Chaos reined within the Collier home the morning of graduation. After the ceremony, everyone was returning home for a big party and barbecue and Molly was barking out orders, getting as much done before they left as possible.
Lance and Keith sneaked out early to pick up Sven, Romelle, and Erik at the airport. The two men stood in front of a large window, watching the planes land and take off.
"Keith, I know this probably isn't the best place and I know we have plenty of time, but I was hoping you would be my best man." Lance asked, out of the blue.
Keith turned and looked at him, grinning, "I'd be honored to, man."
Lance returned his smile, "Thanks. This really means a lot to me."
"I can't believe you're getting married. I always thought you would be the rogue bachelor, flying from planet to planet, port to port. Leaving a trail of broken hearts in your wake."
"Tell me about it," Lance said. "I never thought this would happen. I was totally broadsided by it, unlike you and Allura."
"What?"
"Who are you trying to fool, Keith? You were in love with her the second you saw her. Neither of you had a chance to fight it, you were both just too stubborn to admit it."
"Oh, come on, you had a thing for Darcy as soon as she stepped off the transport."
Lance shrugged, "There was definitely something about her, but I don't think it was love at first sight. I thought it would just be some harmless flirting, I never saw this coming."
"This was definitely fate related," Keith said. "I don't think I've ever seen two people more perfect for each other."
Smiling fondly, Lance said, "Fate, hell! I had to work for it."
"But it was well worth the effort."
Lance turned his gaze back to the window and they lapsed into silence.
"Keith, what happens when our assignment is up on Arus?" Lance finally asked after a few moments.
"You'll have the option to apply to stay on Arus, but if they need you elsewhere, they'll probably send you there." Keith looked at his old friend. Lance stood at ease, his feet apart, his hands clasped behind his back, staring out the window. "Don't worry, they'll find a way to keep you and Darcy together."
"But if we wanted to stay on Arus, do you think we could do it?"
"I could see what I could do. You're an amazing pilot, probably the best one in the Garrison, they might not want to let you stay. But if you want, I could see if I can talk them into letting you stay and train the Arusian military pilots."
Lance took a moment to digest that. The possibility of settling on Arus and he would be able to continue flying.
He turned to Keith and smiled, "That would be great."
"Are you going to help us vith our bags or vhat?"
They both turned to see Sven carrying two suitcases, followed by Romelle, cradling a sleeping Erik against her shoulder.
"Hey, it's good to see you again," Keith took one of the bags from Sven.
"How was your trip?" Lance asked as they headed toward the baggage claim.
"It vas great. The whole family got together, I saw aunts, uncles, and cousins I haven't seen in ages." Sven put his arm around Romelle's shoulders. "And I got to show off my beautiful vife and son."
"Erik was spoiled rotten," Romelle added. "We toured his hometown, it was amazing."
"How have tings been here?" Sven asked as he grabbed a bag off the belt.
"Good," Lance said. "We hit every museum, Darcy and I got engaged, Allura had her first hangover…"
"Vait a second," Sven interrupted. "Every museum?"
"Oh stop it," Romelle said and pulled Lance into a one armed hug. "Congratulations, Lance."
"Vhen did it happen?"
"Saturday night."
Sven shook his head, "I can't believe Lance is getting married."
"We figure its blackmail," Keith told him. "He has to have something really good on Darcy to get her to marry him."
***********************************
They arrived home just after eleven. Lance showed them to the rec room in the basement.
"I hope this is alright," he told them. "The couch pulls out and Mom borrowed a crib from our next door neighbor."
"Dis is great, Lance. Tank you." Sven set their bags on the couch as Romelle tucked Erik into the crib.
"Get settled in, if there is anything you need, just ask." Lance left them to get changed.
Reaching the top of the stairs, he almost ran into Darcy. She was dressed in a black skirt and a red, v-neck, short-sleeved sweater. Her hair was pulled back with barrettes and she wore the locket. Cady rested on her hip.
"Whoa, where are you two headed off?" He asked.
"Allura needed to finish getting ready, so I told her I would take Cady off her hands for a while."
"Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, Koran called earlier. There is a problem with King Yavone of Salvyn. He had a meeting with Allura scheduled for next month, but it had to be moved up to the day after we get back to Arus and they had to find and go over some of the paperwork. She just got off the phone ten minutes ago." Darcy explained.
Lance reached out and gently stroked Cady's cheek. She grasped Darcy's locket in one hand and tried to grab his finger with her other hand. "Yavone is a big blowhard. He's just being a pain because Allura turned down his son's proposal so she could marry a lowly Garrison pilot."
"There's something to be said about marrying a lowly Garrison pilot," she smiled at him.
"I hear they're great lovers."
"I hear they tend to exaggerate."
"Lose the kid and I'll show you who's exaggerating."
Laughing, she gently pushed him toward his room, "Go, get dressed."
Lance leaned over and kissed her. Cady bounced and clapped her chubby hands.
"See, even Cady's pushing for it."
"Lance!" Molly called from the kitchen. "Are you dressed yet?"
"No, Ma!"
"Get a move on, I have things I need you to do!"
Darcy laughed, "I think your mom outranks Cady."
Lance mumbled something under his breath and shuffled toward his room.
A little over an hour later, the entire crew piled into the minivan and Lance's Jeep. It was a tight fit, but they made it work. Both Lawrence and Leslie were already at the Academy, preparing for the ceremony.
The sun shone down on the Academy's football field. Rows of folding chairs lined midfield and faced a temporary stage. The Colliers and their crew made their way up the bleachers and found seats on the forty-yard line.
Molly fanned herself with the program and scanned the crowd, "Do you see Frank and Maud?" She asked her husband. "Theo is graduating too."
"This brings back so many memories," Lance whispered to Darcy.
"You were pretty popular, weren't you?" She asked.
"Oh, I had a few friends."
"And a few ladies," Keith added.
"Help me out here, Keith, I'm trying to impress the lady."
"If you haven't impressed her by now, your screwed, buddy."
Lance's response was cut off by music and the entrance of the graduates. All wore navy or gold robes and marched in perfect step.
There were two speeches and the singing of the Academy's Alma Mater before they started reading the names of the graduates. When Leslie's name was announced and she crossed the stage, Lance, Keith, and Sven all got to their feet, yelling and clapping. Lance brought his fingers to his lips and let out an ear-splitting whistle.
Molly reached up and grabbed his arm, "Sit down, Lance."
It took another hour to read through the names of the rest of the graduates. By the time it was announced that they could move their tassles, the entire audience was wilting, fanning themselves with their programs. Both Cady and Erik were fidgety and cranky.
"Come on," Lance stood. "Let's go find Les and get into some air conditioning."
That was easier said than done. There were at least a thousand or so people milling around. Graduates, friends, family, faculty. Lance took Darcy's hand and dragged her into the midst of the crowd. He greeted old professors and friends. Darcy stopped to talk to her old artillery professor.
"Peanut!" Lance spotted his sister talking with a couple of friends. He picked her up and swung her around. "Congratulations you little runt!"
Leslie laughed and held her mortarboard on with one hand, "Put me down, you big oaf." She watched as one of her friends blushed and another batted her lashes at Lance.
"Are you guys coming to the party?" Lance asked the girls as he set Leslie down and slung an arm around her shoulders.
"Of course," said the pretty young blonde.
"We're all coming." Added a short brunette.
Leslie rolled her eyes. She had gotten used to her friends flirting with her brother, he never encouraged it, but he did very little to discourage it. "Come on," she took Lance's arm. "Let's go home, I'm dying of heat exhaustion."
"You're a soldier, suck it up." Lance teased. "And have you forgotten to salute a superior officer?"
Leslie stepped back and brought her hand up in a salute.
"At ease, soldier." Lance replied, returning the salute.
Dropping her hand, Leslie stuck her tongue out at him.
"We'll see you girls there," Lance winked at Leslie's friends.
"Where is everyone?" Leslie asked.
"I think we're meeting them at the cars. Let's get Darcy and head over." Lance pulled her through the crowd, spotting Darcy talking to Col. Grathly, one of the flying professors.
Darcy saw them making their way toward her. Thanking Col. Grathly, she turned to meet them. "Oh, excuse me." She apologized as she bumped into someone.
He turned and Darcy swallowed a groan. It was General Joshua McCormick, Jesse's uncle.
She brought her hand up in a salute.
He returned it, "At ease, soldier."
He doesn't know who I am, she thought with a sigh.
"Lt. Collier," Gen. McCormick greeted Lance as he approached.
Lance saluted, "Gen. McCormick."
"At ease. What brings you back to Terra?"
"My sister, Cpl. Leslie Collier, sir. She just graduated." Lance indicated his sister.
Leslie saluted, the General returned it and turned back to Lance. "I've heard of all the work done on Arus, your team has done well."
"Thank you, sir. It was a lot of hard work, but worth it."
"Are you still piloting one of the Lions?"
"Yes, sir. However, our primary function right now is rebuilding the capitol and surrounding towns that had been damaged in the war."
General McCormick rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I remember when my nephew was up for that position. It's a good thing he didn't take it, he has come rather far. Jesse was just promoted to First Lieutenant. It won't be long before he's a General himself."
Darcy watched Lance, she could tell he was biting back quite a few comments.
"I'm glad to hear he's doing well, sir," Lance reached over and took Darcy's hand. "Have you met my fiancée, Sgt. Darcy Barlow? She's one of our pilots."
The older man looked at her, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Barlow? Have we met before, Sergeant?"
"I don't think so, sir. Not that I recall." She replied.
He snapped his fingers, "Ah yes, you were under Jesse when he was in charge of the peacekeeping mission in the Vartel Galaxy."
Darcy took a deep breath and looked him directly in the eye. He knew what had happened. "Yes, sir."
Lance squeezed her hand, "If you'll excuse us, sir, we have to get going."
"Of course. It was good seeing you, Lieutenant. Give my best to Commander Whitaker." General McCormick shook Lance's hand. He nodded to Leslie and turned to Darcy, "I'm glad to see you have moved on and found a new position."
Before she could respond, Lance pulled her away. "Keep it to yourself, he's a superior officer."
"Of all the gall," she sputtered.
"What was all that about?" Leslie asked.
"It's nothing," Lance said. "Let's forget about that and go party. I need a cold beer."
They approached the Jeep to find the minivan gone.
"I guess they got sick of waiting," Leslie said, pulling her mortarboard off
When they pulled up to the house, cars were already lining the street. Col. Collier was once again manning the grill, laying burgers and hot dogs over the flames. Molly was instructing her various children and other volunteers on where to put refreshments. People were clumped around the yard, talking and laughing.
Lance stopped by the large trashcans filled with ice and pulled out a couple of beers. He offered one to Darcy, but she shook her head and opted for a soda. They then turned to see what they could do to help and Leslie ran inside to shed her gown and throw on some more comfortable clothes.
Darcy watched as more people arrived, wondering where they were all parking. Lance took her hand and introduced her to aunts, uncles, and cousins who had driven in for the celebration. By the time his grandmother arrived, Darcy was wishing they had thought to get nametags.
"I'm not going to remember most of the names I've learned today," she whispered to Lance.
He smiled at her, "Don't worry, you might see them all two more times in your life. As long as you know my immediate family and my grandparents, you should be fine."
"So, you're the young woman who stole our Lance's heart?" Minerva Collier asked.
Minerva, or rather Grandma Minnie, as she was known by the family, was the head of the Collier clan, all potential marriages had to be approved of by her. She was a spry, eighty-three year old widow with hair dyed a dark red and who still attended ballroom dancing each week and drove a car big enough to transport half of Leslie's graduating class.
"Sit down, girl." Minerva pointed to the seat beside her. "Where're you from?"
"Toronto, ma'am." Darcy settled on the folding lawn chair, feeling the interrogation lights shinning down on her. Lance stood behind her, his hands resting lightly on her shoulders.
"You're a pilot, I hear."
"Yes, ma'am."
"What made you go into that?"
"I grew up listening to my grandfather's stories, he was a pilot for the Garrison. I was looking for a little adventure and I thought it sounded like fun."
Minerva nodded, "You sound like Lance. What do your parents do?"
"My father is a retired history teacher and my mother owns a bookstore."
"Any brothers or sisters?"
"I have a sister, Becca, she's taking pre-med classes."
"And you met Lance on this assignment of his?"
"Yes, ma'am. I work with the Voltron Force."
"Now, we all know Lance can be a bit of a handful," Minerva turned an eye to her grandson. "Are you sure you're up to the challenge?"
Darcy fought the smile that came to her lips, "I figure he'll keep my life from getting too boring."
Lance slid his arms down around her neck and rested his chin on top of her head, "I don't know why I come home if my entire family is just going to harass me."
"Don't get sassy with me, Lance," his grandmother warned. "You only get what you deserve."
"Well, then I must have done something right to deserve Darcy." He responded.
She blushed, "Good comeback, Slick."
"Oh, he is a charmer, all the Collier men are." Minerva explained. "Deep down he's a good boy, you just have to get past the b.s."
Darcy laughed, "It took a while, but I think I got past it."
"Good, good," Minerva leaned toward her. "Now, tell me the truth, Darcy, did he chase you?"
"Yes, he did."
"And it wasn't easy." Lance added.
Minerva patted Darcy's knee, "Good, make him work for it."
**************************************
Night moved in, but the party continued on. Slowly, friends began to leave, but the family members stayed. Molly dug out Lance's old guitar and there was music and singing. Sabrina was nipped by Sami and had to be taken inside and given a band-aid and a cookie. Erik refused to give into sleep and relished in the attention being lavished upon him by the older women. Allura had long since tucked Cady into bed.
As laughter and tobacco smoke filled the night air, Darcy sneaked inside and up to her room. She was having a lot of fun, and his family was wonderful, but she just needed a few minutes away from the noise.
When she was young, Darcy's parents were afraid that she needed to see a doctor about her chronic shyness. She had always had a couple of friends, but she was never popular, and she hardly dated. Darcy preferred to be alone or with small groups of people. Going to the Academy, the training and regiment had given her purpose and she had come out of her shell a bit. Meeting Lance had helped her even more, but she still was not very comfortable in large groups.
She kicked her shoes off and sat in the old rocking chair beside the window overlooking the backyard. Lanterns had been lit in the waning light. Sabrina had returned and was sitting on her mother's lap giggling at her grandfather. Someone had uncovered a football and Lance, Keith, Sven, Jasper, Lawrence, and Leslie were playing a game of three on three. It had started as a touch football game, but that all changed when Lawrence wrapped his arms around Lance's waist and took him down hard.
Darcy brought her hand up to cover her mouth in horror as she watched how slowly Lance got to his feet. Sitting on the edge of the seat, she wondered if she should go down when she saw him shove Lawrence and they started fighting.
"Boys! Stop that right now!" Molly called. "I will not be responsible for washing the grass stains out of your clothes!"
Darcy laughed.
"Listen to your mother!" Felix called, half-heartedly.
Lance bested his brother, pinning him to the ground.
Chelsea and Sabrina clapped their hands and cheered for their Uncle Lance.
"You're getting old," Lance taunted his brother.
"Nah, I felt sorry for you," Lawrence told him. "Thought I'd let you look good in front of your woman."
The game broke up after that, Lance offered Lawrence a hand and they went to find a couple of beers.
Leaning back in the chair, Darcy closed her eyes and listened to the noises rising through the open window.
Five minutes later, that was how Lance found her. Dozing in the rocking chair, her feet tucked under her. Sensing the presence of someone in the room, Darcy started awake and saw Lance slowly pulling the door closed as he left.
"You don't have to go," she said.
Opening the door wider and looking in, he replied, "I thought you were sleeping."
"No, I just needed a moment away."
Lance entered the room and closed the door behind him, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," she stood and stretched. "I guess I was just a little overwhelmed. You have an awesome family."
He grinned at her, "Well, you're a part of it now."
Darcy crossed over to him, wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder, "Thank you."
Lance brought his arms up around her, "For what?"
"For all this. For bringing me here, for making me a part of your life and a part of your family." She pulled back and looked up at him. "I love you."
Gently, he brushed his lips over hers, "You really impressed Grandma Minnie."
"Really?"
"Yeah, she's convinced you'll be able to rein in my wild ways."
"Now why would I want to do that?"
He chuckled, "I don't know. She was always worried that I would never settle down. But it just took the right woman."
"So she approves of me?"
"Yup, we can get married now."
"Well, I'd like to wait until my family can be there."
They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Lance went to answer it and found Lawrence standing on the other side.
"Have you seen Keith and Allura?" Lawrence asked.
"No, is everything alright?"
"There's a call from Arus, he said it's important."
Lance's hand went to his belt where his communicator hung, "Who?"
"Um, Conrad something."
"Koran?"
"Yeah, that's it."
Pulling his communicator of his belt, Lance flipped it open. There was no power. "But he should've been able to contact Keith on his communicator." He flipped the power switch, nothing. He turned to Darcy, "Do you have your communicator on you?"
Reaching under her sweater, Darcy unclipped it from her waistband.
"Is it working?"
She flipped it open, no power. Like Lance, she flipped the power switch a couple of times, "No, it's dead."
"Come on, let's go find Keith." Lance held the door open and followed them out into the hall.
Molly found them downstairs in the basement rec room with Romelle and Sven, where they had gone to put Erik to bed.
"Keith, Allura, there's a call from Arus. You can use the videophone in Felix's den." Molly told them.
Thinking the same thing Lance had, Keith unclipped his communicator and snapped it open. It had no power. They made their way upstairs and into the den where Koran was waiting patiently on the other end of the videophone.
"What's going on, Koran?" Allura asked.
He nodded to Keith and Allura, "Your Highness, Captain. I just received word from Luna. Warden Cooper tells me has been trying to reach you for a while now, is your communicator not working?"
"No," Keith responded. "What is it?"
"Well, I'm afraid Landor has escaped."
Allura gasped and Keith swore under his breath.
"When?" Keith asked.
"This morning."
"When did Warden Cooper get in touch with you?" Allura asked.
"About twenty minutes ago. I tried to contact you, but there was no response from your communicator. I also tried to contact Lt. Collier and Sgt. Barlow, but their communicators were also down."
Keith looked down at the communicator he still held in his hand. He tapped on it and still no power. "Have you heard anything about his whereabouts, yet?"
"No."
"We still have Intel officers in the area around Doom, if there are any changes they will contact the castle. Call the Collier house the second you hear anything from them." Keith instructed before turning to Allura. "I think we should head back as soon as possible."
Allura nodded, "We'll head home tomorrow morning."
Koran nodded, "Very well."
"Don't hesitate to contact us as soon as you hear something," Keith told the old advisor. "No matter what time."
"I will," Koran promised.
They disconnected the call.
"I'll find Lance, Darcy, and Sven. Let them all know where leaving in the morning." Keith told his wife.
Allura nodded and reached into the pocket of her skirt. She pulled out the baby monitor and looked at the small screen just above the speaker. A night vision camera with an attached microphone was aimed at the crib. A stuffed bear blocked her view of Cady.
"I'm going to check on Cady and start packing." Allura told him.
Keith took her arms, "We'll get him, Allura."
She gave him a weak smile, "I know, honey."
He gave her a quick kiss, "I'll be up to help you after I talk to the others."
"Is everything alright?" Molly, Lawrence, Lance, Darcy, and Sven all stood in the hallway outside the den.
"Not really. Landor has escaped from Luna. We need to head home first thing in the morning." Keith told them.
Lance swore under his breath and was smacked upside the head by his mother.
"Thank you, so much, Molly, for everything." Allura took the older woman's hands.
"Oh, anytime, dear. You are all welcome to come back whenever you want. It has been wonderful having a houseful of people again. I just wish your leaving was under better circumstances." Molly told her.
Keith gestured for Lance and Darcy to follow him as Allura made her way up the stairs.
"Are your communicators working?" He asked them.
"No," Lance said. "We checked them when Lawrence told us about the phone call."
"Landor escaped this morning and Warden Cooper tried to contact me. When he couldn't, he called the castle. Koran tried contacting each of us. Any idea how long your communicators have been out of service?"
"I checked mine when I clipped it on, before graduation, and I had power." Darcy said.
"To be honest, I don't know." Lance added.
"We'll have Hunk look at them when we get back to…" Keith was cut off when he heard Allura scream.
Taking the steps two at a time, Keith ran to the second floor with Lance and Darcy at his heels.
They found Allura standing over the crib, clutching the railing and shaking.
"Allura?" With his heart in his throat, Keith entered the room.
"He has her! He has my baby!" Allura turned to them, her eyes wide and her face pale.
Keith stood beside her and looked down, the blanket his mother had knitted for Cady was thrown back and the stuffed bear he had bought lay in his daughter's place, pinned to the front of the bear was a note.
You thought a prison could hold me? Fools.
He put an arm around Allura and pulled her close, she choked on a sob and buried her face in his collar.
"We leave tonight," Keith announced.
Allura shook her head, "What if he comes back here?"
"He has her, we know he does. I think it would be best if went back to Arus and dealt with him from there." Swallowing his fear, he turned to Lance. "Could you please call Koran and tell him what happened. See if your mother could help us get our stuff together."
Lance nodded curtly and left.
Keith turned to Darcy, "I need you to go talk to Col. Collier, see if he can call the Garrison and make sure our ship is ready to go in an hour."
Darcy nodded and backed out of the room. Gently closing the door behind her, the last thing she heard was Allura sobbing.
