Clutching Becca's hand in his, Pidge raced around the back of the castle.  His mind was all over the place, trying to figure out the fastest way to Castle Control, who was doing this, how long did they have. 

Becca tried her best to keep up with him, but her shoes were not made for running.  What was going on?  The catacombs?  Where was that?  She watched Pidge as they ran.  He had a look of intense concentration on his face and she found herself feeling a little intimidated.  Not watching where she was going, Becca tripped over a rock and stumbled into him.


"You okay?"  He asked pulling her up.

"Yeah."

Pidge stopped and held out his hand, "Give me your shoes."

"What?"

"Just give them to me!"

Bewildered, Becca removed her shoes and handed them to him.  Her eyes widened when she saw him snap the heels off them and hand them back.

"You need to be able to move, babe."

She tugged them back on, "You owe me a new pair."

"Bill me."  He grabbed her hand and started running again. 

Stopping in front of what looked like an overgrown bush, Pidge pulled his communicator out again and dialed up Keith.


"Whitaker."

"Any power yet?"

"No.  Where are you?"

"We're at the entrance of the catacombs.  When did the power go out?"

Keith looked at his watch.  He had happened to glance down when the lights went out.  "Exactly forty five seconds ago."

Pidge nodded, "Alright, the generators will take some time to kick in, especially if it's the entire castle.  It will first restore power to Castle Control and then spiral out from there.  If everything works as it should, you should have power in the dining room within the next two minutes."

"Unless they disabled the generators."  Keith pointed out.

Pidge pushed aside some of the branches, exposing a large, old wooden door.  "True.  We're going to head straight to Castle Control.  Who's on duty?"

"Caleb.  He's doing what he can to fix the problem."

"Got it.  I'll let you know when we hit Castle Control."

"Copy that," Keith signed off.

Pidge clipped his communicator back onto his belt and shrugged off his jacket.  He held it out to Becca, "Take this.  The branches will scratch your arms and the catacombs are damp and cold."

Wordlessly, she took the jacket and slipped it on.  It fell to her knees and smelled of his soap.  Rolling the sleeves up to her wrists, Becca watched as he pulled out a key ring and unlocked the door.

"The catacombs are under the castle and you can get to almost any room through them."  Pidge explained as he tugged at the handle of the huge door.  "We are the only ones with keys.  There are hidden passages throughout the castle for escape purposes, but they are rather primitive."

Becca nodded.

"Stay with me."  He took her hand and pulled her through the door.

The narrow hallway they entered was shadowed and dank.  A musty smell hung in the air and Becca couldn't help but wrinkle her nose at the odor.  When the door closed behind them, they were plunged into darkness.  Pidge paused so his eyes could adjust to the gloomy passage.  Becca felt her heart race.  The only sounds were her and Pidge's breathing and dripping water.

Pidge felt her tremble.  "Stay with me," he repeated.

Becca nodded, then realized he couldn't see her and whispered, "Okay."

He started through the passageway. 

Becca blindly followed.  How does he know where to go?

The floor began to slope upwards and he began to walk faster.  After about a hundred yards, Pidge stopped suddenly, causing Becca to run into his back.  She couldn't see what he was doing, but she heard him grunt and the faint creaking of rusty door hinges.

"Come on."  He took her hand and pulled her through.  The door closed behind them with a muted thud. 

They continued down another dark hallway.  Turning right, the floor sloped up again.  They turned right again.  Becca began to fear that they were going in circles.  There is no way he could see where they were going.

"We're here," he whispered, dropping her hand.  He grunted again and pulled open another door.  Becca saw a blinking, red LED light reflecting off Pidge's glasses.  He flipped a switch and bent down. 

Warm air washed over them as Pidge slid the door up and they entered Castle Control.

"Caleb!"  Pidge called.

Castle Control was washed in the eerie glow of red backup lighting.  Caleb was standing over the main console.  He looked up when his name was called.  "Pidge?"

"Yeah, how long have the lights been out?"  Pidge crossed quickly to the console.

"Two and a half minutes now."

"The generators should have kicked in in here."  Pidge muttered.

"I know."

"Can I have your flashlight?"

Caleb handed him the big metal light he had.

"I'll be right back."  Pidge turned to Becca who was standing behind him.  "Sit down.  I'll be right back."

Becca fell into a chair and watched Pidge race through the door they had just walked through.  He took out his communicator and called Keith to fill him in on his progress.  She watched as Caleb sighed and took a step back.  He looked at her and flashed a small smile, "How're you holding up?"

"I'm fine."  The tremor in her voice betrayed her nerves.

"Pidge went to check on the generators.  I'm glad you guys showed up.  I couldn't leave my post to do that."

"How did we get through that door," Becca pointed to the door that led to the catacombs, "if there is no power?"

"The doors to Castle Control and the throne room have manual overdrive switches.  Ever notice the small handles at the bottom of the door?"

Becca nodded.

"When you flip the manual overdrive switch, pull up on the handles and the doors slide up."

"Shouldn't all the doors have that so this doesn't happen?"

"They should.  I know Keith wants to do it, but it takes time to install.  Most of the rooms have entrances to hidden passages that lead to almost anywhere in the castle through the catacombs.  Whoever did this knows that the dining room is one of the three rooms in the castle that aren't connected to the hidden passages."

Becca nodded.

A sudden whirring sound filled the air and the lights overhead flickered and turned on, flooding the room with light.  Caleb turned to the console and began entering information.  The radars beeped and the monitors hummed.

Pidge ran full force back into the room.  "The entire castle should be in working order within sixty seconds."  He sat down at the main computer and began typing furiously.

Just over a minute later, the main entrance slid open and the rest of the Force, along with Allura, Koran, and Darcy, ran into the room.  Becca watched the action unfold in front of her.  Dante and Hunk joined Caleb at the main console while Lance went to talk to Pidge.  Koran tried to talk Keith into sending guard patrols around the castle to check and make sure everything was clear.  Keith hesitated, worried about who he could trust.  In the end, he sent Hunk and Dante out to each lead a group of guards throughout the castle.

Within five minutes, Pidge had main power restored and put the generators on backup.  He then turned his attention to the task of figuring out who had done this. 

"Anything?"  Keith asked after fifteen minutes.

"I've traced it to the castle's network."  Pidge muttered as he scanned the screen in front of him.

"The network?"  Allura asked.

Pidge looked up at her, "Yeah, they've figured out how to tap into the system from elsewhere in the castle."

Keith swore loudly.

"Can you narrow it down to which computer?"  Lance asked.

"I'm working on it."

"Come on," Darcy leaned over to Becca.  "They'll be working on this all night.  Want to go get changed?"

"Yeah," Becca stood.  "Time to lose the pantyhose."

"Becca."

She turned when Pidge called to her.

"You have a laptop, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"You hooked it up to the castle's network?"

Becca felt her heart stop, "Yeah, I did, when I sent some emails earlier."

Pidge sat back and looked up at Keith.  "I found where it came from."

"But how?"  Becca asked.  "I was with you all evening."

"Did you lock your door?"  Lance asked.

"I thought I did."

"Come on," Keith motioned to Lance and Pidge.  "Let's go check it out."

Becca and Darcy followed them as they ran up to her room.  The door was shut.  Keith tapped in the code to open it and they all watched the door slide open.  The drawers to the dresser were pulled out and turned upside down.  The desk was tipped over and the bedding pulled back.  Becca felt sick to her stomach as she took in the scene before her.

Weapons drawn, the three men crept into the room.  Lance entered the bathroom while Pidge opened the closet door.   After a quick sweep, Keith turned to Becca, "Whoever it was is gone.  Let me know if anything is missing."

Becca nodded.

"I'll help you clean up," Darcy told her, setting Schuyler in the center of the bed, placing pillows around her.

"Thanks," Becca muttered.

Pidge righted the desk and plugged in her laptop.  He turned it on and looked over at Becca, "Is there anything on your computer you don't want me to see?"

Becca looked up, confused, "Huh?"

"I need to see if I can find out who did this, can I get on your computer?"

"Yeah, go ahead."  She and Darcy started picking up the dresser drawers and refolding her clothes.

"We're going to head back to Castle Control, let us know what you find."  Keith said to Pidge.  He stopped beside Becca and laid a hand on her shoulder, "I am really sorry about this Becca.  We'll find who did this."

She nodded numbly. 

It took them close to twenty minutes to get the room back in order.  "Did you notice anything missing?"  Darcy asked her sister as she laid on the bed beside Schuyler.

Becca blushed, "Just a, uh, a nightgown I brought."

"Which one?"

"It's nothing.  It was a cheap little one."  Becca thought she heard Pidge groan in disappointment.

Darcy smiled, "Find anything yet, Pidge?"

"No."

"I'm going to change," Becca announced, grabbing some clothes and walking into the bathroom.

"How'd things go, tonight?"  Darcy asked, rubbing the baby's back.

"Fine, until we got back here," Pidge said, never taking his eyes off the computer.

"Where'd you go?"

"Adrina's."

"That place is great.  Lance and I've been there a couple of times."

"Mm hm."

"Hey Becs!"  Darcy called.

"What?"  Becca yelled through the bathroom door.

"I don't think you should stay in here tonight."

Becca opened the door and leaned on the door frame dressed in a pair of flannel pajama pants and an old t-shirt, "What?"

"We can set up a cot in our room, you can stay with us until we find out who did this."

Becca mulled over that.  "Thanks, Darc, but I don't think that's necessary."  In all honesty, she felt a little uncomfortable with the idea of bunking in the same room as her sister and her husband.

"Come on, we can kick Lance out, he can sleep in the nursery and we can have a slumber party."

"Becca, come here," Pidge waved her over.

"What?"  She stood beside her.

"You haven't given your passwords to anyone, have you?"

"No."

"I can't find any evidence of hacking.  Whoever did this, knew what they were doing and they really covered their tracks."

Schuyler started to cry.  Darcy scooped her up and cradled her to her shoulder.  "I'm going to take her to bed.  You know where to find me, Becs."

"Thanks Darc."

"She's right," Pidge leaned back in the chair and looked up at her.

"About what?"

"You shouldn't stay in here tonight."

"I'll be fine."

"No, Becca, it wouldn't be a smart idea."

She turned and sat on the desk, looking at him.  "Pidge, would you want to set up a cot in the same room as those two?"

"You could stay in the nursery."

She shook her head, "No, I'll be fine.  I'll lock the door.  They won't come back if I'm here."

He laid his hand on her knee, "Do you really want to chance that?"

"It's a pride thing.  I won't let whoever did this think they've frightened me."

"Pride or stupidity?"

"Don't."  She warned.

Pidge looked down where his hand still rested on her leg, "Was it, uh, was it the green nightgown?"

"Yeah."

"Damn."

"I think it's kind of creepy.  Someone broke into my room, hacked onto my computer and stole the slinkiest thing I own."

"It is creepy, which is why you should stay with Darcy tonight."

Becca looked down and traced circles on the back of his hand with her fingertip, "What's going on, Pidge?"

"I can't tell…"

"Don't say you can't tell me.  I'm in the middle of it all now."

He knew she was right but telling her would be going against a direct order from his commander.  Not that she would do anything stupid like discuss this with the guards.

"Pidge."

He sighed and looked up at her, "It's an inside job.  Someone, we think one of the guards, is messing with the computer systems.  They've shown us they can disable the electricity and various locks throughout the castle, and trip the alarms.  Essentially they can disable the entire castle.  We can't really trust any of the guards right now, which makes the investigation so difficult."

Becca shivered, "That's scary."


"Yeah.  But keep it to yourself, we're trying to keep the investigation under wraps."

She nodded.

"I don't want you to be scared, Becs."  Pidge turned his hand over and laced his fingers with hers.  "Nothing is going to happen to you.  I won't let it."

"I know," she whispered.

Smiling softly, he stood.  "One hell of a first date, huh?"

"It's one I'll never forget."

He took a step closer, "Well, that was the point."

"I can't wait to see how you top this night.  Our second date will be a doozy."

"A doozy?"  He took both her hands in his.

"Yup, I'm expecting a doozy."

"No pressure there."  He pulled on her hands until she slid off the desk and was standing in front of him.

"You're a smart man, you'll figure something out."

Pidge pulled her into a hug, feeling her press her face to his throat, "It'll be okay, Bec."

"I know."

"Are you going to take Darcy up on her offer?"

She shook her head and pulled back to look up at him, "Nah, I'm fine."

"You're stubborn."

"Yup."

"I have to go report to Keith."

"Should I disconnect my computer or anything?"

"No, that's not necessary.  But I think we should change the code that locks your door."

Becca nodded, "How do we do that?"

"I'll take care of it."  Reluctantly, Pidge stepped back from her.  "I'll do it right now."

She watched as he went to her door and typed in what seemed like hundreds of numbers.  After a few moments he turned back to her.  "Your new code is 4-9-8-2."

"Okay."

"If you need anything, call Castle Control."  He pointed to the phone on the desk.  "It's *22."

"Okay."

He smiled, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine.  I'm going to crawl into bed with my book and pretend this night never happened."

Pidge raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Well, not the whole night, just the last hour."

"Oh, okay," he winked at her.  "Good night Bec."

She stuck her lower lip out and pouted, "Don't I get a good night kiss?"

"Wow, you're rather presumptuous, aren't you?"

"Yup."

Smiling, he crossed to her and gave her a quick peck, "Good night."

"What am I, your grandmother?"  Becca asked, throwing her arms around his neck, "You can do better than that."

Pidge wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, "You are so pushy."

"Mm hm."

He brought his mouth down on hers in a gentle, drawn out kiss.  She moaned against his mouth and tightened her arms around him.

"Good night, Becs," Pidge whispered.

"Good night."

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

A couple of hours later, Pidge made his way to his room.  They had hit dead end after dead end.  Whoever was doing this was a very talented hacker, they were able to get in undetected and then cover their tracks cleanly.  There had to be something that hinted as to who was doing this.

He stopped outside Becca's door and listened, hoping it would be silent.  The sound of voices told him the televiewer was on.  He raised his hand and knocked quietly.   It went silent as she turned off the televiewer.

"Someone there?"  She called out, hesitantly.

"Bec, it's me."

The door slid open, "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"I, uh, I can't really sleep."  She admitted.

He nodded, "Want to talk?"

Becca looked back at her room, "Can we go somewhere else?"

"Sure.  We can go to my room," he took her hand, squeezing it gently.  "We can watch a movie, hang out."

"It's late."

"I don't think I was going to go to sleep any time soon, any way."

"Thanks Pidge."  She said, shutting and locking her door.

"Now, would this be considered our second date?"

"No, more like a continuation of the first."

"Good," Pidge stopped in front of his door.  "No pressure to make this a doozy."

He stepped into the room and stopped short.  Turning, he gently pushed Becca into the hall and unholstered his weapon.  Pidge quickly searched the room and the connecting bathroom.


"What is it?"  Becca asked from the door way.

After deciding it was safe, Pidge turned and said, "He was in here too."

"How do you know?"  Her eyes swept the room, it looked fine.  Then she saw the bed.

Pidge walked over to where ripped shreds of green satin lay in the center of his bed. 

                        Catch me if you can, loverboy.

The note was scrawled on a piece of paper from his printer and tossed on top of the torn nightgown.