I make no claims to Voltron or any WEP characters.

Enjoy Chapter 10

Mertz

Two days later, Keith stands in castle control beside Coran as the other four lions move through the air with Lance in the lead. Leaning forward, Keith takes the command microphone from Coran with his left hand as he gives a command, "Great Lance, but I want you to push Blue as hard as you can. Get the systems up to Mach 15 and dive."

Coran waits till Keith releases the microphone before asking, "Is that wise? This is the first time Princess has been in Blue since the navigation system was rebuilt." He pauses for a moment, "As well as her crash and capture."

Keith looks down solemnly on Coran, "I know…but if there are going to be problems with either the lion or Allura, I want to know now and not while we are in combat."

Taking a deep breath, Coran replies, "I understand."

Keith nods and reaching up to rub his still immobilized right arm, his gaze moving back to the monitors in front of them.

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Lance grimaces when he hears Keith's orders. He reaches over to flip a button and brings Allura up on his video comm., "Ready for this Princess?"

He watches as Allura grits her teeth and her jaw becomes rigid, "Yes."

Nodding in response and letting out a small prayer, Lance calls out, "All lions, set speed for Mach 15 and follow my mark."

Lance flies up into the stratosphere as Red lion speeds up then dives back toward Arus, calling out his speed, "Mach 5…9…11…13…" He takes a deep breath, "Mach 15" and watches the ground quickly come into his view finder. Well before he reaches the danger mark, Lance pulls Red up out of the dive then stops in the sky to watch the others.

Holding his breath, Lance watches first Yellow and then Green lion pull out of their dives. His eyes move to Blue lion and watches as the lion gets closer and closer to the ground. Feeling a little panicky, Lance calls out, "Allura! Pull up!"

A breath of relief leaves him as he watches Blue lion pull up out of the dive and perform several loops in the air while listening to the sound of Allura's laughter over the comm. Flipping his screen once more, Lance glares at a smiling Allura, "Were you trying to scare the bejesus out of me?"

Allura smiles at him, "No Lance, Blue handles like a dream!" She continues to fly around the other lions, performing loops around them, listening to Pidge and Hunk laugh at her before she continues, "Blue has never handled this well."

Lance shakes his head at her before flipping back to castle control. Looking at Keith and Coran, Lance smiles, "Test completed Keith…performance is as expected."

He watches a relieved smile cross his best friend's face, "That's great! Head back to the castle."

Lance nods then calls out, "You heard the man…back to the castle people."

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Lance, Pidge and Hunk exit the launch tubes to find Keith smiling at them, "No problems at all then?"

Lance shakes his head, "No…she did great!"

Keith nods then turns his gaze to Allura as she runs out of her tube. Allura quickly walks up to him and wraps her arms around his waist while pushing her face into his neck. Keith wraps his arm around her and rubs her back while he turns his head to kiss her forehead, 'Are you alright?'

Allura shifts her head enough to kiss his neck, "Yes…it was fantastic. Blue has never handled as well as she does now.' She listens to Keith release a relieved breath, burying her face into his neck once more.

Lance smiles at the couple while thinking, It's about damned time… His gaze moves to Hunk and Pidge who smile at him before turning around to leave the room. He feels a hand on his shoulder and turns to find Coran smiling at Keith and Allura before turning his gaze to him, "Are you thinking it's about time Lieutenant?"

Laughing, Lance nods at Coran before turning to follow Hunk and Pidge out of the room.

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That night, Nanny walks down the halls and raises her fist to hammer on a door. She hears a muffled, "One moment…"

Soon the door opens and a ruffled looking Coran raises his eyebrows while tying a robe shut, "Nanny? What's going on that you need to disturb me at this late hour?"

Nanny pushes into Coran's room and begins her tirade, "I went to check on Princess and she is not in her room…she is with that man again. I demand that you go with me to pull her out of his room."

Coran sighs as he moves across his bedroom to a chair near the fire place. He lets the warmth of the fire pervade his being before turning his gaze back on Nanny, "It won't do any good Nanny, the Commander is her soul mate and she is drawn to him like a moth to the flame."

Nanny puts her hands on her hips, "It is not proper…he is not even royalty! The laws of Arus strictly state that members of the royal house of Arus must marry another member of royalty..."

"Except when the matter of soul mates arises…" Coran interrupts her, "Even the laws created so long ago left open the right of a member of the royal house of Arus to marry their soul mate, no matter their station in life."

When Nanny opens her mouth to argue again, Coran raises his hand to stop her, "Nanny, you know what happens to a person denied their soul mate. The depression and eventual decline has been well documented which is why that clause was added to the laws regarding persons of royal blood."

Defeated, Nanny sits down in the chair opposite Coran, "But they aren't married…not even engaged, it isn't right that they are together!"

Coran lets out a deep sigh, "I had a discussion with the Commander this afternoon Nanny. He gave me his word that there will be no…"relations" until they are engaged, preferably married."

Nanny arches a brow at him, "You had better hope so."

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Lying in his bed, Keith takes a deep breath as Allura moves against his side again, her breasts rubbing against him. As he feels himself harden, he stifles a groan before reaching out to her, 'Stay still Allura…'

Allura smiles to herself then she slides her head a little farther down Keith's chest so she can look out the window better. The dark night sky draws her gaze as she studies the twinkling stars and the half moon. As a cloud slowly drifts over the moon, darkening the room even further, Allura lets out a sigh.

She lifts her head when she hears Keith's chuckle, "What?"

Keith reaches down and strokes Allura's hair out of her face, 'I'm beginning to think you came here for my view of the night sky instead of me.'

A soft smile spreads across Allura's face as she slowly pulls herself up and places her lips against Keith's for a moment. Pulling back she whispers, "The view is secondary…if extraordinary." She presses her lips to his and lets out a whimper as Keith deepens the kiss, his tongue gently stroking her mouth.

She slides her hand along his strapped down arm and Keith pulls away from the kiss. Allura studies his eyes for several quiet moments before asking, 'Why did you stop?'

Keith lets out a sigh and reaches up with his hand to push her hair back again, 'I had to stop before I wouldn't be able to.'

Allura smiles down at him, moving her fingers to touch his mouth lightly, 'I wouldn't have minded if you wouldn't have stopped.'

Keith kisses her fingers then replies, "We aren't ready for that Allura."

A look of disappointment crosses her face, "But we are alone…no one will interrupt." She leans down to kiss him again and Keith pulls back, "No Allura, we aren't even engaged yet."

Her eyes shine in the near darkness, "Was that an offer?"

Keith can't help but smile at her, "No…it wasn't." As her face drops again, Keith lets out a quiet laugh then reaches for her chin with his good hand to pull her down for a quick kiss. Keith whispers against her pouting lips, "When I propose to you Allura, you won't have to ask if I did." He kisses her again then releases her chin to stroke her hair down her back.

Allura studies his eyes for a moment then asks, 'Can I pleasure you again?'

Keith's eyes darken with the thought but he shakes his head, "No Allura…"

Disappointed, she asks, "Why? You let me in MedTech…"

Keith lets out a sigh as he reaches for her cheek to caress it, "I shouldn't have let you do that either. If Coran or Nanny would have walked in…" Keith shudders a little at the thought before he continues, "Allura, I don't know that I have the control to stop if we get started…I made a promise to Coran this afternoon. No relations between us until we are at least engaged."

Allura lets out a sigh and lays her head down on his chest, just underneath his chin. She feels Keith kiss the top of her head and closes her eyes to go to sleep.

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Allura walks out into a field of flowers. Looking around, she is surprised to find they are her favorites, Arusian daisies, in an assortment of colors. Bending down, Allura picks a few and holds them to her nose to inhale their sweet fragrance when she hears a voice behind her, "Hello."

Standing up, Allura quickly turns around to find Andrea behind her. Feeling a little apprehensive, Allura quietly returns the greeting before asking, "What do you want?"

Andrea smiles at her before gesturing Allura to follow her. She leads Allura to a blanket a little ways away and sits down on one side of it before gesturing to Allura to sit on the other side. As Allura sits down, Andrea speaks, "It wasn't his fault…"

Allura looks at her confused before asking, "What wasn't?"

"My death…" Andrea turns away and plucks a nearby pink daisy and slowly starts pulling off the petals before continuing, "Although, he has always blamed himself for it." Electric blue eyes rise to meet the sapphire ones across from her, "Stubborn man that he is."

Allura smiles at her before deciding to ask, "Is this a dream?"

Andrea drops the stem of the flower to pick a new one and once again starts pulling the petals off, "Yes and no…you are asleep. But this is more of a place that falls in between dreams and reality. The only place that I still exist, at least until I know he will be happy. Then I can move on."

Silence fills the air for several moments before Allura asks, "How can I make him happy?"

A soft laugh fills the air, "You are well on your way and need no help from me there. As I said, Keith is a stubborn man, while you are wearing him down and he is slowly starting to accept that you two belong together, he is still worried that he isn't honoring our wedding vows."

She looks up at Allura again, "He keeps forgetting the "until death do us part" bit…I am dead, he needs to move on." Andrea stands up and smiles down on Allura, "You two will do well together, I know this. He is your soul mate, while I was fortunate enough to have his love for a time."

Andrea steps away from Allura, taking a few steps across the field before stopping and turning back to her, "As Lance is fond of saying, Keith can be a stubborn ass…do not be afraid to fight him for what you believe is right." Smiling one more time, Andrea disappears.

Allura sits upright in bed, gasping for air. Keith grabs her arm, a concerned look on his face, "Allura? What's wrong?"

She turns around and looks down at him before lying back down on top of him, "Nothing…just a dream."

Stroking her hair, Keith whispers to her mind, 'Want to talk about it?'

Allura is silent for a few moments before responding, 'Andrea came to me again…' She feels Keith stiffen slightly underneath her before he hoarsely asks, "What did she say?"

Shifting so she can look at him, Allura lets out a sigh before answering, "She told me she can only leave when she knows you are happy." She places her head back down on his chest and a moment of silence passes before Allura adds, "She kept calling you stubborn…"

She listens to the snort that escapes Keith followed by a deep sigh, "She called me that on a regular basis while we were married."

Allura relaxes as Keith once again strokes her hair before asking, "Did she say anything else?"

Letting out a sigh, Allura looks back up at him, "Nothing really…just that she is waiting for you to move on so she can."

Keith lets out a deep breath, "I know…" He moves his hand to touch her cheek. Allura turns her head and kisses the palm of his hand before laying her head back down on his chest. She feels Keith's hand move into her hair and hears, "Sleep well…my love."

A feeling of happiness encompasses Allura as she closes her eyes to go back to sleep.

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The next morning, Keith grits his teeth as Dr. Gorma rotates his arm around. As the doctor finishes the rotation, he asks, "How much pain on a scale of one to ten?"

Taking a deep breath, Keith responds, "Two."

The doctor snorts, "So more like five…" Keith glares at him as Dr. Gorma adds, "I saw you gritting your teeth…a two wouldn't have you doing that."

Keith rolls his eyes and proceeds to move his arm around on his own before asking, "Can I go without it being taped down?"

He listens to the doctor sigh deeply before answering him, "Yes, you may… I know you are going to ignore this, but do not try to overdo it or you will only reinjure your arm and make the healing process take longer."

Keith nods as he jumps down from the exam table and proceeds to put his shirt back on. Dr. Gorma finishes writing something down on a slip of paper and hands it to Keith, "I mean it Commander, you will follow these instructions or end up having more surgery to correct the damage you will do."

After reading through the paper, Keith nods, "I will follow it to the best of my abilities doctor."

Dr. Gorma snorts again, "See that you do." before turning and walking out of the room.

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Keith walks into the control room just as the others return from practice. Allura walks up to him for a hug and lightly touches his shoulder, "Dr. Gorma cleared you?"

Nodding, Keith lets out a sigh, "Kind of…I'm under strict orders for lifting and I won't be able to get back into Black for at least one more week unless we are attacked."

Lance walks up to him and lifts an eyebrow, "So let me guess, the first thing you are going to do is go to the gym and start lifting weights with that arm…"

Laughing as Keith glares at him, Lance adds, "I know you way too well my friend."

Keith rolls his eyes as Allura smiles up into his face, "Yes, I am going to the gym, but I will only be lifting the weight limit Dr. Gorma set for me." He pulls away from Allura to step toward Lance, "And just for your smart mouth Lieutenant, you will be joining me."

Allura laughs as Lance grimaces. Keith turns back to her and plants a kiss on her forehead before turning away and grabbing Lance by the arm to leave the control room.

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Keith holds Allura to his chest that night, able for the first time to use both of his hands to hold her there. He has one arm wrapped around her waist while the other is gently teasing the skin on her arm. Not that Allura is noticing, for she is sound asleep in his arms.

A feeling of contentment infuses Keith, a feeling he hasn't experienced in the years since Andrea's death. Closing his eyes, he gently falls asleep to the sweet smell of Allura's hair.

His mind drifts in sleep and soon…

Keith is once again in a meadow of flowers. He looks at all the flowers around him before noticing a figure walking towards him from across the field. With the sun in his eyes, Keith is having trouble making out the identity of the figure until she is almost standing in front of him. Keith's breath stops in his throat as he manages to whisper, "Andrea…"

Wearing a simple emerald green, sleeveless sun dress with her ebony hair flowing down her back, Andrea smiles as she stops in front of him, "Hello Keith…" Reaching up, she caresses his cheek. Keith places his hand on top of hers and reaches out with his other hand to touch her cheek as he says, "I've missed you."

Andrea smiles at him then steps back from his hands, "I know…but it is time for you to let me go and move on with your life."

Keith looks away from her for a moment. He studies the flowers near his feet then turns his gaze back to her, "I need your permission Andrea…to ask Allura to be my wife."

A sad smile crosses Andrea's face as she steps to him again, "You don't need my permission…all I have ever wanted for you is to find happiness and love again." She reaches for his cheek again, "I know you loved me Keith…part of you always will. But she is your soul mate, the woman you were meant to share your life with. You need to embrace that and enjoy your life. Do not feel guilty for the life we lost…it was not meant to be."

Dropping her hand, Andrea leans forward and places a kiss on his cheek before turning to walk away from him. She stops a few feet away and turns to face him once more, "Goodbye…" and vanishes.

Keith's eyes open and he lifts his head up to look around the moonlit room. Letting out a deep breath, Keith moves one of his hands to wipe the tears out of his eyes as he listens to Allura sigh and murmur in her sleep.

Moving his hand back to her hair, Keith tangles his fingers in the silky strands and lets out another deep breath as his heart slows down, the dream slowly leaving him. Turning his head, Keith places a kiss on the top of Allura's head and whispers, "I love you…" before closing his eyes and falling back to sleep.