"Oh, Darcy!  You look beautiful!"  Allura clasped her hands together in front of her and watched as Hilla pinned up the hem of Darcy's bridal gown.

"Hold still, Miss," Hilla murmured around the pins she held clenched in her teeth. 

"Sorry," Darcy grinned down at her, feeling giddy.  It was two days before her wedding and she couldn't stop grinning from excitement or shaking from nerves.

She was standing on a stool in Allura's room having last minute alterations done to her dress while the guys were busy moving Hunk into her room and her things into Lance's room.

"Alright, Sergeant," Hilla stood and took a step back, examining her work.  "If you are happy, I will hem it and stitch the piping on and then deliver it tonight."

Darcy turned so she was facing the mirror and turned right and then left, watching the way the dress followed her and the fabric fell.  She felt the heat rise to her face and her heart race with excitement.  "It's beautiful," she breathed.

The seamstress nodded, "Good, good.  Well, get undressed and I'll finish it up."

Hilla unzipped the dress while Allura gathered up the jeans and t-shirt Darcy had worn earlier.

"You are really starting to show," Allura smiled.

Darcy pulled the t-shirt down over her head and smoothed it over her slightly swollen stomach.  "I know, isn't it great?"

"Yeah," Allura agreed, wistfully.

"You okay?"

"Keith calls it 'Baby Envy'."  Allura said, picking Cady up out of the playpen where she had been watching.

"You want another baby?"

"I want a dozen more, but we're aiming for four."

"What are you waiting for?"  Darcy asked as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

Allura smiled slyly, "Who says we're waiting?"

"Should've known," Darcy teased.  "Come on, let's go see if Lance threw out half my stuff or put it in storage."

They were shocked to see the room already in good shape.  Half the bookshelves now held part of Darcy's extensive collection, the wall that held Lance's family photos now held some of hers, as well as pictures of the two of them.  Lance really had no knickknacks, so Darcy's were scattered around the room on dressers and bedside tables.  When they entered, Lance was hanging her Renoir poster on the wall beside the bed and Keith was breaking down and folding boxes.

"Wow!  You guys are incredible!"  Darcy said.

Allura surveyed the room; it was certainly an eclectic mix of Lance's taste crashing into Darcy's.  "I can't wait to see what your house looks like."

"We didn't put your clothes away, figuring you would want to do that," Lance turned around, pointing to the clothes laid out on the bed.

"Thanks, honey, I'll take care of it," she walked over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.  He still wasn't getting much sleep, dark circles under his eyes stood out against his pale skin and he had started suffering from headaches brought on by sleep deprivation.

"Alright, I think this is it," Hunk walked into the room, carrying the monitor to Darcy's computer, followed by Pidge carrying the keyboard.

"You guys did this so fast," Allura said, amazed.

"We just happen to have six of the hardest working men in the universe helping us out," Keith said proudly.

"You sound like a proud father," Allura teased.

"I am," he told her, crossing to take Cady out of her arms.

"You want help getting your clothes put away?"  Allura asked Darcy.

"Sure, thanks," Darcy pulled open the doors to Lance's closet.  "Um, I'm going to need more room."

"What are you talking about?"  Lance walked over and shoved his clothes to the side, leaving about a quarter of the closet free.  "There's plenty of room."

Allura came over with a handful of clothes on hangers, "Hm, well, there is the closet in Hunk's old room; you could put your winter clothes in there for now."

"I guess we'll have to," Darcy said.

"This isn't permanent," Lance whispered to her.  "Before you know it we'll be looking for a house of our own and you'll have all the closet space you want."

"I know, it's not a big deal," she whispered back.

"Lance," Keith was standing by the wall.  "This is where the door to the nursery will go; the guys will be in next month to start the installation."

"Hunk," Darcy stopped him before he could leave and threw her arms around him in a tight hug.  "Thank you so much!  You have no idea what this means to us."

The big man blushed, "It's no big deal, Darc.  Glad I could help."

Lance sat on the edge of the bed watching Allura and Darcy put away her clothes.  His life was about to change completely.   Nerves and excitement made his stomach dance.  He watched as the two women talked and laughed.  Darcy's stomach was starting to extend more and every so often her hand moved up to rub soft circles on it.  Within a matter of months he is going to go from a bachelor to a husband to a father.  There was no regret, just nerves, excitement, and just a little fear. 

"Lance?"

He looked up to find himself alone with Darcy.  "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

He brought his hand up to rub the back of his neck where tension was gathering, "I'm fine."

Darcy knelt behind him and began to gently massage his shoulders and neck.  "I think you should talk to Dr. Gorma, see if he can give you something to help you sleep."

"I don't think that's necessary," he mumbled, letting his head drop forward as her fingers loosened the knots in his neck.

"I do," she sat and split her legs so Lance was sitting between them.  Wrapping her arms around his middle, Darcy rested her cheek between his shoulder blades.  "I'm worried about you, you aren't getting any sleep, you're having headaches, and you've been uptight and cranky." She sighed and whispered, "Are you having second thoughts?"

"Oh, God no!"  He pried her hands apart and turned, falling to his knees on the floor so he faced her.  "If I had my way, we'd have been married a year ago.  I do have a lot on my mind, but I am not having any second thoughts about us, I'm sorry if you felt that way."  He placed both his hands on her stomach and smiled at her, "I am so excited; I can't wait for Sunday night."

"Neither can I," she whispered, laying her hands on top of his.  "But I don't want you falling asleep in the middle of the ceremony."

"Alright, I'll talk to Dr. Gorma tonight after dinner."

"We have time now, you could take a nap."  Darcy suggested.

"You just want to get me into bed," he winked.

"Yeah, like that's a difficult thing to do," she took his hands.  "Come on, don't make me worry about you."

Lance crawled up onto the bed beside her, "Alright, but set the alarm, Keith said we're having a special dinner tonight and we have to be on time."

"What are they doing?"  Darcy asked, cuddling up to him.

"I have no idea, he wouldn't elaborate," Lance yawned.

"How was Pidge today?"

"Oh, yeah, I meant to tell you about that.  I talked to Hunk about how Pidge seemed to be getting better, well apparently Hunk talked to Gadara last week about it.  She gave him these herbs to slip him, I forget what their called, but it helps raise your spirits.  Hunk has been slipping it into Pidge's coffee in the morning."

Darcy smiled, "That's pretty sneaky, but I'm glad to see Pidge is starting to act like his old self."

"Gadara told him that the best thing we could do for Pidge was to just be there for him and that as time went on he would start to get back to normally.  She said he would forever be changed, but in the end, he will be stronger."

"She's a smart woman."  Darcy mumbled, feeling her eyelids grow heavy.

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

Lance jumped from a light doze when his communicator woke him.  He reached past Darcy and picked it up off the bedside table.

"Collier," he mumbled.

"Where are you?"  Keith asked.  "Get your lazy ass out of bed, it's almost time for dinner."

Lance rubbed his eyes and focused on the image of Keith on the small screen, "Uh, yeah, we're on our way."

"Wha' is it?"  Darcy mumbled into his shoulder.

"It's almost time for dinner."

She rolled away from him and stretched.  "I guess I should change."

Lance skimmed his eyes over her and smiled.  She had been having trouble finding clothes that fit her properly and had taken to wearing sweatpants and oversized t-shirts.  Darcy and Allura had gone into town twice that week to find some maternity clothes, but most everything was too big.  That day she had taken a pair of his jeans, rolled up the cuffs and secured it with a belt, and an old Chicago Bears t-shirt of his.

"You look cute," he told her.

"Yeah, well, that's not the look I'm going for."  She said, standing and going to their closet.  "I'm going to try a new outfit tonight."

"Okay."

"It's a little big, Allura picked it out, she said it looked nice, but I don't know."

Lance smiled at her, "Darcy, you look great in anything."

She disappeared into the bathroom with the clothes she had taken from the closet. 

Keith had just said it was going to be a special meal, a celebration for their upcoming wedding.  Not knowing what the plans were, Lance decided to change as well.  He looked up when he heard the bathroom door open, Darcy stood in the doorway wearing a denim jumper over a plain white t-shirt.  The dress was a little big, but she looked nice.  It was an outfit she would be able to use for quite a few months.

"Does it look alright?"  She asked, biting her lip.  "Or do I look like a fat old lady?"

"You look great, Darcy, really."  He crossed to her, taking her hands in his.  "You're beautiful."

"I wasn't too sure about this, but Allura said it looked nice, I didn't even want a dress, but she told me they were more comfortable.  I can't believe I won't be able to get comfortable pants with elastic waist…"  She was cut off when Lance covered her lips with his.

"You look great.  Calm down."  Lance smiled at her, rubbing the back of her hands with his thumbs.  "How do you feel?"

"Hungry."  She admitted.

"Then let's go, before Keith sends a search party for us."

Hunk met them in the hallway as they headed toward the dining room, "I was sent to play interference."

"What is that supposed to mean?"  Lance asked.

"I can't tell you."

"What's going on, Hunk?"  Darcy asked sweetly.

"I can't tell you."  He repeated.

"Is it something we'll like?"  Lance asked.

"I think so."

"Is it bigger than a bread box?"

"Yes, quite a bit."

"Is it something we can return if we don't like it?"

"Lance."  Darcy hissed.

"You can return it, but I think you're stuck with it the rest of your life."  Hunk told him as they approached the dining room.

Lance looked at him, "What?"

"It's, uh, it's your families."  Hunk slid open the door.

The long dining room table was full, with the exception of three empty chairs.  Allura sat at the head of the table with Keith on her left and Koran on her right.  Beside Keith sat Col. Collier and Mrs. Collier, Dante, Caleb, Pidge, Hunk's empty seat, and Dr. Gorma.  On the other side of the table were Koran, Nanny, two empty seats for Lance and Darcy, Darcy's parents, Becca, Kadmus, Gadara, and Foyle. 

"Surprise," Allura said with a smile.

Becca jumped to her feet and ran to give Darcy a hug.  All four parents stood and surrounded the two of them, everyone talking at once.  Darcy unconsciously took a step back, bumping into Lance.

Taking the hint, Lance raised his voice above the crowd around them, "What do you say we sit down and talk while we eat."

"Oh of course!"  Molly said.  "I'm so sorry."

Lucy Barlow but her arm around Darcy's shoulders and steered her to her seat, "I bet you're hungry, sweetie.  You're eating for two now."

"This is, uh, certainly a surprise."  Darcy finally managed to say.

"Allura contacted us last week and said that if we can find a way to get out of work, she would fly us here for the wedding."  Felix Collier told her.

"Well, this is great!"  Lance said.  "We were so disappointed that you guys wouldn't be here for the wedding."

The rest of the meal was spent discussing the upcoming ceremony and the impending birth.  The only person who didn't say much was Darcy's father.  Howard Barlow was still uneasy about everything.  Sure, he had given Lance his blessing to marry his eldest daughter, but as far as he was concerned, she was still his little girl.  And Lance had gotten his little girl pregnant before they were married.  He knew that it wasn't entirely Lance's fault, but he wouldn't admit that.  Lance had taken advantage of Darcy.  And that was inexcusable.

Howard watched the way Lance and Darcy interacted.  They were comfortable with each other.  Lance sat back, talking to his father, with his arm slung across the back of Darcy's chair.  When Darcy finished her drink, she took his and finished it off.  Lance took the tomato that she wouldn't eat off her plate and popped it into his mouth.  After finishing her meal, and some of Lance's, Darcy sat back in her chair and rested her hands on her stomach.

"Howard?"

He turned to his wife when her voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Yes, dear?"

"Would you like some coffee?"  She asked him, nodding to the young maid waiting for his answer.

"Uh, yes, please."

"Be nice," Lucy whispered to her husband.  "Whether you like it or not they're getting married, you will not upset Darcy."

He glared back at her.

Lance watched this little exchange out of the corner of his eye, he couldn't hear what Mrs. Barlow had said, but it hadn't sat well with Mr. Barlow.   Darcy squirmed beside him.  They had been sitting on the hard chairs for a while now.  "Why don't we take our coffee in the rec room, relax and talk."

"That's a good idea," Allura said.  "Why don't you all go ahead and I'll have the coffee sent in."

Lance helped Darcy to her feet and watched as she continually ran her hand over her stomach.  "Are you in pain?"  He asked.

"It's not bad, more of a discomfort than pain."  She told him, keeping her voice low.

"Can I get you anything?"

"I'd like some of my tea, if it's not too much trouble."

He smiled at her, "You're nothing but trouble."

"I know, how can you stand it?"

"It helps that you're cute."  He winked at her.  "Take them to the rec room, I'll get your tea."

"Thank you," she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"So how are you feeling?"  Lucy asked her daughter as they headed toward the rec room.

"I'm good, Ma."  They hadn't told their parents about the Ttechkan poison.  None of them knew what she had gone through or how special this pregnancy was.  Neither she nor Lance knew how to broach the subject, they figured that someday they would talk to them about it, that day just hadn't come yet.

"I can't believe you're having a baby," Becca said.

"Neither can I," Howard muttered under his breath.

"Do you know what you're having?"  Molly asked.

"No, but Lance is convinced it's a girl."  Darcy told them.

Felix smiled, "We're destined to have only granddaughters."

"And we're happy for that," Molly added.

"What about names?"  Becca asked, curling up in one of the easy chairs.

"We're still discussing that," Darcy settled back on the loveseat.

"Yes well, you still have some time yet.  How far along are you?"  Lucy asked.

"Two months.  I'm due mid-February."

"Two months?"  Howard asked, doing some quick math in his head.

"Yes, Dad," Darcy's voice held a bit of a warning edge.

"When do I get to see the dress?"  Becca asked, changing the subject.

"It should be done tonight," Darcy smiled at her sister, relieved she wasn't alone.

"What should be done tonight?"  Lance asked, entering the room with a mug in hand.

"My dress.  Becca wants to see it."  Darcy accepted the mug from him as he sat next to her.

"What's that?"  Lucy asked, indicating the mug.

"It's tea, Gadara gave it to me."

"Why?"

Darcy and Lance exchanged quick glances.  "Uh, to help with the pregnancy.  It's an herbal tea."

"Oh," Molly said, understanding.  "Helps with the nausea."

"You're taking herbs that…that woman gives you?"  Howard asked, shocked.

"She's a medicine woman, Dad, she knows what she's doing."

"And what does your doctor say about this?"

"He agrees with her and Kadmus backs her suggestions."

"This is ridiculous!"  Her father stood and faced her.  "You need to come home, see a real doctor."

"Dr. Gorma is the best doctor in the universe."  Darcy told him.

"You're consulting medicine women and wizards! That's not normal."

"There's more out there than your little corner of Toronto.  I've never seen you so close-minded."

"You're too young!  There I said it."  He stood in front of his daughter and her fiancée looking down on them.  "I thought when I gave him my blessing, he would wait.  I didn't know you were pregnant at the time.  Is this what that was about?  You knock her up and your conscious gets the better of you?"

"Howard!"  Lucy said sharply.

"Now that was totally out of line, Howard," Felix spoke up.

Lance would have stood, but Darcy clutched his hand. With her other hand, she rubbed nervous circles around her stomach.

"No, I don't think we should be celebrating the fact that he got her pregnant, tying her down so young on a strange planet, away from her family and normal medical help."  Mr. Barlow's neck grew red.

"Dad, we didn't know I was pregnant when he proposed.  We are both very happy about this, you seem to be the only one with the problem."  Darcy said quietly.

"Don't get sassy with me young lady!"

"Don't raise your voice."  Lance spoke with the tight calmness that Darcy knew came when he was trying to rein in his temper.

"Don't even talk to me, boy!  You couldn't keep your zipper closed..."

Lance jumped to his feet, "I think you mentioned that before, Mr. Barlow, and I think you're way out of line."

Felix was at his son's side, setting his hand on his shoulder before turning to the man before them.  "I think we can all agree that this didn't happen under the best of circumstances, Howard, but the fact is Darcy is pregnant with our grandchild.  Luckily this happened to two people very much in love and who are getting married.  The best thing for us to do now is to support them."

"He's right, Howard, sit down," Lucy said.

Breathing hard and red faced, Howard Barlow sat heavily beside his wife on the couch.

Darcy felt the discomfort grow into genuine pain and she blinked back tears of frustration.  Why did he have to do that?  In front of Lance's parents. 

Lance turned to look down at her and felt panicky when he saw her rubbing her stomach and blinking back tears.  Forgetting there were other people in the room, he fell to his knees in front of her, "What is it?  What's wrong?  Are you in pain?  Do you want me to get Dr. Gorma?"

She bit her lip and shook her head.

Anger surged through Lance and he looked at his future father-in-law over his shoulder, "You happy now?  You've upset her."

"Lance, shut up," Darcy whispered.

Howard opened his mouth, but stopped when Lucy dug her fingernails into his arm.

"Come on," Lance took her hands and helped her to her feet.  "Let's get you to bed."

"I'm fine, Lance, really…"  Darcy stopped when a maid walked in carrying a box.

"Excuse me, Sergeant, but this just arrived for you."  The young maid spoke quietly, her head bowed.

"Who sent it?"  Lance asked.

"I don't know, sir, it was delivered by a service."

Surprised, Darcy took the box.  It was addressed to her and Lance with no return address on it.

"Oh, how nice," Molly spoke up in a strained voice.  "A wedding present."

"But from who?"  Lance wondered.  Their wedding wasn't common knowledge.  No one they could think of, beyond their families and their friends knew.  It wasn't from Sven and Romelle, they were coming tomorrow.  "Don't open it."

"I won't," Darcy said, setting it on the coffee table.  "Should we have Kadmus look at it?"

"That would probably be a good idea," Lance agreed.

"What is it?"  Felix asked.

"We don't know who it's from and we have people who would love to…harm us."  Lance explained as he took out his communicator and dialed up Keith.

"Whitaker."

"Hey, Cap, do you know where Kadmus is?"  Lance asked.

"He went for a walk, what's wrong, Lance."

"We received a package and we would like him to check it out."

"Alright, I'll go find him and be right there."

Lance snapped his communicator shut and attached it to his belt, "Keith's on his way, we'll get it looked at."

Darcy continued to massage her abdomen with a shaky hand.  Why is this happening, she thought. 

"Sit down, Darcy," Lance said.

"I'm fine."

"Sit down," he said more forcefully, taking her elbow.

"There is something you're not telling us," Molly said.

"You know about Doom, Ma.  Lotor is still alive and he is out to get me and Darcy."  Lance sighed, falling onto the loveseat beside Darcy.

"Why?"  Howard asked.

"Because I shot him and left him disfigured.  Up until a couple months ago, we thought he was dead, but he made his presence known, he and his brother."

"Further reason for you to come back to Terra, you'd be safer there,"  Darcy's father told her.

"Believe it or not, Dad, I'm safer here.  He could follow me to Terra and I would be vulnerable there.  I'm protected here at the Caste of Lions."  Darcy said through gritted teeth.

"Calm down," Lance whispered into her ear.  "Calm down, this isn't good for you or the baby.  You know I won't let anything happen to you.  Calm down."

"That's not what I meant, Lance," Molly said.  "Is there something wrong, Darcy?"

Lance and Darcy exchanged glances.  She nodded.

"Alright, about year ago, Darcy was poisoned at a function Allura held to announce her pregnancy.  Lotor's witch, Haggar, disguised herself and sneaked in," Lance began.  He went on to tell them the entire story of what was wrong with her, how they thought she would never be able to have children, why this pregnancy was so important to them, and the complications that had arisen.  He was just wrapping up when Keith, Hunk, Dante, Allura, and Kadmus entered the room.  Howard looked as though he had something to say, but wasn't able to before Kadmus shuffled over and examined the box.

They all watched in silence as he lifted it, shook it, smelled it, and then set it back on the table. 

"We should not open it here," he announced in his high-pitched voice.

"What is it?"  Lance asked.

"We can take it to the work room," Hunk suggested.

Kadmus nodded.

Darcy stood to follow, but was stopped by Kadmus.  "I don't think you should come."

"What is it?"  Lance repeated.

"I want to open it before I answer that, but I have an idea as to what it could be."

"Why don't Darcy and I show you all to your rooms," Allura announced to the two sets of parents.

"But…" Darcy started.

"Go," Lance interrupted her.  "I'll find you later and tell you what we found."

She nodded, "Remember your promise to see Dr. Gorma tonight."

"I'll deal with that later."  He told her.

"Why didn't you tell us about this before?"  Lucy asked as she followed Darcy out of the rec room.

"It was personal, Mom, we didn't know how to tell you all.  This pregnancy came as a surprise in more ways than one."

"Just let us know if there is anything at all that we can do for you," Molly put her arm around her shoulder and gave her a quick hug.

Allura and Darcy showed them to three guest rooms in the south tower. 

"Darcy do you want me to come with you?"  Lucy asked.

"No, Ma, just get some sleep.  We'll have plenty to do tomorrow.  I'm very tried, I'm just going to go to bed."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Darcy kissed her cheek.  "I'll see you in the morning."

"Are you okay?"  Allura whispered as they left the south wing.

"Yeah," Darcy sighed.

"I'm sorry, I thought this would be a good surprise."

"Oh, Allura, it is!  It really is.  Thank you for bringing our families out here for the wedding.  We really do appreciate it," Darcy assured her.  "It was just a big surprise."

"Darcy?"

The two women turned to see Becca in the hallway behind them.

"Yeah, Bec, what is it?"

"I can't sleep, there's too much going on." 

Darcy grinned, "Come on, you little twerp.  We'll go see what they found out about the package."

"Darc?"  Becca asked nervously.  "How, uh, how dangerous is it for you to be having this baby?"

"I'll be fine, Bec, Dr. Gorma, Kadmus, and Gadara are doing everything in their power to help me."  Darcy assured her as they made their way back to the rec room.

"Don't worry about Dad," Becca whispered.  "He'll be fine.  I saw him pricing strollers the other day."

"What does he have against Lance?"

"It's not Lance, it's any guy who wants to marry you."

Darcy smiled and shook her head, "Well, I guess it's nice to know it's not just Lance."

"We're going to bring in extra security for the wedding," Allura told her.

"But I thought the threat of Doom was passed."

"Haggar's power was sapped, but there are ways around that," Allura told her.  "We're not taking any chances."

"Are you going to go on a honeymoon?"  Becca asked.

"Not now, no.  It's safer for us to stay at the Castle of Lions for now."  Darcy explained, pulling her communicator from her belt as it beeped.  "Yeah?"

"Hey, Darc, where are you?"  Lance asked.

"We're in the rec room."

"Alright, we're on our way."

"You okay, man?"  Keith asked when Lance snapped his communicator shut.

"As okay as I can be."  Lance sighed.  "Dammit!  Why does this keep happening?"

"I've been asking myself that same question for years."  Keith muttered.

"It has been properly disposed of," Kadmus told them.  "It is safe now."

"Thank you," Lance muttered.

"We're having added security brought in," Keith told him.

"This is a horrible way to live, Keith, we have to always be looking over our shoulder, we have to check everything we get in the mail, our wedding is going to be surrounded by armed guards."

"I know, man, believe me I know.  But this will end.  Landor is dead, Haggar has been severely sapped of her powers, and Lotor's army has dwindled.  We'll defeat them."

Lance stopped outside the rec room and took a deep breath, "Alright, lets go."

Darcy was sitting on the couch next to Becca, talking to Allura who sat across from her on the loveseat. 

"How're you feeling?"  Lance asked, sitting next to Darcy.

"I'm alright.  What did you find?"

"It was a rigged box.  If you opened it, a small pouch would have flung out, sending spores into the air.  It was rather simple, actually, something Lawrence and I would have rigged up when we were younger to fling things at the girls."  Lance explained.

Darcy furrowed her brow in confusion, "What?"

"It was spores from the Ttechken plant.  If you had opened it, Ttechken spores would have flown out and if you had inhaled them, well, it would have killed the baby and, uh, and maybe you."

Darcy laid her head back and closed her eyes, "When is this going to end?"

"I don't know, baby," Lance put his arm around her and pulled her to him.

"From now on, all packages will be examined before you open them," Keith announced.  "I'll talk to the staff about it, they'll bring the packages to the work room and they'll be examined."

Darcy nodded.

"Come on," Lance whispered in her ear.  "Let's go to bed."

Keith heard him, "That sounds like a good idea everyone.  Tomorrow is going to be a busy day."

"You still need to talk to Dr. Gorma," Darcy said as she and Lance headed back to their room.

"I'll do it tomorrow."

"And tomorrow you'll tell me you'll do it the next day.  No, you're going now."  She took his arm and pulled him toward the hospital wing.

"Stop it, Darcy!"

"Don't raise your voice at me!"  She turned to face him, hands on her hips.  "I just want you to get some sleep, you're miserable."

"Look, I have enough to deal with right now without you nagging me about sleep."

Darcy watched him a moment, trying to decide how she should interpret what he had just said, "Yeah, well, I have a lot to deal with too, which is all the more reason for you to get some sleep."

Lance rubbed his hands over his face.

"What is it, Lance?"  Darcy asked quietly.  "You're exhausted, but you're fighting sleep.  Why?"

"I'm not fighting it, Darc, it just isn't coming."

"Are you still having nightmares?"

Lance looked up at her wide, concerned eyes and felt his resolve breaking.  "I'll go talk to Dr. Gorma."

"I'm just worried about you, honey."  Darcy reached out and ran her hand up and down his arm.

"I know," he sighed.  "Go to bed, I'll talk to Dr. Gorma."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, that's not necessary, go to bed, get some sleep."

Darcy studied him, she was worried that he was getting rid of her and he would not go see Dr. Gorma.  No, she had to trust him.  "Alright, I'm going to go get another tea, since I never got to finish the one earlier.  I want to know what Dr. Gorma says."

Lance nodded, "Go relax, I'll see you when I'm done."

Darcy gave him a quick kiss and they parted ways.