Lance looked down on Darcy as she slept.  It was a week since the wedding.  Romelle, Sven, Paget, and Rankin had left for Pollux four days earlier.  Word had reached Arus that there had been a burial on Doom, there were intel photographs and eye witnesses.  None of their investigators had been able to see who was in the casket, but word amongst the Doom military was that Lotor was dead and buried.

            He was stretched out on his side, his elbow bent and his head propped on his hand.  Darcy was sound asleep, wearing that satin red nightshirt he liked so much.  Her hair was mussed and her face was a picture of relaxation.  A slight smile curved her full lips.  Lance knew women; he had been legendary back at the Academy.  There had been girls he had lusted after, some he thought he was in love with.  A few had given him that special tug around the heart.  But nothing like this. 

            They had known each other for over four months and had been dating for two and a half.  Never in his life had Lance thought it could happen this fast, but it seemed right.  He knew she was afraid of them moving too quickly, so he had taken a step back.   His need for her was growing, but this was the first time he had slept in her room since they had made love.  She had already been in bed and looked pleased, and a little nervous, when he arrived.  He had crawled into bed beside her, taking her in his arms, they watched a little televiewer and he watched her fall asleep. 

            When you lived a life like theirs, when you had the kind of career where every time you went to work, you may never return, you learned very quickly to not take people for granted.  With Lotor out of the way, Lance reveled in the fact that they could now take more time to get to know each other better, to spend more time together.  The downside, however, was knowing that if the threat was indeed over, they would probably be stationed elsewhere.  That thought caused Lance's heart to momentarily stop beating.  What would happen if they were stationed to other places?  Long distance relationships were hard enough, but to put tens of thousands of miles between them was even worse. Maybe, with Keith's influence, they could be stationed to the same assignment. 

            "Mmmm."  Darcy sighed softly.

            Lance leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her soft, pliant lips.  Even before she was fully awake, she returned his kiss.

            "Good morning," he whispered.

            She stretched her arms above her head, "Good morning."

            "I love you."

            Darcy smiled as she looked at him, "This is a great way to wake up in the morning."

            "We could make it a daily occurrence."  He leaned over and kissed her again before moving his lips to her throat.

            She brought her hands up and laced them through his hair, "Lance?"

            "Hmm?"  He lifted his head and looked down at her.

            "I love you, too."
            He grinned, "I know."

            "I just felt the need to tell you."

            He shifted and laid on top of her, using his arms to brace himself above her.  "Care to show me?"

            Darcy slid her hands down to his shoulders, "How do you propose I do that?"

            "Marry me."

            The words came out before he knew he was even thinking them.

            Darcy's eyes widened and her face paled.  He wasn't sure if she was terrified or trying to think of a nice way to let him down.

            "Lance, I love you.  I do.  But…" She trailed off.

            "I know."  He lowered his forehead to hers and closed his eyes.  "I didn't mean right now.  I meant someday.  In the future."

            She was quiet, too quiet.  Lance opened his eyes and lifted his head.  She studied him with such intensity that it frightened him.

            He rolled off of her, "Sorry, Darc, I don't know what came over me."

            "Don't be sorry, Lance, please don't be sorry."

            He laid on his back and looked up at the ceiling.

            "Honey," Darcy sat up and looked at him.  "What brought this on?"
            He shifted his gaze to hers, "I was thinking."

            "What about?"

            "Since Lotor is dead and the threat has passed, we could all be reassigned."

            Without saying a word, she slid down and laid against him, her head on his shoulder.

            "I've been thinking about that too," she admitted.  "But I don't think rushing into marriage would be the answer."

            He brought his arm around her, holding her close. "I know.  You're right."

            She rolled over and crossed her arms over his chest, resting her chin on her hands.  "We need to give us some more time.  I think that, someday, I would like to marry you, but right now, I think I would like to just be with you.  Get to know you better."

            Lance slowly ran his hands up and down her sides before folding them on the small of her back, "I think your approach makes more sense."

            "Are you upset?"

            He smiled at her, "No, I'm not.  I just don't want to lose you to some out of the way assignment on some far off rock."

            "Buck up, Lance, lets make the most of the time we have and deal with the assignments when they come.  We can make this work."
            He cocked an eyebrow, "Did you just tell me to Buck up?"

            She shrugged, "It seemed like the right thing to say."

            He laughed, "How long off is someday?"

            "Well, I think we should date at least a year before we actually consider getting married."

            "A year?"

            "A year."

            "You have this all planned out, don't you?  Maybe, we could negotiate?"

            "Maybe."  Darcy slid out of the bed.  "But for now we have practice in half an hour and now that I can fly again, I don't want to be late."

            Dr. Gorma had given Darcy a clean bill of health the day before and told her she was free to return to her flying.  She had been looking forward to this day and she was not going to be late for practice.

            Lance watched her from the bed, "I think I can convince the man in charge to cut you a little slack."

            She turned to him, "Don't let the power go to your head."

            Keith was still unable to fly, so Lance was taking over the flying of Black for the time being.

            He threw back the covers, "You know, some women find power attractive."

            "Sorry I can't be more shallow for you."  Darcy pulled open her closet and found a flight suit.

            Lance came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, "I'll wash your back if you wash mine."

            She turned around in his arms, "You need to go back to your room and get dressed."

            "You worry too much about the little things.  You need to be more spontaneous."

            She stuck her chin out, "I'm spontaneous."

            "Are not."

            "Are too."

            Before she could say anything else, Lance swept her up in his arms and carried her into the bathroom. 

            "What are you doing, Lance?"  She struggled against his grasp.

            Without answering her, he stood her in the bathtub and turned the shower on.

            "Dammit, Lance!  You're getting my clothes all wet!"

            "I guess you better take them off then," he winked at her and slipped out of his pajama pants and stepped into the tub.

**********************

            That afternoon, Darcy found her way into the rec room.  Lance and Keith were meeting to go over some more of the rebuilding plans.  Hunk, Dante, and Pidge were gathered around the televiewer, playing a video game; Caleb was on duty in Castle Control.

            "Hey Darc, you looked good at practice this morning."  Hunk greeted her.

            "Thanks, I need to get back into the swing of things."

            "You'll pick it all up again real quick."  He assured her.

            "Yeah, your target shooting was at 89%, that's incredible after being grounded for as long as you were."  Pidge added.

            "Thanks guys, I really appreciate that."  She settled onto the sofa and picked up a magazine from the table.

            Lance and Keith entered the room, Keith carrying a file folder.

            "Hey, gang, we've started working on a plan for the rebuilding process."  Keith announced.

            Pidge turned off the game and they all gathered around the coffee table.

            "There isn't as much as we originally thought," he sat on the sofa and opened the file on the coffee table before them.  "We'll discuss the plan of attack when Allura and Caleb get here."

            The next hour and a half was spent going over the plans.  New developments were going to be built to house the over 600 freed slaves who had stayed on Arus.  The capitol, Alforia, was the town closest to the castle.  The hospital had been rebuilt and had withstood the last attack.  There was also Arus University and numerous shops.  It was the largest town on the planet with a population of over ten thousand people, and growing.  Carpenters from within the town, along with builders sent by the Garrison, would begin building new homes and repairing damaged buildings.  From Alforia, they would work their way out to the smaller towns and those that had not been so heavily damaged.  The Force would work in supervisory positions and work alongside the builders.

            "How long do you think this will take?"  Allura asked.  She was sitting back against the couch while the others bent over the coffee table, her hands folded over the slight bulge of her stomach.

            "Without any attacks or interruptions, we're hoping to have Alforia completed within a year."  Keith told her.

            "So we'll continue to be stationed here until the work is done?"  Hunk asked.

            Lance and Darcy exchanged glances over the table.

            "Yes, even if there wasn't the rebuilding to be done, the Garrison wanted you all to stay here at least two years after Lotor was killed just to make sure it was safe." Keith explained.

            "When do we start?"  Caleb asked.

            "Next week."

            "When will the Garrison workers arrive?"  Pidge asked.

            "If all goes according to plan, they should be here within a week."

            "Sounds good," Hunk declared.

            "Now for the next bit of business."  Allura announced.

            "What's that?"  Lance asked her.

            "What are you all doing two weeks from tomorrow night?"

            The other original members of the Force exchanged looks before answering.

            "Washing my hair."

            "Getting a manicure."
            "Walking the dog."

            "We don't have a dog, Pidge."

            "Then I'll be getting a dog."

            "You know," Allura sat up.  "I don't know what I ever did to deserve this disrespect."
            "Could it be all the times you forced us to go to receptions to welcome potential suitors that came to woo you?"  Lance asked.

            Hunk rolled his eyes, "Those were horrible."
            "And boring," Pidge added.

            Keith looked over his shoulder at Allura, "Is there something you want to tell me?"

            She swatted at him, "Oh stop it.  We're having a reception for the official announcement of my pregnancy."

            "Who's coming?"  Hunk asked.

            "The Cabinet, some town officials, a few Garrison officials, some royalty from nearby planets, Romelle, Sven, Paget, Rankin and somemembersofthepress."  The last part of her statement came out mumbled and partially covered by a cough.

            "What was that?"  Lance asked.  "We missed that last part."
            Allura sighed, "Some members of the press."

            Lance, Hunk, and Pidge all groaned.

            "So I expect you all to be on your best behavior."  Keith looked directly at Lance.

            "Is Alona Kassenn going to be there?"  Lance asked.

            "Yes."

            Lance shrugged, "Then I can't guarantee I'll behave."

            "Lance," Keith said warningly.

            "Why does she have to come at all?"

            "Who's Alona Kassenn?"  Darcy asked.

            "She's a journalist…"  Keith was interrupted by Lance's snort.  "She's a journalist for the magazine Scoop, Arus' special interest magazine."

            "She's a liar and a moron."  Lance said.

            "What happened?"  Caleb asked.

            Allura sighed, "Most of her magazine is about the royal family and the Voltron Force.  She has a habit of publishing rumors."

            "Lies."  Lance corrected.

            "Come on, Lance, you started it."  Hunk said.

            "Alright," Dante spoke up.  "I have a feeling we're missing something, what happened?"

            "As you know, Lance likes to cause trouble.  He decided to have a little fun with Alona…"  Keith began.

            "She wouldn't leave me alone.  She decided I was going to be her cover boy and she harassed the hell out of me."  Lance mumbled.

            "When the Force arrived and helped fight off Zarkon and rebuild Arus, they became heroes.  When Alona started up her magazine again, she was obsessed with finding out everything about them.  They were celebrities and the most eligible bachelors on the planet."  Allura explained.

            "At one of the receptions Allura had after a defeat, Lance decided to have a little fun with Alona.  When she wouldn't leave him alone, he created some elaborate story about how Sven and I were twins, separated at birth and we met up, coincidentally, at the Academy."  Keith said.  "She believed him, Lance is a great actor.  Alona printed a five page article about the story he told her.  When Romelle and Sven were married and Sven's parents arrived, Alona interviewed them.  Needless to say, she found out the truth and was humiliated.  She had to write a retraction and it made her and her magazine look really bad."

            "She got her revenge though," Hunk grinned.

            "What happened?"  Darcy asked.

            "Well, apparently, Lance was being sued by three different women in town who claimed he impregnated them."  Pidge told her.

            Darcy looked at Lance and raised an eyebrow in question.

            "It wasn't true," Lance said.  "Her retraction was in very tiny print on the same page as an ad for manure, so no one saw it."

            "Just stay away from her, Lance."  Keith advised.  "You are more than welcome to say 'No Comment'."

            "She will probably be more interested in the baby than in you," Pidge pointed out.

            "This will be a black-tie affair," Allura told them all.

            "I guess I'll have to go shopping."  Darcy muttered.

            "Unless there is anything else," Keith paused.  "You're all dismissed."

            Hunk made his way to Castle Control where he was on duty until Darcy relieved him later that evening.  Caleb, Pidge, and Dante gathered around the televiewer and turned the video game back on while Allura and Keith sneaked out of the room.

            "Wanna go for a walk?"  Lance asked Darcy.

            She nodded and stood.

            When they entered the hallway, Lance took her hand in his, "It was a lie Darcy, I didn't get anyone pregnant."

            She looked at him and smiled, "I know that, Lance.  I didn't think it was true."

            "The truth is," he lowered his voice.  "I haven't been with a woman before you, since I've been on Arus."

            "Really?"

            Lance rolled his eyes, "I don't sleep around, Darcy."

            "I didn't think you did, but you've been here for a few years now.  I know you aren't a saint."

            "I've dated a few girls here, but the fact is we've all been a little busy, what with protecting Arus and all.  To be honest, there wasn't a woman here I wanted to be with, until you arrived."

            She stopped and turned to face him, "You are so sweet."

            Lance looked at her, "I felt like I was waiting for something and when you arrived on Arus, it seemed like everything fell into place."

            Darcy reached up and cupped his cheek with her hand, "Allura's right, you guys have split personalities.  One moment you're a hardened, smart mouthed, soldier, the next you are the sweetest, most romantic guy I've ever met.  Which one is the real you?"
            He smiled at her mischievously, "Whichever one gets me more sex."

            She rolled her eyes, "Okay, you ruined the moment."

            "What if I told you that no woman has ever had the effect on me that you do?" Lance brought her right hand to his lips.  "I love you with everything I am."  He brought her left hand up and kissed it.  "I have never been happier than when I'm with you."

            Smiling, Darcy threw her arms around his neck, whispering, "Good save, Lieutenant," and kissed him so hard, they fell against the wall.  Lance wrapped his arms round her waist and pulled her tight against him. 

            "Oh, for Pete's sake, get a room."  Dante walked past.