Hi~

Thank you for your reviews!  RedLion2…I will take your request into consideration, but this story has just started and I am not going to hint as to what is going to happen…you'll just have to stay tuned ;-)  But at least this chapter starts to hint at who the villain is…

Enjoy,

Failte

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Becca tried to ignore the pounding in her head and the heavy cottony feeling in her mouth, but they were not to be ignored.  She ached all over and prayed for some kind of release.  If only she could fall back to sleep, you don't feel pain in your sleep.

What did I do last night? She wondered.  They had gone into town and went to some club.  She had danced with Lance, did some shots with Dante, danced with Dante, did some more shots, danced with Dante some more, then it got hazy after that.  Becca groaned, grabbed the pillow beside her and laid it over her head, blocking out the sunlight filtering through the window.

She pretended to not hear the loud, insistent knock on the door.  It was Darcy, she was positive of that, and she was coming to make her life more miserable.  The door slid open.

"Good morning sunshine!"  Darcy declared, walking into the room.

"Go away," Becca mumbled into the pillow.

"No," Darcy flopped on the bed and Becca fought the wave of nausea that rose within her.  "You've slept in long enough."

She looked at the bedside clock, "It's eight."

"I've been up for almost three hours."

"Just let me die in peace."

"You're not going to die.  I brought coffee and aspirin."

Becca slowly lowered the pillow and looked at her with one eye open, "You're being nice to me?"

"Yup."

"Why?"

"Because you're my sister and I love you."

"No, seriously, why?  What did I do last night?"

Darcy smiled at her, "You don't remember, do you?"

Becca groaned, "I don't want to know, do I?"

"I don't know, do you?"

Whatever I imagine has to be much worse than what actually happened, Becca thought.  "What did I do?"

"Well, you and Dante got totally wasted and made complete asses out of yourselves."

"Did Pidge come down to the club?"  Becca whispered.

"No, Bec, you didn't see him until we got back."

"Oh."

"And you threw yourself at him."

Becca sat up, too quickly.  She grabbed her head and moaned in pain.  "Damn, damn, damn.  I did what?"

"You thanked him for the necklace, then you threw your arms around him and kissed him."

"On the mouth?"

"Yup, I think there was some tongue."

"Oh God," Becca moaned and leaned forward, still gripping her head.

"In the garage in front of everyone."

"Please tell me you're kidding."

"Sorry."

Becca looked up at her with wide, bloodshot eyes.  "I just totally blew it, didn't I?  Oh, why did I drink?  I'll never do it again."

"Don't make promises you can't keep.  And no, I don't think you blew it."

"He probably thinks I'm some kind of loser drunk.  I am not one of those women who becomes…loose when she drinks."

"I know that Becca."

"But does he?"  She hid her face in her hands.

Feeling sorry for her sister, Darcy patted her arm, "He kissed you back."

Becca slowly lifted her head, "Really?"

"Yeah, really."  Darcy watched as her sister seemed to think that over.

"I wish I could remember it."

Darcy laughed, "If it makes you feel better, I don't think it's something he will ever forget."

Becca groaned again, "I can never face him again."

"So, what are you going to do?  You're going to hide in here for the next two months?"

"That sounds good to me."

Darcy stood up, "Get up, get dressed and come to the kitchen.  I'll make you some eggs."

The thought of food made Becca's stomach turn uncomfortably.

Lance looked up when he heard the door slide open and Darcy walked into the kitchen.  "How's Becca?"

"She's in pretty bad shape," Darcy sat beside him and took Schuyler from him so he could finish his breakfast.

"Does she remember anything from last night?"  Caleb asked.

Darcy shook her head, "Nope, but I reminded her."

"What happened?"  Allura sat at the head of the table, alternately feeding Cady and eating her own food.

Lance filled her in on their night out and what had happened with Becca.

"You know, we haven't seen Pidge this morning," Caleb commented.

Pidge was sitting in Castle Control scanning the computer log from the day before.  He had sent Cpl. Cheyen to retrieve the logs from the previous week. 

Sleep did not come easily for Pidge that night.  He kept feeling Becca pressed against him, tasting her on his mouth.  He felt bad about not pushing her away, she had been drunk, he had no right to take advantage of the situation. 

Since he was having so much trouble getting his mind off her, Pidge tried a different tactic and he started going over reasons why they were having so many problems with the new system.  It was a relatively simple, yet effective system that came with every virus scan and firewall to protect against the little annoyances that seemed to be plaguing them now.  He drifted off to sleep, waking suddenly at five o'clock, a frightening thought ripping him from sleep.  He hoped he was wrong, but if he wasn't, they could be in danger.

Pidge had been in Castle Control for three hours, scanning the logs of who had signed on and what they had done.  When he found what he was looking for, he jumped to his feet and pulled out his communicator.

"Whitaker."

"Hey, Captain, where are you?  We need to talk."  Pidge said.

"I'm in my study, what is it?"

"I just found something you need to see."

"Alright, I'll be waiting for you."

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Becca poured the aspirin and coffee down her throat.  She waited a few moments to see if they took effect before dragging herself out of bed.   Her head pounded and her stomach churned.  Well, if I have to face these people, I may as well do it with as much dignity as I can muster, she thought to herself as she stumbled into the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later she emerged feeling somewhat better.  Dressed in khaki shorts and a blue sleeveless blouse, she pulled her hair back into a ponytail and tried to cover the circles under her eyes with makeup.  Taking a deep breath, she smoothed her blouse and left the sanctuary of her room.

Luckily she only passed two guards and a maid as she walked to the kitchen.   She took a deep breath and walked in.  Pidge was no where to be found.

"Hey there, how're you feeling?"  Lance grinned up at her.

"I think you know the answer to that," Becca fell into the chair beside Darcy and snatched a piece of toast off her plate.

"I tried to warn you," Caleb said.  "Dante is a hardcore partier."

"Where is he?"  Becca asked, looking around.

"We haven't seen him yet."

"Are you serious?"

"We have Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings off from practice."  Lance told her.

"Is he alright?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine."  Lance unclipped his communicator from his belt as it beeped, "Yeah, Collier."

"Lance, we're having a meeting in the conference room, I want you, Darcy, Allura, Dante, Caleb, and Hunk there immediately."  Keith said.

"What is it?  Is everything alright?"

"We'll tell you when you get her.  Move it, Lieutenant."

Lance snapped his communicator shut, "Alright, Caleb, go get Dante up, I'll find Hunk."

"How're you feeling?"  Darcy asked Becca.

"I'm alright."

"Good, you're on aunt duty."  Darcy placed Schuyler in Becca's arms.

"Wait…what…"

"Take her outside, she loves the flowers in the garden."

Allura pushed herself up, "I'm going to take Cady to the nursery, tell Keith I'll be right there."

And then Becca was alone with Schyuler.  She looked down at her little niece and smiled.  She wore a little red outfit with a lion embroidered on the front.  A pacifier hung from a yellow ribbon attached to the front of her clothes as she sucked on her tiny fist.

"You wanna go outside little girl?"

Schuyler blinked in response.

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"This is bad," Keith sat in the chair at the head of the table.

"Are you sure about this?"  Allura rubbed her hand nervously over her stomach.

Pidge nodded, "The system malfunctions that have been happening, the loss of power, the locks jamming, the alarms going off, are all problems that the scans should have picked up on and fixed automatically.  If you look at the logs you see where an unidentified user signed on and disabled a part of the system."

"But who is it?"  Lance asked.

"That's just it, whoever is doing would have to be someone with knowledge of computers as well as access to our computers."

"An inside job."  Keith said.

"Why?  What are they hoping to accomplish?"  Dante mumbled.

"I don't really know, but it's frightening.  They have already shown that they can disable the locks on any room, cut off the electricity, and if they can set off the alarms they can probably disable them."  Pidge tossed the computer logs onto the large conference table and fell back into his chair.

They sat in silence a moment, going over what they had just heard.

"Who, uh, who do you think it might be?"  Hunk asked.

"I gathered you all here because I don't think it's any of you," Keith said, looking around the table.  He saw his team, the people he would trust with his life and that of his family.  "I don't want this to leave this room.  We don't know who we can trust.  Lance and I are going to lead the investigation."

Pidge opened his mouth to protest, but was stopped when Keith held up his hand.


"Pidge, you have been working ridiculous hours.  I want you to back off a little, catch up on your rest.  I need you clear minded and rested, we are going to need your expertise with the computer system."

Pidge nodded.

"Alright, I want you all to keep your eyes open.  If you see anything suspicious, tell me or Lance right away.  We're going to work on a plan of attack.  I want all of you to stay on castle grounds, we will be meeting again as soon as we've worked out a plan.  You're dismissed."  Keith helped Allura to her feet.  "I want you to stay nearby, at least to me or one of the other members of the Force."

Her eyes widened, "I will not be a prisoner in my own home." 

"Allura, we don't know what's going on."

"So far, Keith, this has all been relatively harmless."

"Nobody who can have this much control over the castle can be considered harmless."

She sighed, "Alright."

Pidge rubbed the back of his neck as he left the conference room.  His lack of sleep was catching up to him.  After pouring a mug of coffee, he made his way to the observation deck.  It was a beautiful day outside, not a cloud in the sky and a slight breeze ruffling the tree tops.  He stood in front of the massive windows and looked unseeingly over the Arusian countryside, trying to think of who it could possibly be.  Who was doing this?  Who knew enough to do this?  There were dozens of guards with access to the computers.

His eyes swept over the land.  He watched some small animal as it raced across the meadow.  Then he saw her.  She was sitting Indian style on the grass, cradling Schuyler in her arms, tickling the baby's nose with the head of a small, poofy flower.  She threw her head back and laughed when the little girl wrinkled her nose and opened her mouth in a toothless grin.  Pidge's breath caught.  With the late morning sun shining on them, she looked so natural and beautiful.  She turned suddenly and looked towards the castle, almost as though she sensed he was watching her.  She shielded her eyes and continued looking toward the castle. 

Pidge's lip curled up in a snarl when he saw Dante walking towards her from the castle.  He crouched down beside them, tickling Schuyler's chin and saying something to Becca.  Again, she threw her head back and laughed.

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"So, did you feel as craptacular as I did this morning?"  Dante asked as he approached Becca.

She laughed, "Did I feel what?"

"Craptacular.  It seemed to properly describe how I felt this morning."

"I am never again drinking with you."

Dante settled onto the ground and stretched out beside her, folding his arms behind his head and closing his eyes. "It'll be quite a while before I drink again."

"Is everything alright?  I mean, I know Keith called a meeting, what's going on?"

He opened one eye and looked up at her, "Nothing for you to worry about."

Becca looked down at her niece who was sucking on her pacifier and waving the flower around in her hand, "I guess its top secret or something."

"Yeah."

"Did you, uh, did you see Pidge?"

"Yeah.  He's been up for a while, working."

"He works a lot."

"Yup."

Becca straightened the front of Schyuler's outfit, "Do you, uh, do you think he might be able to get any time off?"

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Pidge watched from the window.  Dante laid on the ground beside them and they talked.  He knew he was being irrational, but he couldn't help himself.  What were they talking about?  Was there something going on between them?

He turned and paced the length of the wall, glancing out the window to see them.  He watched Dante turn onto his side to face her while they talked.  His mouth stretched in an impossibly large yawn and he knew that exhaustion was adding to his nerves.

Falling back into one of the chairs in front of the windows, Pidge set his coffee mug on the table beside him.  Part of him wanted to run outside and grab her, pull her into a kiss she would actually remember.  But another part of him was afraid he was being an idiot.  Maybe it would be better for her to be involved with Dante.  He knew how to have a good time, she would probably have more fun with him any way.

His head lulled back and he stared at the ceiling.  Within moments he had fallen into a fitful sleep.

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"Give me my kid."

Becca and Dante looked up to see Darcy standing over them, her hands on her hips.

Smiling, Becca stood, "She's been so good."

"Of course, she's a good girl."  Darcy's tone was clipped as she took Schuyler.

Becca furrowed her brow, "What's wrong with you?" 

"Nothing.  Have you seen Pidge?"

"No, I've been out here.  Why?  Is everything alright?"

"Uh, yeah, come with me."

Becca stood and brushed her shorts off, "See you later, Dante."  She followed her sister.  "What is wrong with you?"

"I need you to trust me, Rebecca, we're going to be staying in the castle for the time being.  Don't ask any questions because I can't answer them."

"You're scaring me, Darcy."


"Sorry, that's not my intention.  Don't worry, you're perfectly safe," Darcy flashed her a reassuring smile.  "I'm just asking for your complete cooperation."

Becca nodded, "Alright."

"And I may need you to watch Schuyler for me again later, we're going to have another meeting."

"No problem."

"And, if I can offer you some sisterly advice, be careful with Dante, he can be quite the flirt."

Becca rolled her eyes, "I don't think you have to worry about that."

Darcy sniffed, "Someone needs to be changed."

"No, I'm fine thanks."

She rolled her eyes, "Go find someone else to bug."

"Fine, I'm going to get something to drink."

"I'll find you later for babysitting duty."

"Yeah, that's why I flew all the way across a couple of galaxies, so I could babysit for you…for free."

"And we appreciate it, Bec."

"I was being sarcastic."

"I know."

Becca rolled her eyes, "I'll see you later, Darc."

In the kitchen, Becca found Nanny starting lunch.  She grabbed a bottle of juice and slipped from the room before she got in Nanny's way.

I wonder what's going on, she thought as she wandered the hallway.  She was a little worried, but she also knew that the Castle of Lions was one of the safest places in the galaxy.  At least that's what Darcy repeatedly told her parents back when Doom was a threat.

For some reason unknown to her, Becca found herself in the doorway to the Observation Deck.  At first she thought it was empty, but as she entered the room she saw a head of auburn hair stick up over the top of the last overstuffed chair in front of the windows.  As quietly as she could, she walked around over in front of the chairs.

Pidge was sprawled in the chair, sound asleep.  One leg was thrown over the arm of the chair and his head was cradled in the nook where the arm met the back of the chair.  He looked so peaceful. 

Becca's fingers itched to touch him, stroke his cheek where the stubble was darkening his skin or run her hand through his hair.  She studied him.  He really was handsome in an old fashioned, scholarly kind of way.  His face was long and lean, his features sharp.  His glasses had slid down his nose and she reached out to take them off before they bent.

As soon as her fingers brushed his temples, he jolted awake.

"Oh, I'm…I'm sorry," Becca felt the heat rise to her face.  "You were sleeping and you're, uh, you're glasses were sliding off.  I was just going to…to take them off."

Pidge blinked, pushing his glasses up, trying to figure out what was going on.  "Becca?"

"Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay," he sat up.  "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she looked down at her hands, feeling very silly.

"Where's Dante?"

She missed the slight bitterness in his tone, "I, uh, I don't know.  Do you need to talk to him?  He was outside a few minutes ago."

Pidge stood, "I have some work to do, I'll see you around."

Becca watched him leave the room.  What was that about?  Oh God, I did blow it with him.  He's pissed at me about last night.  She twirled around and fell back in the chair Pidge had just vacated.