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Not knowing what to do with himself, Lance made his way out to the gardens. It was a beautiful day. The sky was blue and dotted with fluffy, pink tinged clouds. A slight breeze ruffled the tops of the trees and caused the bloomless rose bushes to perform a subtle dance. He hardly noticed the splendor of his surroundings, his mind was obviously elsewhere.
He found his way to his favorite spot, past the roses, at the end of the flagstone path, under the tree where he had first kissed Darcy. The memory of it brought a small smile to his face. She was so nervous and unsure. At first he was afraid he had pushed too fast, but now he knew it had been right. Taking a long drag from his cigarette, he looked up into the branches and tried to think of a way to make things right for her.
"Lance?"
He jumped. Somehow, Allura had sneaked up behind him. Her black eye had faded to an ugly yellow and the cut on her lip had healed.
At the sight of his pregnant friend, he dropped the cigarette and crushed it on the path.
"Allura, how're you feeling?"
She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to ward off the chill that came with the breeze, "I'm alright. How's Darcy?"
He shrugged, "She's better."
"That's good. Did Dr. Gorma find out where the poison came from yet?"
Lance nodded, "It's from the, uh, Ttechkan plant."
Allura thought for a moment, but she couldn't place it. "That's not fatal, is it?"
"It depends on the amount of poison that made it into the bloodstream. Dr. Gorma thinks she should be fine."
"Will there be any lasting side effects?"
Lance sighed and ran his hands through his hair.
Allura stepped closer to him, her concern evident on her face, "What is it?"
"I don't know if she wants it to get out right now."
She nodded, "I understand, Lance, but know that if either of you ever want to talk, you can come to me."
He smiled down at her, "I know, Allura, and I really appreciate it."
"Is it bad?"
"I don't know. She said she needed some time alone."
Allura nodded.
"But how are you doing? Keith said you're having trouble sleeping." Lance took notice of her pale skin.
"I don't know, Lance, I can't seem to get Landor out of my subconscious."
Lance put his hands on her shoulders and gently squeezed, "Allura, he's locked up. He cannot get to you. We'll make sure of that."
She smiled, "I know that, really I do. But…" Her smile faltered and her voice broke.
"But now you have a baby to think about." Lance finished for her.
Allura nodded. "I was so sure we were bringing our baby into a safe world."
"You are, Allura. You and your baby have seven personal body guards. Have you talked to Keith about this?"
"Yeah, we've talked quite a bit about it actually. I know that I'm as safe as I can be, but I just have this nagging doubt. Keith is in touch with the warden of the maximum security prison on Luna, so if anything happens, we'll know right away."
"I can't tell you not to worry, Allura, but I can tell you that we will do everything in our power to protect you and the baby."
She flashed him a weak smile.
"Have you given any more thought to names?" He asked, changing the subject.
"We're not naming him Lance," she teased.
"You think
it's a boy?"
Allura crossed her hands over
her stomach, "I don't know, I just have this feeling."
"Hmmm…boys' names, huh?" Lance rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "What about Luke or Han?"
Allura rolled her eyes, "We went over this before, no Star Wars names."
"Not even Greedo?"
She shook her head, "I hope you get better at picking out names before you have children of your own."
Lance felt his heart drop. He couldn't imagine having children with anyone but Darcy. If we can have children, he thought.
Noting the look on his face, Allura put her hand on his arm, "What is it Lance?"
"Nothing. I, uh, I have to go see Keith about making up my hours this afternoon."
Allura nodded, knowing when to draw the line. She watched him cross towards the castle. His hands were shoved in his pockets and his normally straight, military posture was hunched over.
In the library, Allura searched the shelves for a book on botany. She knew her father had had at least one, he had bought it so he could try and learn about gardening when he was courting her mother. He used to take it down and let Allura look at the bright pictures of flowers.
"Aha," she muttered as she pulled down a thick volume, Wormers Inter-Galactic Flora and Fauna Encyclopedia. It was blue leather with the words written across the cover in gold.
She set the heavy book on the desk and flipped back to the index. Ttechkan Plant, Ttechkaius Plutiueas, Page 1294.
"What are you doing?" Keith asked as he slipped into the library.
Allura looked up from her seat behind her father's massive desk, "Lance said Dr. Gorma found the root of the poison, it was the Ttechkan plant. I wanted to look it up."
He walked around behind her and set his good hand on her shoulder, "What have you found?"
"That it's on page 1294." She mumbled as she thumbed through the pages.
Ttechkan Plant: Ttechkaius Plutiueas: Originated on Planet Gunnel, Wallerin Galaxy. Recognizable by its thick, dark green stalk, large blue-green leaves and small green berries. Height: 3-4 feet. Grows deep within the forest on this relatively uninhabited planet. Berries are poisonous to female humans and most other female species. Can cause high fever, dizziness, chills, weakness, nausea, damage to the female reproductive organs, and can be fatal. Is also fatal to the fetus if a pregnant woman ingests any product containing the berries.
Allura gasped at what she read and unconsciously placed a hand on her stomach.
Keith moved his hand to the back of her neck and gently massaged it. "You didn't come in contact with Haggar."
"I know," she whispered. "I didn't realize it did all of that. Oh, Keith." She turned in her seat to look at him. "All the women she touched are still young. Four of them were married and only one of them had a child. This means none of them will be able to have children."
Keith walked around the chair and leaned against the desk, looking down at her. "I guess our family wasn't the only one Landor wanted to try and destroy."
"This is horrible. I wonder if Dr. Gorma has told everyone yet." Realization dawned on her. "Oh no, Lance and Darcy."
Keith took her hand, "He did seem rather quiet."
"You saw him?"
"Yeah, he came and relieved me in Castle Control a few minutes ago. He wouldn't tell me anything."
"Maybe I'll go see how Darcy's doing." Allura placed her hands on the arms of the chair and pushed herself up.
Keith took her arm and pulled her against him, hugging her hard. "I love you." He whispered.
"I love you too," She whispered against his chest before pulling back to look at him. "What is it?"
He cupped her cheek with his hand, "I didn't need another reminder of how close I came to losing you and the little one. We're lucky you didn't come in contact with Haggar."
Allura gave a shuddering sigh and threw her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest.
Keith kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arms around her. They stood, holding each other until they were interrupted by Keith's communicator. Keeping his right arm around her, he unclipped it from his belt with his left hand.
"Whitaker."
"Hey, Captain, are you busy?"
"What is it Hunk?"
"I need to go over an order for some parts with you."
Keith looked down at Allura, she nodded.
"I'll be there in a minute, Hunk."
"Aye, Captain."
He looked down at his beautiful young wife, "Are you okay?"
"I think I should be asking you that."
"Are you
going to talk to Darcy?"
Allura nodded.
"Alright." He leaned down and gently kissed her. "Meet me in two hours in our room."
"Oh? Why? Do you have something planned?" She teased.
"Maybe."
"See you then." She stood on her toes and brushed her lips lightly against his.
He cupped the back of her head and leaned in to deepen the kiss.
"Two hours?" She breathed against his lips.
"An hour and a half." Keith whispered back.
"I think we should go before we defile Father's desk." Allura smiled.
"Okay, let's just meet as soon as we're done doing whatever it is we're supposed to be doing."
"You're meeting with Hunk."
"Oh, right."
Allura stepped back, "I'll see you later, love."
A young nurse sat behind the desk as Allura entered the hospital wing. "Is Sergeant Barlow awake?"
"I believe so, Your Highness. She was awake about ten minutes ago."
"Thank you." Allura crossed to Darcy's room and listened a moment. The televiewer was on and Darcy was flipping through the channels. She raised her hand and knocked quietly.
"Come in." Darcy called.
Allura pushed open the door. Darcy was curled up in her bed, cocooned in her blankets, only her head and her left hand, which held the televiewer's remote control, could be seen.
"Hi, Darc, how're you feeling?" Allura sat in the chair beside her bed.
"I'm feeling a little better, just weak and cold." Darcy turned the televiewer off. "How're you doing?"
"Oh, I'm fine."
Darcy pushed herself up into a sitting position, "So you and, uh, the baby are okay?"
"We're fine. Landor is a little heavy handed," Allura indicated her eye. "But all my wounds were superficial."
"I'm glad to hear that."
A heavy silence filled the room.
"Darcy?" Allura's voice was low. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"About what?" Darcy plucked at the blanket on her lap.
"Lance told me what plant the poison came from and I looked it up in the library. I know what the effects of the poison are."
"I've been thinking about it ever since Dr. Gorma told me. Maybe this is all for the best. My mother has always said that everything happens for a reason. I try to live my life by that."
Allura nodded.
"I'm not going to lie to you," Darcy continued. "I wanted to have children, someday. I thought that I would get a few years of flying in and then I would settle down, have a few children. I wanted an even number of kids. Either two or four. When you have an odd number, one is always left out. Well, that's what my cousin told me. She's the youngest of three, with two older brothers. Her brothers are very close and she always felt left out. When she told me that, I decided that I wanted an even number. I always loved the fact that I had a sister. My mother always said an only child is a lonely child. So I wanted at least two. But not six. So either two or four."
"Darcy, this doesn't mean you won't ever have children. You can always adopt. There are so many children in need of a loving home." Allura said.
"I know,"
Darcy felt the tears prick the back of her eyes when she looked up at her friend. "Lance proposed to me."
Allura started with surprise,
"What?"
"It was a couple of weeks ago. He was afraid of us being separated on different assignments since Lotor is no longer a threat."
"What did you say?"
"I told him that I wasn't ready to get married. I love him, I do, but I didn't want to rush into marriage because we were afraid of being reassigned. I wanted more time to get to know him."
Allura nodded, "That was smart."
"I know."
"Have you talked to him about this?"
"A little. When I first found out, I felt numb. I honestly did not know how or what I felt. But the more I thought about it, the harder it became."
"Darcy, you aren't in this alone."
"You've seen him with the kids at the orphanage. He's a natural. Hell, he's a big kid himself. I can't give him children of his own." Her voice trailed off as the tears fell from her eyes.
"Oh, Darcy," Allura squeezed her hand. "He loves you, he does. This isn't going to change that."
She didn't respond, looking down at lap, tears silently falling.
"Would you
love Lance any less if he was unable to get you pregnant?"
Allura's question shocked
Darcy. She lifted her head and looked at
her, "Of course not."
"Do you really think this will change his feelings for you?"
"I…I hadn't thought of it that way."
"Don't let unfounded fears ruin your relationship."
Darcy studied the Queen of Arus, it was so hard to believe sometimes, how young Allura really was. The life she had led made her wise beyond her years.
"Will you talk to Lance about this?" Allura asked.
"Yes."
"Darcy, he loves you. We all love you. Don't ever be afraid to talk to one of us. You're part of our family now, as scary as that can be sometimes, you're stuck with us."
Darcy returned Allura's smile, "Thank you."
Allura stood, "Get some rest. I'm sure Lance will be by when he gets off duty."
Darcy nodded and slid down on the bed. She felt the huge weight of worry lift from her chest and it left her tired. Deep in the recesses of her mind she still felt doubt, but it was something she could deal with. With Lance.