorway with Sven in her arms. The look in her eyes and the pursed lips takes Allura aback as Romelle moves again. She walks around the table and sits toward the far end, away from her and Lance.

"Morning Romelle."

She ignores Lance and settles the baby on her lap.

Joseph enters the room with Keith, ending the silence. Allura's chest tightens as Keith sits down next to Romelle and takes Sven from her, "I didn't get to see this little guy yesterday."

The three of them together. Almost like a family. Tears sting her eyes. Allura rips her gaze away and stares down at the tabletop.

"Nice job, dumbass. I'm going to start calling you Mr. Sensitivity."

Allura looks up in time to see Keith glaring at Lance for the insult.

"You should talk," Romelle says. She takes Sven from Keith, stands, and leaves the room.

Beside her, Lance rises and follows her out the door. Unsure what to do with herself, Allura goes back to staring at the tabletop.

"I'm sorry, Allura."

Raising her head, Allura notes the chagrined expression on Keith's face. She nods to him then looks away. Hunk entering the room and grunting a greeting ends the awkward silence and Keith and Joseph begin to chat.

Following Romelle down the corridor, Lance feels his anger rising. What the hell is her issue? They reach her room and Romelle tries to slam the door behind her. Lance stops her by wedging his boot in the door. Pushing it open, he walks past her even as she demands, "Get out."

Lance slams the door behind him, "What the hell was that all about?"

"I told you to get out."

"Not until you tell me what has you so pissed off."

Sven starts the cry. Romelle pats his back as she snaps, "You dared to lecture me about touching Keith in front of Allura. Then I find you and Allura curled up against each other this morning. What's that all about?"

Lance starts laughing. He can't help it.

"What is so funny?"

"You're jealous?" Lance manages to ask as he wipes at the tears forming in his eyes.

"You bastard. Get out."

She turns her back on him and starts to walk away. Wrapping his arms around her and the baby to stop her, Lance whispers in her ear, "Allura is like my baby sister. She comes to me when she needs someone to lean on."

Romelle breaks away from him and turns around to face him. Shoving his hands in his pockets, Lance continues, "At first, she leaned on me a lot. Then she and Keith…" He stops and sighs. "Sorry. When they were together she leaned on him instead."

"But they aren't together, so she leans on you again."

"Pretty much."

"I see."

"Do you?" Lance asks, his hands coming out of his pockets and taking a step forward.

Romelle takes a step back, "Don't."

Stopping, Lance asks, "Why?"

"Just don't, Lance."

"I don't want you to go back to Pollux, Romelle."

"That's my home."

"I know." Lance stares at her, "I can't leave Arus."

"I know."

"Where does that leave us?"

Romelle shifts the baby in her arms to resettle him, "Nowhere."

Swearing under his breath, Lance turns around and walks out of the room.

Sipping his coffee, Keith tries not to look over at Allura every two seconds. Since Lance's departure, she hasn't spoken and barely touched the food on her plate. He notes her pale complexion. Damn it. Forcing his attention away from her, Keith goes back to sipping his coffee. He needs to treat her like any other team member. Nothing more, nothing less.

Lance re-enters the room and sits down next to Allura without speaking. Studying his friend, Keith can't help speculating what's going on between him and Romelle. Lance glances his way, his gaze insolent, as if daring Keith to ask.

"Good, now that you're back, I've got something to share."

The entire team turns their attention to Joseph. The younger man smiles, "After our discussions yesterday, I went back over the notes I took when Pidge was training me. I think I have a way for us to get into the castle unseen."

Setting his cup down, Keith asks, "How?"

Placing a tablet on the table, Joseph slides through images until reaching a map of the lower levels. "Pidge put in back doors to his back doors. He wanted to make sure he could never be locked out of the castle systems."

"Sounds like him."

Joseph nods to Lance then points at the tablet, "Down here, there's a hidden door that leads to a set of tunnels next to the castle. In the tunnel, there's a portal into the castle computer system. All I have to do is get in there and plug in with a terminal. I can get us in and see what Doom has done with the castle security system. And maybe…"

"You mean you can disable it?" Keith asks, leaning over to get a better look at the diagram.

"I think so."

"This is assuming Doom hasn't found that tunnel," Lance says, sitting back and crossing his arms.

"Even if they have, they wouldn't have found this portal. Pidge masked it behind a rock wall with a number coded panel. You don't have the code, you can't access the portal."

"He gave you the codes?"

Joseph gives Keith a sheepish look, "Yeah, it's like he knew. He started training on me for this stuff long before I even became a pilot…said he wanted a backup just in case."

"That sounds like him too," Lance replies with a sigh.

"How do we check the tunnel?" asks Allura.

The men share a look then Keith replies, "The stealthy way." He rises, "We go tonight. For the rest of today, Hunk, I need you to do systems checks on the lions."

Hunk doesn't speak, only nods.

Keith gives Allura a glance, "Lance, I want Allura to get checked by Dr. Gorma to confirm her flight readiness then get started on her training. I think she needs a refresher."

He ignores the mutinous expression on her face to move on, "Joseph, you and I are going to sit down and see what we can get into and how we can sabotage Doom."

"Can we eat first?"

It figures, if Hunk is going to talk, it's about food. Keith smiles at him, "Of course. Eat, then everyone, get to work."

"One other request."

Keith looks over at Lance. His friend nods toward Allura, "She wants to go out to the meadow."

He doesn't even look at Allura, "Not a good idea."

"I know, but she needs to go."

After running over scenarios in his mind, Keith shakes his head, "We don't have a way of securing the area."

"Please, Keith."

He looks over to find her eyes pleading with him. She doesn't say anything else, just stares at him with those eyes. Forcing his gaze away, Keith replies, "Let me think it over."

She nods, but doesn't speak. Gesturing to the table, Keith repeats his last command, "Everyone, eat."

As the room clears out, Allura stares down at her half eaten meal. It didn't appeal to her. Then again, not much has this morning. She slides sideways on her chair from Lance's nudge. Turning her head, she says, "What?"

"We have our orders, from his high and mighty."

Pushing her plate away, Allura crosses her arms on the table and lays her head on them, "I don't care."

"Tired?"

She doesn't answer him. How does one explain being tired to the depths of her soul? Her dream from the night before flashes through her mind. Pushing the thought away, Allura closes her eyes and says, "I don't have clothes to work out in. I can't exactly run in this dress."

"No, that would be a problem." He slaps her on the arm, "Come on, first things first. Let's go visit Dr. Gorma then we'll see about getting you some clothes made."

She withholds a groan but rises when Lance grabs onto her hand, pulls her up, and leads her out of the room.

What a long morning. Keith rubs the grit out of his eyes. Breaking for lunch, and to give his eyes a chance to recover, then he and Joseph will be back at it this afternoon. First things first. He walks into the medical wing and calls for Dr. Gorma.

The older man steps out of a side room and gestures Keith to follow him. They enter the man's office area, one of the few rooms with a door, and sit down across from each other. When the doctor doesn't immediately speak, Keith says, "Well? What's the prognosis? Did you run the extra test I asked for? Is Allura physically and mentally flight ready?"

"Yes, the biometric scan confirmed her identity again. As for the rest, the queen is a healthy woman. Outside of being tired this morning, she is in fine health."

"Anything else?"

"It's strange," Dr. Gorma remarks as he takes off his glasses and begins to clean them. "There are no signs of broken bones. Nothing showed up on X-rays. Even healed, I should have seen something."

Keith's mouth drops. He closes it again, "How can that be?"

"How is she alive?"

A story they haven't passed around, but one that Dr. Gorma should know. "Her father sacrificed his eternal soul to bring her back."

The doctor's eyes widen, but he makes no other sound as he sets the cloth aside and puts his glasses back on. He contemplates it a moment longer before saying, "Sounds like something King Alfor would do. His final act in this world was to keep her safe from Zarkon, hoping she could one day save Arus. Makes sense his final spiritual act would be to undo the evil of Zarkon's son."

"I don't know what to make of any of this."

Dr. Gorma smiles, "I may be a man of science, but I've learned not to question miracles."

"I can't afford not to," Keith says, "I just need to make sure she is equipped to handle flying the lion."

"I believe so."

"You're certain she is mentally ready?"

Dr. Gorma studies him for a moment then says, "Given she has no memory of the events that led to her death, I didn't notice any sign of mental distress. I asked various questions as I examined her, all answers were satisfactory."

"Very good," Keith replies as he stands.

"Before you go, the queen mentioned she's been having trouble sleeping." Dr. Gorma steps around his desk and hands Keith a packet, "She forgot to take this with her."

"What is it?"

"A sleep draught. It should put her into a dreamless state so she can rest easily for one night."

Keith glances down at the packet, "She told you about the nightmares."

"Yes."

"And you still believe she's mentally stable for flight?"

Dr. Gorma considers him for a moment then replies, "Yes. Again, she displayed no mental distress when we discussed them. They upset her when they happen, but not to the extent that it will hinder her abilities."

Unsure he agrees with that sentiment, Keith nods then leaves the room. He heads down the corridors and enters the team's gathering space. Allura sits next to Lance as she eats her lunch. Her complexion appears rosy, not pale like it was this morning. Taking a seat, he keeps his thoughts to himself as he joins in the conversation.

As lunch ends, Keith stops Lance from leaving with Allura by saying, "Can you stay a minute. I need a word."

Lance gestures Allura to go on then sits back down at the table, "What's up?"

"How did she do this morning?"

He receives a sardonic eyebrow raise in return, "Regarding what?"

"Training."

"We haven't gotten that far yet."

"What the hell did you do all morning?"

He receives another look that calls him a dumbass even if Lance doesn't say the words. Instead, he says, "In case you missed it, Allura only has the dress Romelle loaned her to wear. After her visit to Dr. Gorma, we went to visit the seamstress. We'll start training when she has clothes she can wear."

Damn it, he hadn't noticed.

"Fine. What of her mental capacity?"

"As in, do I think she's nuts?"

"Lance, damn it-"

His friend leans forward, "She's under a lot of stress, Keith. She found out she died a year ago. Everything is different. Her husband is screwing another woman and doesn't want her anymore. How do you think she's doing?"

Keith grinds his teeth together before replying, "Keep an eye on her. Let me know if you notice anything that could cause an issue in the lions."

"Shouldn't that be your job?"

"I can't-" Keith pauses to run a hand over his head before saying, "I need you to do this for me, Lance."

Lance watches him long enough to make Keith uncomfortable before nodding, "I'll take care of her."

"Thanks."

"Welcome. Just work on getting your head out of your ass."

Keeping his blithe comment to himself, Keith replies, "On it."

As Lance comes out of the dining room, Allura arches an eyebrow at him, "What did he want?"

"To know if you're insane or not."

"Not funny, Lance."

He wraps an arm around her shoulders and directs her down the corridor, "It wasn't meant to be."

"You weren't kidding?"

She listens to him sigh as they walk along. "Whether he wants to admit it or not, he's worried about you."

"Then why does he keep pushing me away?"

"I'm not sure." Lance gives her shoulder a squeeze, "You'll have to be patient."

"And I've been so good at that."

He laughs at her dry tone. "Come on. Hopefully, they have a change of clothes ready for you and we can start in the gym."

"Oh goodie."

"Try to contain your enthusiasm, beautiful."

"It's contained."