"What the hell are you doing?"  Lance demanded.

"Playing water polo," Darcy replied.

"No, get down.  Now."

Darcy stepped down from the short ladder she was standing on and put her left hand on the small of her back while she pointed at him with the paintbrush in her right.  "You're being silly."

"No, you're seven months pregnant and I don't want you standing on a ladder."

"I was just doing some touchup work around the window, I was maybe a foot off the ground."

Lance stood in the newly painted nursery and sighed in frustration.  They had finished painting the room a pale yellow the day before, but Darcy was a perfectionist.  The crib and dresser he and Keith had put together stood in the center of the room next to the box containing the changing table that still needed to be assembled. 

He sighed and shook his head, "Are we ready to start arranging the furniture?"

"Oh, yes.  I think the crib should go over here and the changing table there.  I wanted to put the bookshelves here, next to the window."  Darcy put the paintbrush down on the tray.

"Alright, Keith and Hunk are on their way up.  Where do you want the rocking chair?"

"We don't have one yet."

"Yes we do."

She looked up at him, "You bought one without me?"

"I saw it and I had to get it, it is too perfect."

"What color is it?"

"Um, it's a light beige."

Darcy sighed, "Where is it?"

"Keith and Hunk are bringing it up."

"You need two people to carry it?"

"Yup.  Wait until you see it, it's great."

"Lance, help us out here, open the door!"  Keith yelled from the hallway.

"Just a sec," Lance called back.  "Where do you want it?"

"I guess you can put it beside the window there."

"Okay, close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you."

"Lance…"

"Come on, Darc, just close them."

She smiled softly and closed her eyes.  Darcy listened as the door slid open and Keith and Hunk grunted as they carried the chair in.

"Watch the crib!"  Lance said.

Darcy winced when she heard something bang against the crib.

"Why is that in the middle of the floor?"  Keith asked.

"We were waiting for the paint to dry before we moved it."

"Why didn't you wait until after the room was dry to put it together?"  Hunk wondered.

"Because that would have been the smart thing to do," Keith muttered.

"Keep 'em closed," Lance said as he took Darcy's hands.  "Now sit."

She reached behind her and felt the thick, upholstered arms of a chair.  "What…?"

"Just sit," Lance put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her down.

Darcy opened her eyes as she felt the big chair envelope her.  "This is awesome."  She whispered as she ran her hands over the soft fabric on the arms.  It was a big, comfortable arm chair with large wooden rockers on the bottom.

"I though you'd like it," Lance said, proudly.

"Where did you find it?"

"The store in town, 'Welcome Home.'  They just got them in.  They had this one and a dark green one, but I thought this one would look better in here."

"I could fall asleep here," Darcy laid her head back, slowly rocking and rubbing gentle circles on her stomach.  She still suffered from discomfort and sometimes bad pain caused by the scars on her womb.  It worried her to think what it might be like if she had never started using the tea and herbs Gadara had given her. 

Foyle and Gadara had returned to Gunnel four months earlier with the promise to return if Darcy ever needed them.  Kadmus also left, but he visited often to check up on her.         

Exhaustion made it difficult for Darcy to do much.  She was taking two naps a day as well as at least nine hours of sleep a night.  Dr. Gorma assured them she was alright, it was her body's way of healing itself and saving up her strength for the baby.  It frustrated her that she often had to sit down after only a few minutes of doing something and just walking from her room to Castle Control wore her out.  But she gave in to it because Dr. Gorma threatened to put her on full bed rest if she didn't.

"Why don't you take a nap," Lance said as she yawned.  "Go lie down; I'm going to put the changing table together."

"I want to finish touching up," she protested.

"Don't argue or I'll tell Dr. Gorma you're pushing yourself too hard."

Darcy stuck her tongue out at him but held her hands out so he could help her to her feet.

"When you wake up, I'll have the nursery ready for you," he led her to the open door that connected their room to the nursery.

"Alright," Darcy agreed.

Lance leaned over to kiss her, "That's a good girl."

Darcy was awakened over an hour later by her bladder.  Upon leaving the bathroom, she heard Lance laughing and talking to someone in the nursery.

"This is great," Lance said.

"Are you going to tell Darcy?"  It was Hunk.

"Tell Darcy what?"  She asked, walking into the nursery.

Lance stood beside the newly assembled changing table, screwdriver in hand.  The crib, dresser, and bookshelf were placed in the spots she had pointed to. 

"Um, well," Hunk rubbed the back of his neck and tried to hide his smile.

"What is it?"  She asked.

"Honey," Lance crossed to her, smiling.  "It seems that Pidge and your sister have been contacting each other and have become, um, close friends."

Darcy looked at him in disbelief, "So you're saying that when Becca offered to come and stay with me when the baby's born, she had an ulterior motive."

"It would appear so."

Hunk snorted.

"This is unbelievable."  Darcy muttered, walking over to the rocking chair.  "When we say them together at the wedding, Allura and I kidded about them getting together, but I never thought it would actually happen."

"She really helped him," Hunk spoke up.  "He was able to talk to her about Renata and she helped him sort out his feelings.  They really were just friends, but I guess it turned into something more."

"My father is going to have a coronary," Darcy whispered.

Lance laughed, "The Voltron Force is invading your family.  Do you have any cousins for Dante and Caleb?"

"Well, I have to go.  I told Dante we'd go over Blue later."  Hunk nodded goodbye and left.

"Are you okay with this?"  Lance asked.

"Yeah," Darcy smiled up at him.  "I'm just a little shocked is all.  Pidge is a great guy, but I mean, I think of him as a little brother, not as someone to date my sister."

Lance kneeled beside the rocking chair and took her hand in his, "She's been good for him, Darc, she was able to help him when we weren't."

"I know," she caressed his cheek with her hand.  "I think it's great."

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

A little over a month later, a transport ship from Terra arrived carrying Becca.  Darcy wanted to be on the tarmac to meet her, but was stuck in bed with some minor pain.  The past couple of weeks had been difficult on her, exhaustion and pain had her on unofficial bed rest.

Lance was slowly going out of his mind with worry.  Darcy's due date was nineteen days away and it was January 18th.  Lance had started having nightmares again and it was about two weeks since he had a full nights sleep.  Dr. Gorma assured him that Darcy and the baby were doing fine, but he couldn't shake his fear of January 23rd, the date on the tombstone in his dream. 

To add to his worries, there was activity on Doom again.  Haggar had slowly started to regain her powers over the past few months.  Kadmus had arrived the night before, just as a precaution.

Darcy was reclining in her bed when Becca knocked on the door.

"Come on in!"  She called.

Becca burst through the door and raced to the bed, "Oh Darcy, it's so great seeing you again!  Oh my God!  You're huge!  Are you sure you aren't having twins or quintuplets?"

"It's nice seeing you too, Becca, and I'm not that big," Darcy muttered hugging her sister.

"I have so much stuff for you.  Mom was so sorry she couldn't make it, but she is going to try and come out in another month.   She sent stuff for the nursery, you won't need to shop for months."

"Where is it?  I love all the baby stuff we keep getting."

"Lance said they'd bring it up to the nursery."

"Want to see it?"  Darcy asked, pushing back the covers.

"Lance said you're supposed to stay in bed."

"Did he?"  Darcy pushed herself up.  "Well, I've been in bed all morning and I'm sick of it.  I think I can walk into the next room."

Becca helped her to her feet and followed her into the nursery.  "Oh, Darc, this is awesome!"

"Thanks, I am so excited, Becs.  I just want to have this baby already and put this all to use."  Darcy stood beside the crib, running her hand over the railing.

"You only have, what, three more weeks?"

"Nineteen days."

Becca crossed to the rocking chair and saw a book lying open on the arm, "You're already reading to it, aren't you?"

Darcy smiled, rubbing soothing circles over her swollen stomach.  "Every night.  At first Lance picked on me, now he reads to the baby too and sometimes he just talks to my stomach."

"That's so cute."

Darcy waddled over to the rocking chair and sank into it, "So, tell me about you and Pidge."

Becca blushed slightly and turned to study the books on the shelves.

"Come on, Bec, I want to know what's going on."

"We, uh, we just started writing letters to each other and emailing.  Then we started talking over the computer cameras and, well…" Becca trailed off, toying with a stuffed red lion that sat on the shelf.

"He's a great guy," Darcy said.  "He's smart and kind.  He has a great sense of humor."

"I know."  Becca put the lion back on the shelf.  "I really like him, Darc."  She admitted.

Darcy grinned at her little sister, "That's great, Bec."

"Yeah, but Dad…"  Beca stopped when the door slid open and Lance and Pidge walked in carrying boxes.

"What are you doing out of bed?"  Lance asked.

"Hi to you too, honey," Darcy said wryly.

Pidge and Becca locked eyes and blushed before averting their gazes.

"You should be in bed," Lance set the box on the floor beside her.

"I'm fine, Lance.  I wanted to show Becca the nursery and I wanted to see what my mother sent."  She indicated the boxes.

Lance took the pocketknife from his belt and cut through the tape in the box.  It held more books, a mobile of the Winnie-the-Pooh characters, and a soft white blanket.

"This is great," Darcy spread the blanket on her lap, running her hands over the soft fabric.

Lance reached back into the box for the last item.  It was a stuffed mouse.  While Darcy and Becca giggled over how cute it was, Lance felt his stomach turn over.  It was the stuffed mouse from his dream, the one their daughter slept with.  Oh, God, this can not be happening, he thought.

"What's wrong, Lance?"  Darcy asked, alarmed at his sudden paleness.

"Uh, nothing," he muttered, reaching for the next box.

He was about to cut it open when the castle alarms went off.  Lance felt his heart stop.  He and Pidge locked eyes.

"Becca," Lance jumped to his feet.  "Take Darcy back to our room.  I'm going to set the lock on this room and I want you guys to lock the door to the other room.  Wait in there until one of us contacts you."

"Okay," Becca looked up at him with wide, terrified eyes.

Lance helped Darcy to her feet and dropped a kiss on her forehead, "Swear to me you won't leave the room."

"I promise," she whispered.

Pidge offered Becca a soft smile and followed Lance out of the room.

"What's going on?"  Becca asked as she followed Darcy into the other room.

"I don't know," she rubbed nervous circles over her stomach.  Darcy was trying not to panic as she felt pain in her abdomen and a tightening in her chest.  "I, uh, I need to lie down."

"Are you okay?"  Becca asked worriedly.

"Yeah, the, uh, the code to lock the door is 9-9-8-5."  Darcy grunted as she settled back against the pillows.

Becca jumped when there was a sudden, sharp knock on the door.

"Sergeant Collier?"

"Yeah?" Darcy yelled back.

"Cpl. Cheyen and Pvt. Whitman, Ma'am.  We were sent to stand at your door."

"Fine!"  She called through gritted teeth.  "Becca, this is silly, open the door."

Young Cpl. Cheyen stood in the doorway and saluted.

"What's going on, Corporal?"

"We're under attack, Ma'am."

"Doom?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

Darcy nodded, "Alright, thank you, Corporal."  She sank back against the pillows as Becca shut and locked the door.  "Becca, in the closet you will find a metal lock box, will you get it for me please."

Becca crossed to the closet and retrieved the box, setting it on the bed.  Darcy opened it and pulled out her blaster.  She checked to make sure it was in working order, set the safety, and laid it on the bedside table within reach.

"It that really necessary?"  Becca asked, nervously.

"We're under attack," Darcy reminded her.

As if on cue, the castle shook as it absorbed a shot.

Darcy closed her eyes and tried to take her mind off the pain. 

"Are you okay?"  Becca whispered.

Darcy was about to tell her she was fine when she felt something different, something not right.  "Becca, go tell Cpl. Cheyen to get Dr. Gorma."

Becca's eyes widened and she froze.

"Now Becca!"  Darcy's voice rose.

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

Kadmus was in the hospital wing, conferring with Dr. Gorma when the alarms went off.  They were discussing the best way to delivery the baby that would keep both Darcy and the baby safe.

The second the alarms went off, Kadmus watched as Dr. Gorma snapped into action, calling to his nurses and quickly putting together a triage in preparation for injuries.

"Dr. Gorma," a young soldier burst through the door.  "It's Sergeant Collier, sir, she asked for you to come to her room."

Dr. Gorma took Nurse Helene aside and went over a few instructions with her before grabbing Nurse Jewelia and following the soldier.

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

"Watch your six Dante!"  Keith barked over the intercom.

There were about a dozen small fighter ships who had invaded Arusian airspace.  The five lions were doing their best to defend the castle having already shot down seven of them.  The castle had been hit twice, but had just absorbed the shocks.  Red, Black, and Yellow had all taken hits, but none of the pilots were badly injured.

"This is ridiculous," Lance muttered, taking down another ship.  "No Robeast, no Lotor, what's going on?"

"He just wants us to know he has rebuilt his army and he can attack," Pidge replied.

Keith shot down a ship.  The three ships left rose, leaving Arusian airspace.  The Lions circled the castle for ten minutes after Caleb had announced the Doom ships left Arusian airspace making sure all was clear.

"Alright," Keith announced when they all arrived back in Castle Control.  "We are on high alert.  Practice will double up to three hours each morning.  No one leaves the castle without clearance from either me or Lance.  Everyone keep your eyes open for anything unusual.  You're dismissed for now, but we will be having a meeting later on once I gather all the Intel.  Keep your communicators handy."

Lance wiped at the trickle of blood at his hairline.  It was just a scratch.  When Red had been hit, his head snapped forward and he hit the edge of the board.  If he hadn't been wearing his helmet, it would have been a lot worse.  He saw Dr. Gorma leaving his and Darcy's room and his heart stopped.

"Ah, Lieutenant, is everything alright?"  Dr. Gorma asked him.

"What's wrong?"  Lance croaked.

Dr. Gorma took Lance by the arm and led him to the side of the hall, "She was in pain.  Her womb began to tighten, not contractions, just tightened, and it was very painful.  It was brought on by stress, I had to sedate her.  The Sergeant is officially on complete bed rest until the baby is born."

"How bad is it?"

"She's been weak, I should have insisted sooner that she take it easy."

"She's been taking every precaution, she doesn't want anything to happen to this baby."

Dr. Gorma nodded, "It's a good thing her sister is here, except for trips to the bathroom, Sergeant Collier is not to leave that bed until the baby is born."

Lance swallowed hard, "But she'll be alright?"

"She should be." 

"Can I see her?"

"She's groggy, Lieutenant, and she needs to sleep."

Lance nodded.

Dr. Gorma laid a hand on his shoulder, "Contact me immediately if you need anything.  That cut on your head doesn't look too bad, but you will need to clean it."

"Okay," Lance muttered.  "Thanks."

Darcy was lying on the bed with her red throw blanket covering her.  She was feeling surprisingly good.  Her eyelids felt heavy, but she didn't want to sleep until she knew what was happening with the Doom battle.  She slid her gaze over when the door opened, expecting Becca who she had sent to get her a glass of juice.

"Hey, baby, how you feeling?"  Lance sat on the edge of the bed.

"Um, pretty good actually," she slurred.

"You need some sleep."

"How did the, uh, the…that battle go?"

Lance brushed the hair from her forehead and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.  She felt warm.  "Fine, we drove them off without a problem."

"You're bleeding."

"It's nothing, just a scratch. Don't worry."  He played with the edge of her blanket.  "Darc, you need to rest.  You can't get stressed, it isn't good for you or the baby."

"I know."  Her eyelids closed and then snapped open.

"Get some sleep," his voice broke. 

She slowly nodded, her eyes already closed.

Lance watched her sleep.  She was so peaceful, so beautiful.  Very gently, he laid a hand on her swollen stomach.  If anything happened to her, Lance didn't know what he would do.  That was when he made a very difficult decision.

His eye caught something silver on the bedside table.  She had taken her blaster out.  Swearing under his breath, Lance picked it up and packed it back in the lock box.  He was just returning it to the closet when the door slid open.

"Oh, she's asleep," Becca whispered, setting the glass of juice on the bedside table.

"Becca, will you stay here until I get back?   I need to talk to Keith and I don't want her to be alone if she should wake."

"Yeah, Lance.  Are you okay, you're bleeding."

He sighed, "I'm fine.  I'll be back in a few minutes."

Keith was in his office talking to an Intel official, going over the reports that had just arrived.  He waved Lance in and held up a finger, signifying that he would be done in a moment.

Lance nervously paced the room, twisting his wedding ring and mentally going over what he was going to say.  Keith would be pissed, but this was something he had to do.

Keith disconnected his videophone call and turned to Lance with a sigh.  "This isn't good, Lance.  Lotor is putting together a new army.  Where does he find these people?"

"We need to talk."

Keith raised his eyes, "What is it?"

"I want to take a leave of absence."

"No."

Lance ran his hand through his hair, "Darcy is on complete bed rest.  Dr. Gorma had to sedate her.  She was suffering from bad pains brought on by stress.  I want to be with her until the baby is born."

"I understand, Lance, really I do.  But we need you.  You are the second-in-command.  If Doom is putting together a full-scale attack, we will need you."

"Not a total leave of absence, just from flying, Caleb can fly Red.  I will still sit in on meetings and help with the planning."  Lance told him.

"No, Lance, we need you."

"Dammit Keith!"  Lance slammed his palms down on the desk.  "Don't ask me to choose between Voltron and my family because I am telling you right now that Voltron won't win."

Keith felt his mouth fall open as he looked up at the worried, determined face of the man before him.  "Fine."