Once again, all disclaimers apply. The only characters I do own are Caleb, Darcy, Dante, and any other character you don't recognize from the series.
***********************************************
"Has she woken, yet?" Keith asked.
Allura sat in the hospital wing beside the young woman.
It had been two hours since they brought the stranger to the hospital wing. Dr. Gorma had found she had a concussion, three cracked ribs, a broken wrist, and various cuts and bruises all over. She was exhausted and malnourished.
"No, not yet." She looked up at him. "I think we should call Romelle and see if she recognizes her."
Keith did a quick calculation in his head, "It's pretty late there."
"I think this is important enough to call her."
Koran was in Castle Control keeping watch. Hunk, Pidge, Dante, and Caleb were working on the ship she had arrived in, trying to figure out where it came from or who manufactured it.
"Has she wakened yet?" Koran asked when Allura and Keith entered.
"No. We're going to call Pollux and see if Romelle knows who she is." Allura explained as she crossed to the console.
"It's rather late, Your Highness."
"I know, Koran, but I think Romelle will forgive me. We need to find out who this girl is."
The call was answered by one of the castle guards on Pollux. It took about five minutes for Romelle to waddle to the phone with Sven at her side.
"Allura, what's wrong?" She asked, concerned.
"I am so sorry to disturb you this late, but I thought it was important I contacted you. A ship crash landed on Arus this evening, the pilot was unconscious when we found her. She came to for a moment and when she saw me, she thought I was you."
Romelle looked confused, "Did she say who she was?"
"No, she passed out again, right after she saw me. She had no identification on her and the guys are going over her ship now, trying to find any clues to her identity."
"What does she look like?" Romelle asked.
"She's about my height, very thin and pale, with long, white blonde hair and purple eyes." Allura told her.
Sven put his hand out to steady his wife as she paled and swayed.
"What is it Romelle?" Allura asked, leaning toward the monitor as though she could help.
"Do you know who dis voman is?" Sven asked her.
"It can't be." Romelle whispered.
"What?" Allura asked.
"It can't be." Romelle repeated. "It sounds like it might be Paget. But she was killed by Lotor."
"Paget?" Sven asked.
"Paget was my lady-in-waiting before I was taken by Lotor. My father had offered her up with me as a payment. She was taken away right after we arrived on Doom and I thought he had killed her. I haven't seen her in years."
"Maybe you should come here and see if it is her." Keith suggested.
"I don't know..." Sven began.
"We'll be there tomorrow afternoon." Romelle interrupted. "We'll see you then. Good night."
She closed the connection and turned to Sven. "Come on, we have to pack and get a ship ready to go."
He placed
his hand on her arm, "Are you sure dis is a good idea? Are you up to it?"
"Sven, if this is Paget, I have to know. She was my closest friend when I was growing
up. I owe this to her."
Sven looked down into her pleading eyes and at the hand rubbing circles around her swollen stomach. "If you're sure. I just don't vant you to get upset."
She smiled up at him, "I'm fine, Sven. I'm as healthy as a horse."
He leaned down and kissed her. "Go back to bed, I'll go see about the ship and we can pack in the morning."
**************************************************************
Lance made his way to the hospital wing. He was as curious as the others about this strange woman. He winked at the nurse on duty and received a giggle in response.
"You seem to have that effect on women."
He jumped at the voice behind him. It was normally very difficult to sneak up on him, but somehow, Darcy had managed it.
He flashed his most charming smile, "Is that why you're following me?"
She snorted, "I think it's safe to say I'm immune to your charms."
"We'll have to see about that." He winked.
She rolled her eyes and decided she needed to change the subject before this went too far, "Has she woken up yet?"
"I haven't heard anything, but that's what I came to check on."
They found Dr. Gorma standing over his patient, checking her vitals.
"Any news, Doc?" Lance asked.
"Not yet, Lieutenant."
"Romelle and Sven are coming tomorrow." Allura and Keith entered the room.
"You spoke to them?" Lance asked.
"We just did. Romelle thinks this woman might be Paget, her lady-in-waiting who was handed over to Lotor with her. She thought Lotor had killed her." Keith explained.
"And she just appears out of nowhere?" Darcy asked.
Allura shrugged, "So it seems."
"Have Hunk and the others found anything on her ship yet?" Lance asked.
Keith ran his hand through his hair, "No, not yet."
Lance looked at the woman. With her white hair and pale skin, she looked like a ghost lying on the bed. "So what do we do now?"
"I'm having a guard posted outside her door and Dr. Gorma," Allura turned to the doctor. "Could you please contact me as soon as she wakes?"
"Of course, Your Highness."
She turned to Lance and Darcy, "You guys are free to go, we'll let you know as soon as she wakes."
"Don't forget practice at 0600." Keith reminded them.
"Can I escort you to your room?" Lance asked Darcy as they left the hospital.
"That's really not necessary, Lance, I can find my way. Besides, I was thinking about stopping by the hanger to see if they found anything on her ship."
"That's strange, I was thinking of doing the same thing."
She smirked, "I'm sure you were."
"I was, I just thought I would be a gentleman and escort you to your room. Since it's getting late I thought you were going to get some beauty sleep."
Darcy stopped and looked at him, eyebrow raised.
Lance held up his hands in defense, "Not that you need any. You're beautiful enough."
She rolled her eyes, "Oh for Pete's sake." And continued down the hall.
Lance jogged after her. "You don't like me very much do you?"
His words brought her to a halt. "Lance, I like you when you are being you."
He looked totally confused, "What?"
She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, causing stray strands to stand. Lance thought she looked bedraggled, annoyed, and adorable.
"Earlier tonight, on the observation deck we had a wonderful conversation. You weren't trying too hard, you were laid back and fun to talk to. When I see you like that I can totally understand why someone like Captain Whitaker and Queen Allura hold you in such high esteem. I was thoroughly impressed by your flying and your analytical soldier mind. But when you try too hard, you tend to get cocky and too flirty and I don't really like that."
Lance studied her, "You don't mince words, do you?"
"Lieutenant Collier, we are working together now and I believe in honesty. I really think I will enjoy being a member of the Voltron Force and I don't want anything to get in the way of my career."
"So you want honesty?" Lance felt a heat spread through him, a cross between anger and attraction. What is with me? He thought.
"Yes I do. I find it makes life a lot easier."
"Even when
the truth isn't what you want to hear?"
Darcy nodded and braced
herself, waiting for him to tell her what a stuck-up bitch she was being. She could take anything this cocky flyboy had
to tell her.
"Alright then, I guess I'll be honest with you." He took her by the upper arms. "I am very attracted to you."
Darcy started with shock. Maybe she couldn't take anything this cocky flyboy had to tell her.
"I don't know why, I hardly know you, but I can't help but think there is something between us."
Darcy felt her mouth open and close, but no words came out.
"Am I wrong?" He asked, nervous about putting his heart on the line.
"I, uh, I don't know." She whispered.
"Are you
willing to try?"
She shook her head and cleared
her mind. "No, Lance, we can't."
"Why not?" He asked, angrily, tightening his grip on her arms.
"Because it would complicate our work."
"Life is all about complications."
"What if it
doesn't work out? Do you have any idea
how hard it would be to work together?"
"I'm willing to take that
chance."
Darcy looked up at him, defeated. "But I don't know if I am."
Lance dropped his hands, feeling humiliated.
"I'm sorry Lance, I just…" Her voice trailed off.
"It's alright, Darcy. Its better I know now rather than torture myself. Good night, Sergeant." Lance turned on his heel and left.
Darcy watched his retreating form and fought down the urge to call after him. She couldn't deny that she felt something for him, but she also knew that she had done the right thing. Working relationships never worked, she knew from experience. Feeling suddenly exhausted, she turned and went to her room.
*******************************************************
Keith went to the hanger to see if anything had been found on the ship.
"Hey Captain." Pidge greeted him.
"Hey Pidge. What've you found?"
"Not much yet. It was made by Pherilman Inc., which means it came from the Walerin Galaxy. They have factories on four planets there. We can't find a manufactured date and it's pretty common. All in all, you could call it the K-Car of ships."
"Has she wakened yet?" Hunk asked as he jumped out of the ship.
Keith shook
his head. "We called Romelle, she and
Sven are coming tomorrow to see her."
"Does Romelle know who she
is?"
"She thinks she might be her lady-in-waiting,
Paget. Romelle thought Lotor had killed
her years ago."
"Wow," Pidge said. "To think they should meet again like this."
"Yeah, that's something else." Hunk shook his head in amazement.
"I can try contacting Pherilman's offices tomorrow and see if they can give us an idea of where it came from or who bought it." Caleb said.
"I don't thing that'll help. I just found this." Dante walked over and held up a small copper plate that had a heavily scratched surface. "The identification number was filed off."
"It was?" Keith asked. "That would mean it was stolen."
"That's what I thought." Dante said.
"Alright, then you guys can turn in for the night. We're still having practice at 0600, so get some sleep." Keith dismissed them.
