Voltron the Next Generation
Chapter Four
"Surprise!"
Rated PG13
By: Cindra
Notes: I put colons between conversations noting silent thought between two characters.
' Is what I call the Heartlink or private communication between two characters usually a couple. Or rarely parent to sibling. (This is usually the way that soul mates talk to each other when they don't want anyone to know what they are saying.)
( )Twin link can't be heard by anyone but the other twin…or only if someone is extremely strong in his or her mental abilities.
** or italics That represents thoughts of the characters
(Earth)
Ariel and Nathan were having the time of their lives on their vacation. They were both enjoying the Aqua-dome Water Park, while their guards searched the main part of the vast Universal Fantasy World theme park.
"This is perfect and to think grandfather's men are guarding no one." Ariel laughed.
"Ariel, let's go back to our suite and see the rest of the park after we get out of these wet swimsuits." Nate growled his suggestion into her ear.
"Nathan Scott Xavier, are you trying to take advantage of me?" She turned in his arms and was rewarded with a long kiss.
"Ariel! I'm shocked that you would think that I would do a something like that." He growled against the sensitive skin of her neck.
"Not you, Nathan, you love me too much to take advantage of me." She purred into his ear.
"Now who's seducing whom?" He swept her up into his arms.
'All that I really want is a long hot shower, but I wouldn't dare take one without you.' She winked at him.
'I never say no to a beautiful lady.' He carried her into their suite and set her down on her feet.
"So you would do anything for me." She blinked up at him with innocent emerald green eyes.
"Name it and I will make it happen."
"Marry me at the mountain chapel tomorrow." She whispered softly.
"Ariel, not this again, we've talked about this!" Nate began to pace the plush carpeting of the room. "Your father will flay me alive! I mean, I always thought that you wanted a big wedding."
"Nate, I want to be married tomorrow at that chapel with only my sisters and their guys in attendance. Nate, please do this for me. All I know is that I have to marry you tomorrow. I keep dreaming this terrible dream that we're torn apart and then I marry someone else. I want us to be married before we return home." She ran into the bathroom in tears.
"Ariel, why haven't you told me about your nightmare?"
"I knew that you wouldn't believe me and tell me that it's just a bad dream!" She screamed back at him.
"Are you finished with your snit or are you going to scream at me some more?" Nate snarled at her through the frosted glass of the shower door.
'Are you going to marry me or not?' She opened the shower door and glared at him.
'Yes, Ariel, I love you. I will marry you anywhere, any place, or at any time.' He reached out for her, pulling her into his arms for a long kiss.
'Great! Andy, Lexi, and the guys will be here in a few hours. Our marriage license has already been approved, and the chapel is ours tomorrow.' She smiled happily up at him, but then her smile turned to a worried frown when she saw how he was reacting to her well thought-out plan.
"So I was the last to know!" Nate roared furiously.
"I was going to tell you, after our shower! This is really important to me, Nathan!" She burst into tears.
"Ariel, you never cry like this, what's wrong?" He held out a towel for her and wrapped it around her.
"I'm fine, just a little emotional that's all." She sniffled.
"Maybe, we should have a doctor check you over, just to be sure." Nate frowned.
"I need to marry you, Nathan! I don't wanna see a doctor! I'm fine! These dreams are causing me to be a little frazzled is all!" She wailed in frustration when he carried her over to their bed.
"I do believe that our two and a half month vacation, has caught up with us, and that we should get married as soon as possible." Nate waited out her crying jag, dressed her in her nightgown, and tucked her into bed.
"I'm sleepy, Nate."
*You are also expecting.* He thought, as he dialed the number of an old friend.
"Hi, Ash. This is Nathan...Yeah, I know it's been a longtime. Can you do me a favor and come over here to the resort? No. I'm fine, but my princess is a little under the weather. Thanks, Ash. I'll see you in a little while." He ended the call and then went to take a quick shower.
"Daddy! She doesn't want a royal wedding. She only wants us." Andy protested when the entire family arrived at the resort.
"My daughter is not going to be married without her mother and me there to give her our blessing!" Keith snarled at Andy.
"How could she not want us to be at her own wedding?" Allura glared at her two eldest daughters.
"Because, she didn't want anyone to try to stop her." Alex tried to explain.
"What aren't the two you telling us?" Keith glared at his daughters. He knew that they were hiding something from him.
"Nothing, Daddy," Andy blinked innocently up at her father.
"Look, Dad. We know about as much as you do, considering that we've been on Lera for the last three months." Eric claimed their innocence.
"And Chris and I have been on Druel for nearly three months, Daddy." Alex reminded him.
"So you mean to tell me that neither of you have kept in touch with Ariel?" Allura eyed her daughters in disbelief.
"Actually, every time that we've tried to call, we were told that they didn't want to be disturbed." Alex blurted out what Andy didn't think their parents needed to know.
(Nice going, Lexi!) She hissed at her sister.
(I can't lie to them! You're the devious one, not me!) She hissed back.
"At least I can handle almost any situation without having to call for help." She taunted her sister.
"You couldn't do anything without your better half, Andromeda Marie!" Alex was flung at lightning speed over Andy's shoulder and into their father's arms.
"Never say that to me again, Alexandra Danielle, or I won't come to your aid when you find yourself in over your head, like you were when Lotor kidnapped you!" Andy's amber eyes blazed with fury.
"That is enough!" Keith roared at them.
"Stay out of this, Daddy! This is between her and me!"
"Anytime, baby sister!" Alex challenged her.
"Oh Alex, don't play with the big girls, because you're gonna get burned!" Andy glared at Alex.
"Andromeda, knock it off!"
'Eric, unless you want to sleep on the couch for the rest of the year, I would strongly suggest that you stay out of this!' She glared at her husband.
'This is between Andy and me, Christophe!' She dared Chris to say anything.
"Keith, do something!" Allura watched as her daughters got ready for the final showdown.
"I would rather remain in one piece, Allura."
"What he said!" Chris and Eric shouted in unison.
"What shall it be, Alex? Weapons or hand-to-hand combat?" Andy arched a brow at her sister.
"A seat on Voltron will be my prize for defeating you!" Alex snapped.
"That was never taken from you! Little-Miss-Perfect Princess! You just never wanted to break a nail!" Andy taunted her with the truth. "This isn't fair, at best you could last maybe three minutes if that against me. No, let's battle with intelligence, not physical combat. I mean, that way at least you'll have a slim chance of winning."
(Are you saying that I'm not even a challenge for you?) Alex hissed. "What's wrong, baby sister? Are you afraid that I might be able to beat you?"
"Alex, shut up! At least she's willing to give you a chance." Keith growled.
"Not even on my worst day with one hand tied behind my back!" Andy took her temper out on a piece of wood fencing, easily chopping the wood in two with her hand.
"Temper, temper, Andy." Eric tried to calm her down.
"Eric Anthony Lawson! Shut up!"
"Yes, angel." Eric was well aware that even he couldn't calm her when she was this far-gone.
"You're lucky, Alex, because I just remembered why I can't fight you." Andy closed her eyes, relaxed her mind. Letting the anger flow from her, until she was once again calm and in control.
"You see, I made a vow to my mentors to never use my skills unless I was defending myself or my loved ones. If I were to fight you in a senseless fit of anger, I will have disgraced my family and taken one step closer to being like Rand, Shaitan, or Kari."
"Are you saying that you're above fighting with me?" Alex gaped at her in disbelief.
"Yes, Lexi, I'm grown up enough not to want to hurt you anymore." She was then pulled into her husband's arms.
"I'm sorry, Eric. I forgot myself for a few minutes and lost my temper. Do you forgive me?" She stared up into his eyes.
"Are you kidding? I'm so proud of you that I could kiss you and never let you go." He hugged her fiercely.
"Now that's my daughter." Keith was beaming with pride.
"She will make a fine Queen one day." Allura was proud of her daughter.
"I'm sorry, Dromi." Alex ran over and hugged her sister.
"No. I'm sorry, Lexi. I wouldn't have anyone else for a big sister." Andy sniffled.
"You're one of a kind, baby sister." Alex grinned.
"No we're three of a kind. Like the three musketeers or in our case the three musketeerette's." Andy grinned.
"All for one!"
"And one for all!" Andy and Alex clasped their hands together and raised their joined hands above their head like the musketeer's would do with their swords.
Nate glanced out the window and frowned at the crowd that had gathered by what looked like the Lions…No, what looked like all five lions and that meant that Keith and Allura were here too.
"Great, I'm toast." Nate groaned out loud, as he stared down at his sleeping princess.
He recalled what Ashley had told him. "Honestly, Nathan, she's fine. The first few weeks of pregnancy can cause nightmares. This also explains her sudden mood swings and her tendency to want to nap for most of the day. Relax, she's fine and so is her child. This is normal for being about four weeks into her first trimester."
Nate bent down and kissed her on the forehead. "Hello, handsome. Are you happy or still in shock?" Ariel yawned happily, still on cloud nine.
"Oh, sweetheart, I'm over the moon." He crawled in next to her and pulled her into his arms.
"What did you see outside that upset you so much?"
"Have a look for yourself." Nate carried her over to the window.
"Wonderful! They made it!" She squealed happily.
"Honey, look again your parents are with them." Nate moaned and then fell backwards onto the bed.
"Did you honestly think that they would miss our wedding?"
"Those blasted guards make us stick out like a sore thumb!" He glared at her when she began to giggle.
"This is not funny, Ariel! They will not like our wonderful news, at least not at first anyway." Nate groaned into his pillow.
"Look, Nate. The truth is that my parents didn't wait until they were married, so we have nothing to be sorry about. In fact, my sisters and I were on the way long before their wedding day." Ariel winked at him.
"So you're telling me that your parents are human?" Nate eyed her in disbelief.
"Yes, Nate, so they will understand. Besides, I'm willing to bet my wardrobe that Andy's already expecting." Ariel grinned.
"Come here, you." Nate pulled her down to him and attacked.
(Andy was looking at one of Galaxy Alliances latest creations state of the art cyber armor.)
"Hello, Andromeda. Do you like the cyber suit?" Someone asked her.
"I happen to think that I could use that in my line of work." Andy answered the stranger, but didn't turn to look at who she was talking to.
"Would you like one of your own?"
"Yes and I happen to have a little pull with the head of Galaxy Garrison." Andy smiled.
"Oh really and who might that be?"
"My Grandfather."
"I know your grandfather rather well." Kari confided to Andy.
"Oh really and how is that?" Andy turned to look at who she was talking to.
"Actually, he happens to be my father." Kari smiled serenely at her niece's furious face.
"You!?"
"Hello, little niece, longtime no see." Kari was unaffected by Andy's lethal glare.
"Not long enough, Aunt Kari! What did you do escape?!"
"No, I'm out on good behavior. You see, little niece, I happen to have changed my ways." Kari told her.
"Then let me catch you up. Rand is dead and Shaitan runs the clan now. Oh yes, little Jacen is trying to fill his father's shoes; unfortunately he doesn't seem to be any good at it. Oh and just so that you know, Aunt Kari. There's a new law in the galaxy, that happens to be me, and I don't do things like my father. Just give me one excuse and I will make sure that they lock you up and throw away the key card." Andy brought her 'Aunt' up to speed.
"Who killed Rand?" Kari asked a little too harshly.
"I did. He was going to kill my father."
"Let me tell you a little secret, pet. Rand was developing a clone of himself before his blunder with kidnapping you girls and I would bet my freedom that he's still alive and well today." Kari hissed at her 'niece'.
"You're lying."
"Am I, Andromeda?" Kari taunted her.
"Jace is yours?"
"Yes and he has a twin sister Jenna Michelle."
"I've only had the misfortune of meeting Jacen Michael."
"Jenna stayed on Rand's home planet and is being raised by her grandfather. She has never met her father."
"Enough, Aunt Kari! What do you have to gain by telling me all of this?" Andy hissed.
"If I had played my cards right you would have been mine and I envy what your parents have achieved."
"Never would have happened, Kari! I almost feel sorry for you." Andy turned on her heel and walked away.
"Oh, Andy, I want more than that from you."
"Auntie Kari, there's one more thing that I forgot to mention to you." Andromeda didn't like being threatened and had her 'aunt' taking a swim in a nearby fountain in a matter of seconds.
"No one threatens me anymore and I never forget my enemies or what they've done to me! You, Auntie Kari, and Rand are number one on my list!" Andy stalked off into the park.
"The little one gives quite a sting doesn't she?" A man chuckled in amusement.
"Yes, she does." Kari glared at him.
"Kari, don't you even recognize the father of your children and your husband?" Rand pulled her out of the water and into his arms.
"So you are alive." Kari gasped for air after Rand finally broke their kiss.
"And no one had any clue until you told Andromeda about me and our daughter." Rand ran a finger down her jaw. "Why?" His hand was now grazing her neck.
"Think of the source, Rand! Do you honestly think that she believed me?" She gulped.
"Perhaps you're right, my love. All I want now is go someplace where we can be alone." He picked her up in his arms and then vanished. "But first I have a nosy reporter to kill." Rand eyed the GNN reporter with his all-knowing, all seeing video-cam.
"Dad, I really need to talk to you." Eric hissed into Keith's ear.
"What is it now?" Keith sighed in frustration.
"Did you know that Kari is out on good behavior?"
"What?!"
"Yes and I can't find our shadow anywhere."
"This is not good." Keith raked his fingers through his hair in frustration.
"No it isn't, because you and I both know how she feels about Kari. Andy will kill her on sight and the penalty for that is death on this planet." Eric snarled in frustration.
"Keith! Look up at the media screen!" Allura was horrified to see Andy and Kari's confrontation being played out LIVE on GNN's media screen.
"Why me!" Keith groaned, as the media converged on them.
:What was that about a clone?: Eric tried to listen to the broadcast, but the crowd of reporters was growing.
:I didn't get all of what was said!: Keith glared at the media. "That's it! No comment!"
"What do you have to say about Rand being alive?" Masuki asked his question, shoving a mic in Keith's face.
"What did you say?!" Keith grabbed the reporter by the lapels of his jacket.
"Oi! Let me go!" Masaki yelped in sheer terror.
"Where did you hear that?!" Keith roared down at him.
"From the woman the princess flung into the fountain. We have identified her as General Michael Edwards recently rehabilitated daughter Kari Michelle Edwards…Rand's wife." Masaki sounded like the ace reporter that he was and was calm and in control.
"Masuki? You have a call from the chief." Dana his camera woman interrupted Keith and the reporter.
"Yeah, Chief? What?! The building just exploded and the General wants to put our entire crew on the witness protection program?!" Masaki blanched.
"It's been nice knowing you, Masuki. I hope you liked living, because when Rand finds you I can guarantee that you will wish that you were never born." Keith grinned at him.
"Yeah, hotshot! Are you happy with your reporters instinct now?" Eric taunted.
"Masuki, please come with us." Two armed MP's escorted him and his entire crew out of the park.
"Hi, everyone! Did ya miss me?" Andy smiled at her parents and then gave Eric a long kiss hello.
"This isn't gonna work, dearest, you were LIVE on GNN." Eric frowned down at her.
"Did they get my good side?" Andy acted as if nothing was wrong. "So have all of you heard the news?"
"That Rand is alive?" Keith glared at her.
"I've had the most wonderful time tailing both of them. The explosion at GNN, which was empty of civilians because of my false alarm, was absolutely spectacular." Andy continued to ramble on and on.
"Are you mad at me, darling?" She looked up at Eric's furious face.
"I'm beyond angry."
"And I'm furious with you, Andromeda!" Keith snarled.
"Andromeda, I thought that you were going to go shopping?" Allura frowned.
"I was shopping, mother, but when duty calls, duty calls." She blinked innocently at all of them.
"You are on leave, Andromeda, try another excuse."
"Okay, Eric! Next time, I will let all of those innocent people get killed in the next explosion that Rand causes!" Andy screamed at them and ran towards the resort where Nate and her sister were staying.
"I can't believe that I'm seeing this! She's angry and instead of doing her usual disappearing act, she ran to the hotel!" Eric muttered under his breath.
"She hasn't done that since she was six." Keith growled.
"That isn't like her at all." Allura sighed in frustration.
"Excuse me, but I have to have a long talk with my wife." Eric vanished.
"Go away!" Nate bellowed at the person banging on the door of their suite.
"No, Nathan! I would like a word with my sister!"
"Go away, Andy! She will talk to you later!"
"Fine, Nathan Scott Xavier, then I will tell Daddy that you two are shall we say indisposed." Andy called back sweetly.
"Please, Andromeda, try to be a little merciful and come back later or better yet she will come and see you." Nate begged.
"I'm not in a merciful mood, Nathan." Andy went to force the door open, but Eric appeared from behind and flung her over his shoulder.
"Neither am I! Andromeda Marie!" Eric snarled. "She won't be bothering you anymore, Nate."
"Eric! Put me down!" Andy screeched and Eric gave her a slap on her backside.
"Be quiet, Andy. You're in major trouble and these are only for you own protection." He put bindings on her wrists and ankles.
"Take these off me!"
"No can do, love, because we're going to have you checked over by an old friend of ours, Dr. Ashley Wilkes." Eric told her.
"No way! I'm not sick and I don't care if she's a friend or not! I hate doctors! You can't make me go!"
'Dearest? Do you want me to gag you?' Eric growled softly.
'You wouldn't dare!' She blew the bangs out of her eyes.
'Try me.' He dared her to reply as they exited the resort and walked passed their family.
"Alex, help me!" Andy wailed.
"What exactly is going on here, Eric?" Alex asked quietly.
"She's going to the main base for her annual physical." Eric calmly replied.
"Well, in that case carry on." Alex grinned.
"You traitor!" Andy snarled.
"Lexi, do me a favor, take this and place it over her mouth." Eric gave her Alex something to gag Andy with.
"With pleasure, Eric. I've been dying to do this for years." Alex winked at him.
"Yes, Alex, dying is the word, because when I get loose I am going to..." Andy never finished her threat, out loud anyway. (Tear you in half!)
"Ah, blessed silence." Eric sighed in relief.
"Son? May I have a word with you?" Keith called over to Eric.
"Sure, Dad, but first may I have the key to my lion." Eric requested and was given his key.
"Now do you want to explain to me why you have my daughter bound and gagged?" He tried to ignore his daughter's desperate looks or her pleas for help in his head. "Where exactly are the two of you off to?"
"Her annual physical. She keeps avoiding it."
"Oh, well then, this would be the only way to get her near any doctors, because she's terrified of them." Keith sent him on his way.
:We may have good news to tell you when we return.: Eric confided his suspicions to him.
:That may be the best thing for her. She needs to focus on something besides the team.: Keith agreed.
"I see that nothing has changed. You still can't do anything right." Kari laughed as Rand continued to fume.
"Shut up, Kari! This is your fault!"
"Me? Did I blow up a building without causing any fatalities?" She taunted him.
"Don't even try to take me on, Kari! I don't need you alive, now that I know where Jenna is!"
"You want me too much to kill me." Kari challenged.
"If that were true, I would have had you released years ago."
"You jerk! All of this time and you let me rot in that place while you slept around with your harlots!?" She slapped him hard her nails clawed at his face.
"Are you finished!?"
"No! I need to do this!" She rammed her knee into his groin.
"Did I anger you?" He snarled his teeth were gritted in pain.
"When you recover from that blow to your manhood, I expect you to never repeat that to me again or I will make geld you!" Kari hissed at him, she had a dagger pointed at his lower body.
"Look, Kari! I couldn't have gotten to you even if I wanted to. You were under twenty-four hour guards at all times. I tried once, but all of my men were captured and I barely made my escape." Sweat was creasing his brow, "Please, Kari! You know that I've been in hell without you by my side." He begged for mercy.
"That's much better; now let me put this on you." She collared him.
"You play dirty, Kari!" Rand growled.
"Yes and you love me when I do." She grinned at her husband, who reached to grab a fist full of her hair, and crushed his mouth down against hers.
"Enough talk." He growled against her mouth.
After an hour of tooth pulling and with guards posted at every exit, Andy was having a physical and she was not happy.
"Don't you feel guilty, Ash? Seeing how this is all being done against my own free will." Andy frowned at her friend.
"Dromi, this was for your own good and you darn well know it. Now there's something that I want to show you, instead of just telling you the results." Ashley walked over to one of the med-cabinets getting out a tube of jelly like liquid from one of the drawers.
"What are you going to do with that?" Andy frowned at her as Ash squeezed some of it onto Andy's belly. "Hey, that's cold!" Andy protested.
"Now watch the monitor and I want you to tell me what you see." Ash grinned secretly, as she moved a small device over the jelly on Andy's tummy.
"Something seems to be moving around the screen." Andy gasped in surprise, as the tiny form moved around on the screen.
"You, my friend, are going to be a mommy in a little more than six months. Honestly, Dromi. You must have known. I mean, you couldn't have been so busy not to have noticed the changes happening to your body." Ashley chided her friend.
"We just finished our honeymoon on Planet Lera and one does not stop to notice these things on ones honeymoon. There are just too many distractions." Andy blushed crimson when Ashley burst out laughing.
"Let me show you something else. You can just barely make it out, but I do see two fetuses and that means the twin factor didn't skip a generation." Ashley pointed out the two small 4-D forms on the screen.
"Eric Anthony Lawson! Get your butt in here now!" Andy commanded and Eric raced into the room.
"What's wrong, angel?" Eric frowned worriedly at his wife, who looked as if she were on cloud nine.
"See for yourself, Daddy." She grinned at his shell-shocked expression.
"Daddy…" He whispered.
"Yes and not of just one, but two little miracles." Ashley gave him even more good news.
"Twins…" Eric mouthed before passing out cold.
"Eric?!" Andy cried out from where she still lay on the examine table.
"Eric, wake up!" Ashley frowned down at him.
"Don't you want to see your future children?" Andy chided him, trying not to laugh at his reaction. "Eric, this is embarrassing! Wake up! You are upsetting us!"
"Is Andromeda okay physically? I mean, she's been doing her normal routine, like today when she flipped two people over her shoulder. That didn't hurt her did it?" Eric awoke with a list of concerns for his love.
"No she's perfectly healthy. All that she needs are daily vitamin supplements and I believe that all she usually uses is her opponents momentum and not her own." Ash tried to calm him down.
"Not anymore! From this moment on she's grounded from Voltron and anything that has to do with the team." He finally glanced over to look at the screen. "Are those our babies?" He was awed by the 4-D images moving around on the screen.
"Yes, darling, those are our twins, but you were saying something about grounding me from my usual activities. Look, Eric! I can see a little hand or was that a foot?" Andy asked her friend excitedly.
"That was a hand and those are little fingers, this is a head, and over here is the head of the other fetus." Ash nodded
"It's amazing how far along the babies are and you aren't even really showing yet." Eric kissed Andy.
"She won't be showing for a week or so, but meantime any fighting is out and no arguments, Andromeda." Ashley ordered her friend. "I'm also going to give you some more good news. I've been chosen to be the new head doctor on Arus."
"That's wonderful news, Ashley. I wouldn't want anyone else taking care of them." Eric grinned.
"Hello! Remember me still lying here with this goop on my belly? I hate being talked about like I'm not here!" Andy snapped impatiently, as she listened to them plot out her life.
"Sorry, Andy." Ash wiped the jelly off her belly.
"Now you listen to me! I can take care of these two! I will not be placed in a glass bubble nor will I become a prisoner in my own home!" She got up off the table and went to get dressed behind the dressing screen.
"Angel, I love you so much and I just worry about you... Andy?" Eric went behind the screen, but she was gone.
"That does it she needs a leash!" Eric roared.
Ariel and Nate finally decided to show their faces and greeted the family.
"Hi Everyone! Thank you for coming to my wedding. I'm sorry about not inviting you here myself, but I really only wanted a small ceremony." She tried to explain to her parents.
"I understand, sweetie, but why the rush to get married so quickly?" Allura asked.
"I just want to get married tomorrow, Mom. Call it a sudden longing to make it official with Nathan." Ariel whimpered.
"Ariel, you never could keep anything from me, now what is going on?" Keith growled.
"Nothing is going on, Daddy." Ariel kissed him on the cheek.
"Ariel, you made me a promise before you left home to take the twins to Dad's and I want to know if you have kept your word." Keith eyed his daughter's face for any reaction and her eyes gave her away.
"Daddy, really! I am nineteen and I can take care of myself." She frowned at him.
"You broke your promise, Ariel and I want to know why." Keith's disappointment in her actions shone clearly on his face.
"I don't have to explain anything to either of you. I know how my sisters and I came to be, so don't try making me feel guilty, Daddy." She hissed into her father's ear.
"Ariel, I never once said that you two couldn't get married. I just told you to wait until you were married." Keith lectured her. He was trying desperately to keep his temper in check.
"I may always be the calm one, but I'm a living breathing person, and there is only so much that a girl can take before she has to express those feelings." Ariel defended herself.
"We tried, sir. We really tried, but our feelings are too strong to fight the love that we feel for each other." Nate finally got to speak on their behalf.
"So this is bigger than the both of you to control? Is that what you're trying to say?"
"Yes, Daddy." Ariel nodded leaning back in Nate's arms.
"Then the two of you will just have to be married tomorrow won't you." Keith smiled down at her.
"We only want you to be happy." Allura smiled at the happy couple.
Black Lion landed next to the other Lions and only Andy jumped out of the cockpit.
"Andy!" Ariel raced over to hug her sister.
"Ariel!" Andy hugged her back.
"You look great, Dromi! You're absolutely glowing."
"And so are you, Ari! This Tellurian air agrees with you."
"Where's your better half?" Nate grinned at her.
"Eric? Let's see the last time that I saw him was at the base hospital." Andy started to wander towards the main park.
"My God! She's killed Eric!" Nate exclaimed.
"Andromeda, where's Eric?" Keith narrowed his eyes at her.
"At the base hospital talking to Ash, at least he was until I...oh never mind." She sighed and continued towards the huge park.
"She killed him." Nate insisted.
"Who killed whom?" Alex asked, as her and Chris joined the others.
"Andy came back from the base minus Eric and Nate thinks that she killed him." Ariel explained calmly, as if this happened all the time.
"Yeah, and guess who she'll go after next." Nate frowned at Alex.
"Chris, you have to hide me!" Alex clung to him in terror.
"If Andy killed Eric, then who is he?" Chris watched as Eric ran over to join them.
"Eric, you're alive!" Nate actually hugged him.
"Yes, I'm alive." Eric eyed Nate as if he was losing it.
"Andy didn't kill you?" Alex sighed in relief.
"No, Lexi, but I may kill her when I get my hands on her. Do you have any idea how many forms that I had to sign just to get a shuttle so I could come back here and hunt down my wife?!" Eric snarled.
"So is everything okay?" Keith asked Eric.
"Everything is just peachy, Dad! Andy is in perfect health! Now tell me which way that she went!"
"Towards the amusement park, Eric." Allura and Keith gave each other a knowing look.
"Thank you." Eric left them to head his wife off at the pass.
Andy held a large package in her arms, as she quietly fumed over her delicate condition. She was thrilled to be carrying these two little miracles inside her, but she was also frustrated that it meant giving up what was her life's dream. The two cyber suits in the package were going to become her protective armor, and that way she could still stay on the team.
She didn't notice the silent figure quietly watching her from his perch near the park's fountain.
"Andromeda? Want to talk about it?" Darian appeared out of the shadows.
"Are my thoughts that loud?" Andy frowned at him.
"You could say that your Aunt Myria sent me to find out why you were so upset." Darian growled.
"I'm fine, Uncle Fangs." Andy snapped icily.
:Try again, Little Blossom, you can't hide anything from me.:
"Let me see, Kari's free. Rand's alive, and to top off my day my friend tells me that...no… I'm not ready to share that yet." Andy blocked him out of her mind.
"Rand and Kari are nothing compared to your abilities and that isn't what's upsetting you!"
"Don't show your fangs at me, Uncle Darian, because it won't get me to talk!" Andy fumed.
"You are getting a little too good at these mind games, young lady." Darian growled.
"I had a good teacher." She sassed.
"Very funny, brat, but I think we should go find Eric. I don't like the feeling around here." Darian sensed that Rand was nearby.
"The only one here is that man watching us and he looks harmless."
"Looks can be deceiving! Now let's go find your husband."
"I don't wish to see him right now." She answered hastily.
"Fine, then we'll go on some of the rides."
"Uncle Darian! That wasn't Rand!" Andy protested, as he dragged her with him into the park.
Rand silently pondered what Princess Andromeda's secret was and didn't notice that her husband was standing nearby.
"Excuse me, sir, but have you seen a beautiful tall brunette brooding around here?" Eric asked the bearded man.
"She left with a tall blonde gentleman and they were headed deeper into the park." Rand answered quietly, staring him eye to eye.
"Do I know you? Your voice and face seems familiar to me." Eric frowned at Rand.
"No, now if you will excuse me, I have somewhere that I need to be." Rand got up to leave the park.
*It couldn't have been.* Eric thought.
"That was Rand!" He ran after the man.
"Are you a fool?" Rand glared at him when he sensed that he was being followed.
"Only cowards run, Rand. And if Jace is anything like you then I guess your family is used to turning tail and running. Whether it be from a fight or a superior female like Kari." Eric's voice oozed with sarcasm.
"You are going to eat every one of those words, kid!"
"Try it, old man. My wife and I bested you a few times as teenagers and now we're adults, just think of what I can do to you now!" Eric was amused by Rand's threat.
"So you married the little brat."
"That brat killed your clone, took on Shaitan, and has whipped your brother and son time and time again. I'm sorry to say this, Rand, but your son is a failure and Shaitan isn't much better."
"This coward never plays fair, Captain!" Rand threw a flash ball on the ground instantly blinding Eric.
"I can fight you blindfolded." Eric snarled.
"Now, I'm going to make you eat those words." Rand grinned evilly.
"I passed my final tests in nijitsu with a blindfold over my eyes, so this doesn't throw me off at all." Eric got into a defensive stance.
"We shall see just how good you really are." Rand threw five throwing stars at him, barely missing two civilians.
Eric barley dodged them and the two cuts on his arms proved just how razor sharp those small objects could be.
"This is neither the time nor the place for weapons! We are in a highly populated theme park!" Eric landed a flying kick to Rand's solar plexus.
"I really could care less, Captain. I like killing people, as a matter of fact, it happens to be a hobby of mine." He threw more stars at the innocent civilians.
"Stop this, Rand! You'll kill someone!" Eric punched him several times across the face.
"That's the idea, either you do the heroic thing and fight me, or you could do the intelligent thing and let me be on my way. Either way, I'll hurt someone and you can't allow that can you, Captain." Rand taunted him.
"All right, Rand, but I still owe you one for the arm." Eric sent one of the throwing stars back at Rand and it sliced up his arm.
"It's a pity that you're on the good side of things." Rand attached a small explosive near one of the rides and then vanished.
"Oh shit, a bomb!" Eric squinted at the blurry image of the timer. "Set for less than five minutes and I can barely see the wires." Eric groaned when he tried to move his injured arm.
"Leave it to the news media to blow this all out of proportion!" Keith snarled in frustration.
"This isn't Eric's fault! Rand set him up!" Nate frowned, as he watched the LIVE news report on the media-screen.
"Listen, Graham! He didn't cause anything! What?! How do I know? Let's just say that a flash ball causes your opponent to become temporally blinded!" Keith snarled at Grand Marshall Graham on his cell phone.
"He couldn't see the civilians; he couldn't see anything! How was he fighting Rand?! It's called using ones instincts! Look, Graham! I have no time for this! I have to straighten this mess out! Oh and don't even try any court marshals or anything like that, because Prince Eric Lawson has diplomatic immunity!" Keith ended the call with the head of the Galaxy Alliance.
"What is he doing now? What is that near that ride?" Nate frowned, as the camera zoomed in on Eric trying to defuse the bomb.
"Let's go, Nate. This is getting more complicated by the second." Keith and Nate went running to where Eric was in over his head.
"Eric, are you okay?" Andy appeared next to her husband, who was swearing at the bomb that now had a count down of a little over three minutes flashing on the screen. She was also wearing her new red cyber armor.
"I need tools." Eric muttered, sweat was creasing his brow.
"Move and I will disarm the bomb." Andy hissed into his ear.
(3min 25sec)
"Run! Get away from here!" Eric panicked when he realized who was standing next to him.
"No! Now move so I can disarm the bomb." Andy hissed, but Eric had a grip of iron on the bomb.
*This is all my fault! No! I am the Captain of the Voltron Force! I can handle this!* Eric ignored his wife's attempts to move him out of the way.
"Eric, you failed this class twice! Let me disarm the damn bomb!" She slapped him hard in the face and when that didn't work she pushed down on his carotid artery until he passed out and finally lost his grip on the bomb.
(2 Min)
Her mind went totally blank, as she carefully removed the top of the bomb, and looked down at the intricate wires. "Which one first red, yellow, blue, or black?" She swore softly, as she cut the red, yellow, and green wires in sequence, that left the black or the blue wire.
(59sec)
"I forgot which one." She bit down on her lip.
(49sec)
"Think, Andy, your whole life and the lives of innocents are at stake."
(29sec)
She went to cut the black wire, but stopped knowing that Rand never played by the rules.
(19sec)
Then finally went to cut the blue wire, squeezing her eyes shut when she finally snipped the wire, stopping the clock with only nine seconds remaining.
"Your mommy saved you." She patted her tummy and then went to see how badly Eric was injured.
(The entire drama had been played live on GNN)
"Do you people mind!?" Andy threw the video-cam into a steel post. "That's much better." She smiled sweetly at the angry news crew.
"What's your view on your husband's betrayal to Galaxy Garrison?" A reporter asked.
"You idiots! A flash bomb blinds you! He couldn't see any civilians and Rand set that bomb there! It even has his mark on it!" Andy glared murderously at them.
"What are your thoughts about Rand now that he's alive?"
"I killed him once, so I can easily do it again." She purred at the reporter.
"So you want a rematch?"
"No! I just want him to keep away from the far galaxy!" Andy spoke like a future Queen.
"Are there any heirs on the way?"
"No and with Rand on the loose, that would be dangerous for the child." Andy lied smoothly to the reporter. "Now, if you will all excuse me, I need to get my husband to a doctor." She dismissed the reporters and went back to tending her husband.
"Are you okay?" Keith ran over to his daughter with a first aid kit in his arms.
"I'm fine, Daddy, but Eric fought Rand blind. Look at his arm! Rand must have used ten throwing stars! He had to let that madman go, because he was going to level half of the park with this thermo bomb!" Andy defended her husband, tears streamed down her cheeks and silently dropped onto Eric's face.
"Someone get me my rain gear before it starts to pour." Eric groaned, wincing in agony when he tried to move his arm.
"Eric! You're okay!" Andy placed kisses all over his face.
"No thanks to you, your grip is murder." Eric groaned in pain.
"You are lucky that was all I did, Captain Lawson, after all that you pulled on me today! Next time let go of the bomb, you idiot!" Andy's mood went from concern for her husband to instant irritation.
"Calm down, lioness, I'm injured enough as it is." Eric was afraid of her sudden mood swings.
"Eric, you're grounded! I'm not going to go through this alone!" Andy glared down at him.
"I'm what?! I can't be grounded! I'm the leader of the Lion force!" He yelped in pain when Andy grabbed hold of his wrist. "You're breaking my wrist!" He cried out in protest.
'If putting you in traction is the only way to ground you and keep you away from Rand, then that's what I'm going to do!' She hissed.
"Andromeda, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Keith watched as she broke Eric's wrist.
"Stay out of this, Dad. This doesn't concern you!"
"The hell it doesn't, Andromeda! You just broke his wrist on purpose and that has never been allowed!" Keith pulled her away from Eric.
"I warned you, Daddy!" She threw Keith at Nate.
"That is enough, Andromeda!" Eric jumped to his feet. "I'm your shadow from now on!"
"I always wanted a slave to do my bidding." She was once again calm and serene.
"Oh believe me, sweetness. I will make sure that you are well taken care of." Eric glowered down at her.
"Could someone please explain what the hell is going on here?" Keith was not amused.
"Yeah, what's with her anyway?" Nate frowned.
"We can't tell you just now." Andy leaned back in her husband's arms.
"Watch it, Andy! I'm in no condition to cuddle!" Eric winced in pain.
"Don't just stand there! Get my husband to a hospital!" She barked at Keith and Nate.
"Here we go again." Nate and Keith groaned.
(The Next day)
"Okay, everyone, before we celebrate our marriage, Ariel and I have something to tell you." Nate smiled at his family.
"Yes, we are taking our honeymoon on Lera, where I can relax and take care of our unborn baby." Ariel waited for her father to hit the roof.
"Congratulations!" Allura squealed and hugged her daughter.
"Congrat's, Sis!" Andy beamed at her, relieved that all the attention was now focused on Ariel.
(Thanks, Andy! Now what is it that you're hiding from us?)
(Nothing, Ari, I'm fine. This has just been a busy couple of days.) She frowned when Alex walked over to them.
(You can't pull anything on us, Dromi. Now what are you hiding?) Alex ordered her to fess up.
(Alex, I'm still furious with you, so back off!) She hissed at her sister.
Alexandra jumped back like a startled doe. "Fine, baby sister, but I will find out eventually."
"Look, Alex! I really don't want anything to do with you right now, so stay the hell away from me!" She snarled.
"Way to go, Sis!" Drew and Tony yelled, as Alex turned beat red.
"Did I ask you for your comment?" Alex hissed at her little brothers.
"No, but it was just too good to resist!" The two razed their sister.
"It's hard to believe that those two monsters are our brothers." Ariel grinned.
"We wanna chance to fight against Dromi." The twins announced to the whole family.
"Maybe some other time, guys," Keith glared at his sons.
"No, Dad! We wanna prove that we're as good as Andy." Tony shouted.
"The answer is no!" Eric ended the conversation.
"What?" Andy hissed at Eric. "I can speak for myself!"
"Well, you haven't so far, so I answered for you!" Eric snarled at her.
"The day that I can't handle those two is the day that I turn in my key." Andy snorted at him in disgust.
"Yes!" Andrew and Tony gave each other a high five.
"No way! I forbid you to do this, Andromeda!"
"Try to stop me, Eric!" She vanished.
"Way cool!" Drew grinned.
"Dad? Why can't we do that yet?" Tony frowned at his father.
"Maybe you aren't ready yet, she could do that when she was seven." Keith told the boys.
"Yes, imagine what she could do to you at nineteen." Eric growled.
"Look what she did to Eric and she loves him." Nate pointed to the cast on Eric's wrist.
"She did that on purpose?" Tony frowned.
Eric grinned and nodded. "Yeah, and now she's angry with Alex. You'll be lucky if you can take those flying lessons this summer in the lions."
"Not get to fly the lions?" They both wailed in unison.
Andromeda returned, dressed for battle in her new red cyber armor. "Okay, squirts, give me your best shot!"
Andrew and Anthony looked at each other in silent agreement. "We changed our minds, Andy, we aren't ready yet."
"Why the change of heart, guys?" Andy frowned at the twins.
"Oh, no reason," Tony frowned at her.
"We changed our mind that's all." Andrew glared at her.
"Look, you two, I think that we can get rid of all that energy by teaching you to fly Blue lion." Eric grinned at them.
"Yes!" The twins grinned.
"My lion, Eric! Why my lion?"
"Don't play innocent angel with me, Andromeda! You know very well why you can't fly your lion!" Eric snarled at her.
"She didn't say flying my lion! She said no nijitsu!" Andy hissed at him.
"No, it included your lion, you just left before she told you."
"Don't push your luck, Eric! I can and will take care of myself!" She screamed at him.
"Not anymore, Princess! We are a team and I intend to keep you with me twenty-four hours a day. You are my shadow and have been since you were nine and now I'm going to be yours." Eric's voice gentled, as he spoke to her.
"I can't stand not to be able to do what I normally do!" She pleaded with him.
"What's going on here?! Why can't Andy do her usual activities?" Keith demanded an answer.
"Yes, Eric! Why?" Allura echoed her husband's command.
"This isn't the time or the place to get into this! There are too many reporters and I'm not going to put a spotlight on me, now that Rand is alive, and Kari is free. Jace is obsessed and now I find out that he has a twin sister! So, no, I'm not going to tell any of you anything!" Andy was on the verge of tears.
"Say no more, honey. I know what's going on, but this isn't a good time for this secret." Keith frowned at her.
"What secret? I have nothing to hide. You must have misunderstood me, father." She spoke quietly, a look of innocence masked her face.
"She's so good that she scares me." Allura frowned as Andy dismissed them.
"She'll need everything that she's learned to survive this unscathed." Keith knew the danger that his daughter was in.
"Call every one of your father's special forces. She'll need twenty-four hour guards, but they can never let her see them." Allura hissed at Keith.
"She needs both of her parents to quit planning her life," Andy hissed into her father's ear.
:You are a walking target now and won't be able to defend yourself and a baby is the last thing our enemies need especially, with both parents being who they are!: Keith told her.
:No one is going to take my babies from me and that's why no one can know about this right now!: Andy realized what her parents where thinking and tried not to panic.
"I won't let that happen, sweetheart. I made you a promise and I intend to keep it." Eric pulled her into his arms.
"Why make promises you can't keep." Andy looked up at him.
'"You come first, Andromeda. If something was to happen to those babies and I had a choice to save either them or you, I would choose you." Eric growled into her ear.
"Anyone who tries to harm me or take my babies will die." Andy hissed.
"You won't be able to defend yourself, Andromeda; for once in your life you will find that you're completely vulnerable." Eric tried to get her to see reason.
Tears of frustration streamed down her face, as she tried to deny any of what they were telling her. "This should be making me happy, but I feel trapped! It isn't fair! I have to feel that I am still a part of the team!"
"Just consider this a duty to your people, like an affair of state." Keith tried to help.
"Affair of state! My duty to our people!?" She snarled at him. "If you weren't my father, I would lay you flat!"
Allura stepped in front of Keith. "Andromeda Marie, behave yourself. That is not good for you or the babies."
Andy glared at her mother, "Forgive me, mother, but I..." Andy's stomach started to roll and she felt nausea begin to overcome her. "I'm going to be sick!" She wheezed and bolted for the nearest bathroom.
"Andy!"
"I believe that those babies just put in their own opinion." Allura grinned.
Eric began to pace, "She's never sick. She's three months along in her pregnancy and never once has she had morning sickness."
Andy returned and gave Eric a dark look. "I hate you!" She seethed, "I never get sick! You did this to me, Eric, and you will...Oh no, not again!" She ran for the bathroom again.
"I believe that she was going to say that you were going to pay for making her sick." Nate finished his sister-in-law's sentence.
Eric had a cat-ate-the-cream grin on his face. "She's only had nausea when she's angry with me, so now she won't lose her temper."
"Did I mention that it goes both ways?" Keith grinned, as Eric turned a shade of green and ran for the other bathroom.
"Now that's what I call sharing in the experience." Nate chuckled.
"I don't find it funny, Nathan!" Keith snarled.
"I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry, uh, Dad."
"I know from experience, son, and it's hell not being able to eat for fear of losing your lunch. I practically lived on crackers when Allura was carrying the girls." Keith snarled at him.
"Where is Eric?" Andy hissed.
Keith pulled her into his arms and then grinned, "He had to run to the men's room."
She looked up at her father in confusion and asked "Why what's wrong?"
"He lost his dinner." Nate grinned.
"He doesn't get sick, so why would he become sick unless he was suffering from..." Andy grinned. "Well, it serves him right."
(Arus)
Andy stood in front of the full-length mirror in their bedroom, exhausted from the long trip back home. There was a little monitor sitting on her vanity and playing on it was the video of her 4-D sonogram. She turned herself so she was standing sideways and tried to see a change in her body, but she wasn't showing yet.
"I'm gonna look like a baby whale." She moaned, as she slipped a silk pillow under her satin nightshirt, and frowned at her image.
"What may I ask are you doing?" Eric finally made his presence known.
"Seeing how enormous I'll be in less than a month."
"You are exquisite, Andromeda, you glow, and I have never seen you look more beautiful." Eric smiled at her.
"You made me sick, Eric. I'm not talking to you." She pouted at him.
"At least your nausea went away." Eric munched on another cracker.
"Serves you right," She walked past him.
"What's that on your vanity?" Eric spotted the little monitor with her sonogram on it.
"Nothing, Eric," She tried to grab the monitor, but it was too late.
"You had a copy of your sonogram made."
"Are you sure that you wanna put up with me for the next six months?" She sniffled.
"I love you and this experience will only strengthen our love. These babies are a part of us and that makes you a very special part of something wonderful." He set the monitor down on the vanity and pulled her into his arms.
"I'm scared, Eric." She buried her face against his chest.
"I know, sweetie, but we'll get through this together. I'm gonna be with you every step of the way." He kissed her on the top of her head.
"I think we need to dome our paradise for security reasons that might ease my fear, but I'll still feel like I'm in a cage."
"We won't need to do that for a few more weeks, but it will have to be done eventually."
"Sometimes, I wish that I was a normal everyday person instead of Keith's super human offspring."
"Then you'd be bored out of your mind and think of what could have happened to your father if you weren't who you are." He cuddled her in his arms.
"I love you so much that sometimes I feel overwhelmed with what we have."
"I can solve that. How would you like a nice hot shower, before we go to bed?" He growled into her ear.
"Why, Captain Lawson, what are you up to?" She purred back when he swept her up into his arms.
"I'm going to ravish you, my lady." He grinned down at her.
"Has my handsome prince turned into a pirate?" She giggled.
"You could say that you bring out the beast in me, darling."
"The beast was a handsome prince…" Andy yawned sleepily.
"Are you falling asleep on me?" He growled down at her.
"Who me…" She cuddled against his chest and drifted off to sleep.
"Well, I'll be damned." He chuckled softly and went to tuck her into their bed. "I'll keep all of you safe." He cuddled her in his arms and watched over her as she slept.
Next Chapter 5
I in no way own any of the original characters in this story and Voltron. The new characters on the other hand are mine and under no circumstances are they to be used without my permission.
Cindra©1998-2015