Sorry this one's a few days late! I wanted to make sure I had a decently long chapter for all of you to enjoy, so I held it off until I was satisfied with it. I hope you all enjoy!

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Chapter 5

ORBITING OLKARION – CASTLE OF LIONS

"You have a son?" Hunk asked softly.

He and Lance had been rendered speechless with surprise after the newest revelation, which also included the fact that Keithir was Galra royalty.

Keithir tugged a small, violet colored device from his pocket and tapped at the screen for a moment before passing it over to Hunk. "His name is Yorak."

Hunk "aww'd" over the picture, which was of Keithir and a small Galra child perched on his shoulders, both grinning at the camera. He took a few ticks to look it over before handing it to Lance.

Lance cocked his head to the side. "Don't take this the wrong way, but he doesn't look anything like you, Katie."

"He's adopted," Katie explained, amused. "There was an outcry from some of the Galra when we got married. They worried that any cub we had would be too human to lead, so when the opportunity to adopt Yorak came up, we took it."

"He's the nephew of my father's top commander. Yorak's parents were killed in a raid on one of the outlying colonies, but his uncle isn't the best with kids, so he asked us," Keithir said, taking the device back from Lance.

"Your reality sounds so nice. No war, you two are married with a kid..." Hunk paused. "But what about us? I mean, the Hunk and Lance of your world. You haven't talked much about them."

Lance brightened up. "Yeah! Am I married? Is she pretty? I mean, obviously, since it's me-" (Hunk snorted in amusement.) "-but is she?"

Katie covered her mouth to hide her grin.

Keithir put his device away, while struggling to keep his composure. "Ah, well... you're both happily married," he said elusively, kind of enjoying dragging it out.

"Yes!" Lance happily pumped a fist in the air. "What's she like? I wonder if she's someone I'll meet in the future. Or maybe I already know her! Is it Allura?"

Hunk stared at them with wide eyes. "I'm married?"

"On a serious note, are you both sure you want to know?" Katie asked. "We already know how different our realities are, and I don't want to make things weird for all of you. Just because it happened one way for u, doesn't mean it'll be the same for you."

"Now I really want to know," Lance said, eagerly leaning forward.

Hunk looked a little more apprehensive about what they had to say, but there was still a burning curiosity there that made him want to know. "It'll be nice to hear what we're like in a reality that isn't mind controlled by Alteans, like in that one that we ended up in a few months back. Not that we ever actually saw ourselves there. Just this odd version of Shiro..."

That statement nearly derailed the entire conversation, except Hunk refused to say another word about it. It was a sneaky tactic and as frustrating as it was to have a potential answer for how to get home, Katie mentally applauded him for that bit of cunning.

"We're revisiting that," Katie told him.

Hunk nodded.

Keithir looked as though he was about to demand carrying on with that line of conversation right then and there, but with a look from Katie he stayed quiet. They had teased Hunk and Lance enough and they deserved to get their answers. Then the two could tell them more about their other interaction with a different reality.

"When we left, the two of you were visiting Nalquod to renew your wedding vows for a fourth time," Katie said, giving them a moment to process the information.

"I, uh," Lance stammered, looking wide-eyed at Hunk. He cleared his throat, struggling for a moment, and then gave his friend a lopsided grin. "Anything you want to tell me, buddy?"

Hunk appeared mildly uncomfortable. "I don't – I mean, not anymore! There was this teeny little crush I had, but I'm over that, I swear!"

There was a moment of silence as Lance gaped at him. Clearly that wasn't a response he had expected. He recovered fairly quickly and jokingly responded with: "I can't say I blame you. I am pretty cool."

Hunk let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and relaxed, relieved he hadn't messed things up between them with his revelation. It felt good to come clean after hiding it for so long. "Yeah, you are. Unfortunately, you also snore and that's why I knew we wouldn't work."

"I don't snore!" Lance protested.

"As the person who was your roommate at the Garrison, I'm uniquely qualified to say that yes, you do," Hunk teased.

"Oh yeah? Well you-! You, uh..." Lance paused as he tried to think of a good comeback. "You hoard food and don't share!"

Hunk gasped in mock outrage.

Katie and Keithir sat back and enjoyed listening to their friendly banter back and forth. As much as they wanted to hear a possible solution to their problem, they understood their friends needed a few minutes to reassure one another that nothing was going to be weird between them.

"You know, I don't think we ever told Shiro about Sven," Hunk said, seemingly out of the blue. He shared a glance with Lance, who followed along with the change of topic with an easy shrug.

"That whole day was weird. It's kind of like we all agreed to never talk about it again without actually saying we'd never talk about it again," Lance said. "Because, honestly, Shiro's alternate self was probably the least weird thing about it."

That was it.

That was what Katie and Keithir were waiting for.

"You guys saw an alternate reality and got back home on your own?" Katie asked, sounding amazed. "How did you do it? Tell me everything!"

"It all started when we picked up on this Altean distress signal..."

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ALTEA – CASTLE OF LIONS

Someone was knocking at the door.

Pidge wasn't sure how she should handle it. Allura had payed them another visit to bring them food and an update, promising that she'd have more answers in the morning, which Pidge assumed meant they were being left alone for the night.

So who was knocking at the door? And why was Keith taking so long in the bathroom? She knew he liked to be alone, but it was getting ridiculous.

She stood, glancing at the bathroom and then to the main door as whoever was there knocked again. "H-hello? Allura, is that you?"

"Katie?"

Not Allura.

And not Shiro either. Or anyone she whose voice she recognized.

What was she going to do? Allura and Shiro specifically said they wanted to keep the number of people who knew about the switch to a minimum; understandable, given that Keith was a Galra prince in that reality.

Had she stayed quiet, she could have just ignored them until they went away, but it would be rude to do that after speaking up.

"Just a second!" Pidge called out, hoping that Keith would wonder what all of the noise was about and come out to help her.

No such luck.

Pidge quietly grumbled as she shuffled over to the door, where she took a deep breath and stood up straight before opening it. A tall man with salt-and-pepper hair and the faint trace of a beard stood on the other side, blinking down at her with oddly familiar eyes. He stared for a moment and Pidge shifted, thoroughly uncomfortable.

"Sorry," he blurted out, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "Shiro told me what was goin' on and that I shouldn't bother you, but I had to come down and make sure you kids are alright."

The automatic response of "we're okay" hung on the tip of Pidge's tongue even as she tried to puzzle out who the man was. He was human, that much was obvious, but beyond that she honestly had no idea. She ended up giving no answer as Keith exited the bathroom at long last.

She turned to face him when she heard the click of the bathroom door in time to watch him go perfectly still, his eyes wide as he took in the sight of the man standing in the doorway. He swallowed thickly and (to Pidge's immense surprise) tears welled up in his eyes.

"Dad?" he asked, his voice breaking.

Pidge's heart clenched as she registered the pain in his voice. She could only step aside and watch, feeling as though she was witnessing something so deeply personal that it would be wrong for her to stay, as Keith broke down and his dad strode across the room to comfort him.

But Pidge had no place to go. All she could do was watch, helpless to do anything.

She reached up and rubbed her eyes, blinking back her own tears that threatened to fall. In that moment, listening to Keith try and talk, she began to realize just how little she knew about her teammate.

Hunk and Lance talked about their interests and families all the time and she'd heard so many stories of Shiro from her dad and Matt; even Allura and Coran, when they were in the right mood, would tell stories of Alfor and the way things were on Altea.

But Keith had always stayed quiet. Everything she knew about him was what she observed for herself and when it came down to it, it wasn't enough.

"It's alright, son. It's alright. I'm here now," said Keith's dad.

Pidge didn't know how long they'd be stuck there, but she was going to use that time to her full advantage. She'd get to know him better and convince Allura to let him spend more time with his dad, on top of helping Slav with whatever he needed. It was a lot, and she was sure she'd find more to add to her list, but she had the determination and drive to see it through.

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Keith spent an hour talking to his dad and recovering from the shock of getting to see him again. He never could have imagined being in a reality where he was still alive, but there he was: older, but still the same as he remembered.

Saying goodbye felt like an impossible task, even with the promise of another visit, and the moment his dad walked out of the room, Keith sank down onto the bed, completely drained.

A few seconds later, the space next to him dipped down as Pidge settled in next to him.

With a start, Keith realized she'd been in the room all along and he hadn't once stopped to consider how uncomfortable she must have felt standing there and watching. He guiltily looked over at her. "I'm sorry, Pidge."

"Sorry? Sorry for what?" she asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"I – the whole thing with my dad. I didn't think." He had no idea how to properly put it into words. He just knew that apologizing was the right thing to do.

Wasn't it?

Pidge frowned. "What? Keith, no. You don't have to be sorry for that! He's your dad! I'll admit I wasn't expecting that and next time I'll leave the room, but that's not something you need to apologize for. If anything, I feel bad that I couldn't give you more privacy."

"That's not your fault either," Keith pointed out.

He started to see what she meant though; neither of them were at fault. They were rooming together under strange circumstances and all they could do was their best, which meant that he needed to pull it together.

He'd never been the best at that without a little help, but he though he could do it for Pidge's sake.

She smiled up at him. "It's getting late. We should sleep."

"Oh, yeah," Keith responded, getting up to look around some more. There had to be some extra blankets somewhere. Or maybe he could use a couple of towels? It wouldn't be ideal for sleeping, but it was better than nothing.

"Keith, what are you doing?"

"You can take the bed," Keith said, debating with himself over whether or not it was right to go through the closet. Even if it did belong to another version of him, it still felt like an invasion of privacy to open up something so personal.

"And where will you sleep? On the floor?" Pidge asked, sounding as though the very thought was absurd.

When Keith turned back to her, it was to the sight of her rolling her eyes.

"And what would you suggest?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Pidge mirrored his pose. "In the bed."

Keith's jaw dropped. Had he heard that right? She couldn't really be suggesting they share the bed, could she? It wouldn't be appropriate! "But that isn't – I can't!"

"Why?"

"It isn't right, Pidge!"

"Why?" Pidge repeated, uncrossing her arms. "Give me one good reason why. Do you think I'm going to molest you in your sleep or something?"

"What? No!" Keith protested.

Pidge pressed on. "Okay, then are you planning on doing something to me?"

Keith shook his head before she even finished speaking. "No! I'd never do that to you. Or anyone else!"

"Then I really don't see what the problem is," Pidge said with an air of finality. "There's nothing wrong with two friends sharing a bed. And look, it's big enough for both of us to spread out without touching! If it really bothers you, then we'll figure something else out, but I'm not going to let you sleep on the floor."

Friends.

Keith stared at her with wide eyes.

That was the first time she'd ever referred to him as a friend. The first time anyone – outside of Shiro – had done so. He knew most people didn't need to hear it in order to know it was true, but it made it feel so much more real to him to be able to hear it.

Pidge was his friend. Close to his heart in such an unexpected way.

He looked at the bed and then back at her.

"Okay."

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OLKARION – VOLTRON COALITION HQ

If Katie thought the Slav from her reality was unhinged, he had nothing on the manic personality that was the Slav rambling on in front of her. No one seemed to know what to do except let him keep talking, as any attempt to redirect him let only to frustration.

He rambled on about probabilities and had two panic attacks over whether or not he knew how to breathe, before focusing on Katie and Keithir with razor sharp attention and falling silent for the first time since they entered the room.

It was so unsettling that Katie thought she'd rather listen to him lose his mind over Shiro stepping on a crack in the floor again.

"Fascinating," he murmured, looking them up and down. "You two really are from another reality! How spectacular!"

And just like that, the moment was broken as he unleashed a tidal wave of words that left them all scrambling to keep up. Details of his own theories intermixed with almost incoherent ramblings of someone who rarely knew what was happening in the world around him, punctuated by brief moments of what was almost clarity.

Katie started to wonder if he'd really be able to help them after all.

"And you two are married!" Slav said, sounding delighted as he broke away from detailing how parallel universes differentiated from alternate realities. "Congratulations, by the way!"

"Thanks?" Keithir replied, completely baffled. "We've been married for eight years."

"Not for that! For the baby!"

Katie's breath caught in her throat, one hand automatically rising to her belly.

Keithir was even more bewildered by that statement. "But Yorak's four," he said, looking to Katie for assistance. He took one look at her and knew there was something more to it than that. "Katie?"

Guilt clawed its way through her chest. "I was going to tell you and then all of this happened and I... I just didn't want you to worry. You're already worrying so much about all of this!"

She knew she was babbling and needed to calm down and breathe, but it was so hard! It was the completely wrong way for Keithir to find out. They were supposed to be on vacation! They were supposed to be sitting back and relaxing, not stuck in the middle of a ten-thousand year old war with their only hope of getting home resting in the hands of a complete lunatic!

Slav blithely continued on, unaware of the distress he was causing. "A little princess! Quite the honor for Galra! Or is that another reality...?" And just like that, he was off on another topic.

Keithir ignored him, stepping in front of Katie to block out everything else and give her something familiar and comforting to focus on. He lifted up her free hand and gently kissed hr knuckles. "We're having a baby?" he asked softly.

Katie nodded, her whole body trembling as she sucked in air. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

That was a discussion for another time, when they were both calm and there was no one else around to interrupt.

"You wanted to surprise me," he guessed. "Well, I can definitely say that I'm surprised."

She giggled, lifting her head to peer up at him with teary eyes. "We're having a baby. A princess, if Slav's right."

"Awww!"

"Hunk!" Lance hissed.

Hunk looked mildly abashed. "Sorry! It's just that they're so cute! And they're having a baby! Can you imagine it? A little Pidge and Keith running around!"

"Which means that it is even more imperative that we return them home quickly," Allura said, stepping forward. "There must be something we can do. Slav, do you have any ideas? Perhaps a beacon of some kind?"

Slav looked panicked by the very idea. "Are you crazy? Do you have any idea the very horrors that could attract to us?!"

"Okay, then lets not do that," Shiro spoke up before Slav could go into details about said horrors. "Could we build something that any other versions of you would be able to hear or know about?"

Slav swayed and opened his mouth to say something, but Shiro grimaced and held up his hand.

"On second thought, never mind. That sounds like a bad idea."

Keithir wondered if it had more to do with not wanting to potentially deal with more than one version of Slav than whatever nonsense was about to spew out of the genius's mouth next.

"What if we use the Lions?" Hunk suggested. He looked uncomfortable as everyone's attention shifted to him. "Okay, I know we figured that we can't use Voltron to travel through realities, since we don't know where we'd end up, but I've been thinking about it since our conversation last night-" (He nodded to Katie and Keithir.) "-and since the Lions all exist in both worlds, maybe we could use them as some kind of focal point. There had to be some kind of connection between them and if we use that, I bed we could trace it back to their reality!"

"But that still leaves us with the problem of how we'd do that," Katie pointed out, frowning as she considered the idea.

"Aren't we supposed to have some kind of 'mystical connection' with the Lions? Maybe we just do more of those mind bonding exercises like we did when we first got the Lions." Lance blinked as everyone turned to him instead. "What? No good?"

"Actually, that's a very good idea," Allura said, sounding surprised. "It's worth a try, unless Slav has a better idea?"

Slav stood there for a moment, not blinking or speaking.

Allura sighed. "Slav."

"Oh, you mean me?" he asked, pointing at himself with all four left hands.

Allura's right eye twitched as she struggled to retain composure. "Yes. I mean you."

"Okay."

There was a moment of silence as everyone waited for Slav to catch up and answer.

"What was the question again?"

Everyone groaned and prepared for an even longer afternoon than expected.