The next morning Becca sat in the middle of her bed with Darcy and Schuyler.  Going along with Dr. Gorma's suggestion, she was taking it easy for the day.  Pidge had gone to meet with Keith. 

She couldn't help but smile at the memory of waking up next him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 During the night he had rolled over on his side facing her, his arm draped gently over her waist.  Becca woke, facing his chest, his chin was on top of her head, she tilted her head back and looked up at him.  His eyes were still closed and rough stubble covered his face.

"Good morning," he whispered hoarsely, not opening his eyes.

"'Morning," she tried to roll onto her back, but was stopped when he tightened his arm around her.

"How're you feeling?"

"My arm's a little sore, but I'm alright."

"It'll be sore for a while," he said, placing a scratchy kiss on her forehead.

"I'll be alright," she gently touched his left shoulder.  "I can only imagine what it was like for you being shot when it hurts so much just being grazed."

He smiled softly, "Pshaw, it's nothing I can't handle."

"You're something else," she kissed him.

Before he could answer, his communicator went off.  Keith was calling a meeting and Pidge needed to be in the conference room in ten minutes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What are you smiling about?"  Darcy's voice interrupted Becca's thoughts.


"What?  Oh, nothing."

"You're blushing."

"I am not."

"Bec…"

"Stop it, Darcy."

"Okay, but if you want to talk…"

Becca smiled at her sister, "I know, I know, I can always come to you."

Darcy ran her hand over her daughter's dark head and commented, "So, Pidge didn't sleep in the guest room last night."

"What?  How do you know that?"

"Lance went to get him before Keith paged him on the communicator."

Becca felt the heat rise to her face but she was saved the chore of explaining when there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Darcy asked, crossing to the door.

"It's me," Keith called out.

Darcy entered the code to unlock the door and then stepped back to let Keith enter, followed by Lance and Pidge.  Becca watched as they walked in, Keith sat down on the desk chair, Lance leaned against the desk, and Pidge stood beside them, his arms crossed over her chest.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm in trouble," Becca quipped.

"You're not in trouble," Keith smiled kindly.  "We're putting together the report to send to the Garrison about what happened, it'll be used in Bruc and Denton's trials.  We need to hear your side of it, what happened before Lance and Pidge entered the room."

Becca licked her lips and rubbed her hands on her thighs.  Taking a deep breath, she told them everything she could remember.

"It was about 6:30?"  Keith asked, making a note.

"Yeah, I looked at the clock when he knocked."

"He knocked?"  Lance asked.

Becca nodded, "I thought that was kind of weird 'cause in movies, the bad guys always just burst in."

"This isn't a movie," Darcy muttered.

"I know that," Becca blushed. 

"He was a guard here for a couple of years, he knows we change the codes whenever the castle has been breached so even if he knew the code to get into my room, it would have changed," Pidge explained.  "He was also looking for me, not you, Becca.  I guess he was hoping to catch me off guard.  Since he and the other two had been captured, he was hoping we had dropped our guard enough that I would just let him in without checking, which is what you did."

"Not that it was your fault," Lance added quickly.  "Anyone of us would probably have done the same."

"I didn't even have the door locked," Becca whispered.

"We didn't have our door locked either, we all thought it was safe," Darcy told her.

"Becca, I don't want you to think any of this was your fault," Keith stood.  "We had an insane criminal who was able to shoot a guard and get free."

"Do you know why he did all this?"  Darcy asked.  "I mean, Lotor's been dead for six months now, why did Cheyen do all this now?"

"All we've been able to get out of Denton is that if anything had happened to him, Lotor had left instructions for them to wait for us to become comfortable and vulnerable before they strike.  It was more important for us to be taken down than for it to be done with a bang." Keith said.  "I guess Cheyen decided that since he knew so much about the computer system, he would be able to disable us completely."

"He was having some fun," Pidge added.  "He was enjoying the fact that he could have this much power over us."

"It's all about power," Becca whispered.

"Most crimes are," Keith responded.  "Is there anything else you can think of?  Anything he said that sticks out in your mind?"

She thought a moment, "I think I told you everything I can remember.  Did you ever figure out how he was able to override the firewall to get into the computer system?"

"He was able to hack past it," Pidge mumbled, more than a little annoyed.

Keith nodded and stood, "Alright then, I'll type up a report.  When it's done I'd appreciate it if you would read over it and see if I missed anything from your point of view."

Becca nodded, "No problem."

"So, does this mean we're officially free to leave the castle?"  Darcy asked, hopefully.

Keith smiled, "Yes."

She jumped off the bed and scooped up the baby, "Great!  We're going into town."

"Hold on," Lance held up a hand to stop her.  "Give me, what?"  He looked at Keith, "An hour?"  Keith nodded.  "And I'll go with you."

"Sounds like a plan," Darcy said, swinging Schuyler onto her hip and giving him a quick kiss.  "Meet us at the front entrance in an hour."

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

And so began Becca's real vacation.  Although she squeezed in as much time with Darcy as she could, most of her time was spent with Pidge.  They would go into town and have dinner or see a band play.  Arus' cultural society was beginning to build itself up once again.  Bands were forming, museums, theaters, and libraries were being built.  It seemed like each week there was even more to do. 

Nearly every night they went for a walk around the lake and castle grounds, talking or not, whichever they felt like.  They were quickly sliding into a comfortable relationship.

However, each day brought them closer to the inevitable, Becca's return home.

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

The day before she was scheduled to leave, Becca walked into Castle Control where Pidge was on duty, "Hey, can you talk?" 

He spun the chair lazily around to face her, "Of course.  What's up?"

"I was just in talking to Dr. Gorma," she started, leaning against the console.  "He told me that if it was accepted by my school, I could come here to do my internship."

Pidge raised his eyebrows, "Really?"

"Yup.  He said by then he would be getting ready to retire and he would like to train me to take over for him, as long as it was alright by Allura."

He stood and took her hands in his, "That's great Bec."

"And I'm planning to come back for the holidays and in the summer and you can come and visit Terra whenever you want."  She unconsciously tightened her grip on his hands.

"We'll work it out, Becca," Pidge pulled his hands from her grasp and pulled her into a hug.  "It'll all work out."

"I know," she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.  "When do you get off duty?"

"Five."

They jumped apart when the door slid open.


"There you are!"  Darcy crossed quickly to her sister.  "Allura said she needs to talk to Lance and I, so I was hoping you could keep an eye on Schuyler."  She held out the baby monitor she held in her hand.  "She's down for a nap and she should be good for another hour."

"Uh, okay."  Becca took the monitor.

"Thanks.  I'll find you later."  Darcy turned and left as quickly as she had entered.

Becca looked at Pidge, "Wow, I wonder what that's about."

Pidge shrugged.

Darcy arrived at the door to Allura's study feeling more than a little nervous.  She knew she was being silly, these are her friends, there was no reason to feel nervous or scared.  But why had she asked them to come?  What was going on?  If it was strictly military related, it would have been between Keith, Lance, and Allura.  Since Darcy had retired, she was no longer privy to internal information.

She raised her hand and knocked quietly.

The door slid open, Keith smiled and stepped back to let her in.  Allura sat behind her desk with her hands folded on top of a folder on her desk.  Lance was already there, leaning against the bookshelf with his arms crossed over his chest.  He winked at Darcy when she entered.

"Hi, Darc," Allura smiled at her.  "Come on in, have a seat, you too, Lance."

Darcy looked at Lance and raised her eyebrows.  He shrugged in response.  They sat in the chairs opposite the desk and waited for Allura to begin.

"Oh stop looking so terrified," Allura laughed.  "I think what we have to discuss will make you happy."  She flipped open the folder on her desk.  "About a month ago, the town commissioner contacted Koran to tell him that someone approached him concerning some land."  She held up her hand to stop Lance from speaking when he opened his mouth.  "I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed that you didn't come to me when you found out I owned the land, you know I would gladly give it to you."

"We don't want you to split up your land.  It has belonged to your family for centuries."  Lance told her.

Allura picked up a piece of paper, "Which is why you're only getting an acre."

His mouth fell open, "What?  But you can't…"

"Of course I can, the papers have been drawn up and…"

"Allura, we can't ask you…

"Lance, you didn't ask me.  I'm giving it to you.  An unsolicited gift.  So don't give me any of that crap about not being able to accept it.  Is an acre not enough?"

"It's more than enough," Darcy spoke up.

"Because you both know you guys have full access to the castle grounds, the lake, the woods, everything."  She slid the paper across the desk toward them.  "So, what do you think?"

Lance looked at Darcy, this was more than he could have hoped for.  It seemed unreal, too good to be true.

"This is the deed for the land, all you need to do is sign it and it's yours."

Very slowly, he reached over and took the paper off the desk.  Darcy leaned over and read over his shoulder.

"Allura, we can't just take it.  We'll pay for…"

Allura sighed deeply, "Lance, I'm tired, my feet hurt, my back hurts, and I have to go to the bathroom.  Don't argue with me.  Sign it so I can have Koran notarize it and I can go to the bathroom."

Keith walked around and stood behind his wife, "Just take it."

"I, uh, I don't know what to say," Lance whispered looking at the papers in his hand.

"How about 'thank you'?"  Keith coached.

Lance jumped to his feet and went around the back of the desk, "Thank you Allura!"  He threw his arms around her neck and kissed her on the top of the head.  "I don't know if we can ever thank you enough."  He helped her to her feet and hugs and kisses and thank you's were passed around.

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

"So we're going to put together the plans now, but we won't start building until the spring."  Darcy explained.  She and Becca were in Becca's room, packing her suitcases.

"This all happened rather quickly, didn't it?"  Becca asked, folding a sweater and placing it in a bag.

"Yeah, but we're really excited about it.  Next summer when you come and visit you can stay at our house, rather than the castle."

Becca didn't respond.

Darcy sat on the bed, "You okay, Becs?"

"Yeah," she sighed and sat on the bed beside her sister.  "I just…I just…I don't want to leave Pidge."

"You aren't going to quit school, are you?"


"No, I can't do that.  I want to get my degree, I've been working so long and so hard for this.  I just wish I didn't have to leave to do it."

Darcy leaned against her sister, "You'll be back in a few months for Christmas, then it'll only be a few more months until next summer."

"And Pidge said he took a week off for my birthday."  Becca added.

"And with emailing and calls, you won't even have a chance to miss him."

"Yeah," Becca mumbled, standing to finish her packing.

"What do you have planned for tonight?"

"I don't know, Pidge won't tell me."

Darcy zippered up the suitcase she had been filling, "It looks like you're pretty much done."

"Yeah."

Darcy smiled wanly, "It's been really great having you here, Becca."

"Thank you, Darcy," Becca jumped to her feet, suddenly feeling ungrateful.  "I have had so much fun here, it's been great seeing you and Schuyler…"

"And Pidge."

Becca laid her suitcases on the floor and turned to hug her sister, "It went by so fast."

"It did, too fast."

"Wow, this is like my fantasy come true."

They jumped apart and turned to see Lance standing in the doorway with Schuyler.

"Geez, Lance, must you turn everything into something dirty?"  Darcy asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Well, could you at least keep it clean in front of the kid?"

"I'll try.  How's it going, Bec?"

She looked around the room, "I think I'm ready to go in the morning."

"The ship is set to take off at 0800."

"Great."

"Well, I have come to spirit away my wife," Lance held his hand out to Darcy.

"Spirit me away?"  Darcy asked, taking his hand.

"At the request of a certain Green Lion Pilot."

"Real subtle, Lance," Pidge said from behind him.

"I didn't name names," Lance pointed out, wrapping his arm around Darcy's shoulders and leading her from the room.

"Yeah, thanks man."  Pidge muttered as they left the room.

The door slid shut and the two of them stood in an awkward silence.

"So…"  Becca twisted her hands behind her back.

"So," Pidge looked around the room, noticing how empty it looked.

"So," Becca smiled, "are we going to spend our last evening together in uneasy silence."

"I hope not," Pidge returned her smile, weakly.  He walked into the room and sat on the bed.  "I made reservations downtown at Adrina's, then I thought we could go to the club, Half-Track's playing, and then…" He broke off when he saw the look on her face.  "What?  Don't you want to do that?"


"No, Pidge, it sounds great," she said, unconvincingly.

He stood and took her hands in his, "Or we could just stay in tonight and make the most of our last night together."

"That sounds nice."

Pidge pulled her into a hug and nuzzled her hair, "Meet me in my room in an hour."

She leaned her head back and looked up at him, "You aren't upset about having to change your plans, are you?"

"My only plans were to spend the evening with you," he whispered, capturing her lips with his.

"Sounds good to me," Becca whispered when he pulled back.

The second he left the room, Becca tore into the carefully packed suitcases, looking for something to wear.  After trying on four different shirts, three pairs of jeans, two sweaters, and three different pairs of shoes, it was time to meet him.

Her heart thudded in her chest as she approached his room.  She knew she was being silly, this was Pidge after all.  But she felt as nervous as she had on their first date.  She knocked hesitantly and stepped back, waiting for the door to open.  It didn't.  She knocked a little louder.  No answer.

"Oh, geez, Bec, sorry."  Pidge came running up the hallway.  "I got caught up."

"That's alright."  She followed him into his room.

The lights were low, just the small green shaded lamp on his desk was on.  He walked around and lit a couple of vanilla scented candles.  "I meant to have all this set up, I was trying to be romantic.  Here, I got you this."  Pidge held out a package.

"What is it?"

He rolled his eyes, "Why do girls always ask that?  Just open it and you'll find out."

Becca sat on his bed and carefully undid the tape.

"Oh, for Pete's sake, just rip it open."

"But it looks nice and you didn't have to get me anything," she insisted.  "I want to enjoy this."

Pidge paced nervously in front of her, "Well, actually, I did have to get you this."

"What do you mean?"  Becca folded the paper and pulled off the top of the box.

"Just open it and you'll see."

She pulled back the tissue paper and smiled.  Folded neatly inside was a new Buffalo Bills sweatshirt.

"They didn't have one exactly like the one you had, so I picked this one.  I ordered online and they take returns, so if you don't like it, you can return it and pick out another one."

"No, Pidge, it's great.  You didn't need to do that."

"I told you I'd get you a new shirt and I did."

Becca set the box aside and stood in front of him, "I love you, Pidge."

"I love you too," he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer.

Becca sighed when she broke the kiss, "I wish I didn't have to go tomorrow."

Pidge didn't respond, instead he pulled her tightly against him and rested his chin on her head.

"Pidge?"

"Come on," he took her hand and pulled her over to the desk.  He had cleared it off and turned it into a table.  A plain white cloth covered it, a small lamp sat to the side, and a small bud vase held a pale purple flower.

"What is all this?"  Becca asked.

"Dinner."  Pidge held out the chair for her.

The plates were laden with chicken parmigiana, garlic bread, salad. 

"Did you make this?"  Becca asked.

"Well, not really.  If I had more time I would've made something, but since I only had an hour, I took what Nanny was making for dinner tonight."  He explained.

Becca watched as Pidge poked at his food with his fork, not one morsel making it's way to his mouth.

"You want to talk about it?" She asked.

He shrugged, "I guess I'm just not hungry."

She knew what was bothering him because it was what was weighing heavily on her mind as well. She pushed her plate aside and reached across the desk to take his hand, "Darcy's all excited. When I come to visit next summer, she said their house will be done. But when I come for the holidays, I'll still have to stay in the castle. I really hope I'm not over staying my welcome with Allura."

"Nah, you couldn't do that. Allura loves having visitors, she loves having the castle full."

"And whenever you feel the need to visit Terra, you always have a place to stay."

He looked up and gave her a weak smile, "And that will be as often as I can swing it. But I don't want to get in the way of your studies."

"You could never be in the way. I'll even let you quiz me."

"I, uh…" Pidge stopped, not sure how to continue.

"What is it?" She asked quietly.

"I don't want tonight to end," he blurted out. "It brings us closer to you leaving."

Becca felt her heart sink.

"I shouldn't have said that."

"No, it's okay. I feel the same way, Pidge."

"But I don't want you to feel bad," he told her. "I don't want you to feel like I'm trying to make you feel guilty or anything."

"I know," she murmured.

Pidge sat back in his chair and looked at her across the desk. The flickering shadows played across her face, making her features look sharper than they were. Her eyes were cast down as she toyed with the edge of her napkin. He felt terrible about saying what he did. He didn't want her to go, but he wasn't going to say anything, he didn't want to make her feel bad. He wanted her to return to Terra happy.

He stood and walked around the desk. "Becca," he offered her a hand.

She took his hand and stood beside him, allowing herself to be pulled into a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck and felt silent tears well in her eyes, eventually falling.

Pidge felt the warm tears fall against his skin as she buried her face in his throat. He tightened his arms around her and swallowed around the lump in his throat. It was going to be hard watching her leave. Even though she had only been on Arus for two months, he had grown used to having her there and it was going to be real hard letting her go.

He kissed the top of her head and she leaned back to look at him, trying valiantly to stop her tears.

"I love you," he whispered.

She smiled weakly, "I love you too."

Pidge leaned down and kissed her gently. Becca tightened her arms around him and deepened the kiss. They moved awkwardly backwards and ended up on the bed, hands and mouths moving hungrily. They couldn't get close enough, touch each other enough. It started out fast and hungry and became slow and gentle.

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


"Wow," Becca whispered.

She was curled up beside him, her head on his chest, while she tried to catch her breath.

Pidge smiled, running his fingers through her hair. "Did I make you weak in the knees again?"

"Yes, and other places too."

He chuckled, "I want you to know that I didn't plan this. I didn't mean for it to go this far, I mean, well, I don't know what I mean."

She rolled over and propped herself up on his chest, "Are you saying you're sorry we did this?"

"Oh God no! I'm glad we did. I just didn't want you to think I invited you here tonight to take advantage of you."

Becca raised an eyebrow, "You didn't take advantage of me. I don't do anything I don't want to do."

"I know," he brushed his hand up and down her back, smiling when she shivered. "If anything, you took advantage of me."

She snorted, "Yeah right."

"Hey, I'm just an innocent young computer programmer who was jumped on by an aggressive med student who just happens to have studied anatomy."

She looked at him, incredulous. But whatever retort she could think of died on her lips as she laughed. "You're hardly innocent!"

"Well, I was before I started seeing you."

"Anyone who has spent as much time with Lance as you have can hardly be considered innocent any more."

"True."

She watched as the expression on his face changed and became more serious. Sighing, she leaned down and kissed him, "It's just a few more months until I'll be back."

"I know."

"So, we should make the most of tonight," she laid her head back down on his chest.

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

Loud, insistent knocking pounded it's way into Becca's sleep addled mind. It took her a moment to figure out where she was. She was lying on her side, facing Pidge's back, her arm around his stomach and her forehead resting between his shoulder blades.

She groaned as the knocking was joined by a loud voice, "Rebecca Anne Barlow! I know you're in there! Get up! It's late and for some unknown reason you unpacked everything we packed yesterday. Get out of bed so we can get your stuff back together!" Darcy yelled through the door.

Pidge smiled as she groaned and tightened her arm around him. He took her hand in his, rolled over, and whispered, "She isn't going to go away."

Becca cuddled closer to him, pressing her face into his shoulder and mumbled, "I want the world to just go away."

"Come on, Becs, you need to get moving," he reluctantly pushed her aside and sat up.

She rolled on her back and looked up at the ceiling, a feeling of dread washing over her. "What if I said I didn't want to go? What if I decided to not go back to school, I'll just stay here forever."

"You would regret it for the rest of your life and your father would fly out here to kill both of us."

She sat up, clutching the blankets to her and looked at him, "Promise me you'll write me often and come visit whenever you can."

"I promise," he leaned over and kissed her.

"I'll be back in a few months."

"I've already started ticking off the days on my calendar."

Becca threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly, "I love you, Pidge."

"I love you too."

"Dammit, Rebecca," Darcy yelled. "Come on! Before you miss your flight!"

"Is there a later flight I can take?" She whispered into Pidge's ear.

"No. Come on, you're only making this more difficult."

"I know," with a heavy sigh, she stood and went about gathering up her clothes.

"What possessed you to unpack everything?" Darcy stood with her hands on her hips when the door slid open.

"I needed something to wear," Becca muttered, pushing past her into the hall.

Darcy's expression changed and she fell into step with her sister, "I know how hard this is for you, but you'll be back before you know it."

Becca nodded.

"Let's get your stuff together, I know Nanny is putting together a special breakfast for you."

The entire crew was seated around the table when they arrived a while later. Nanny had gone all out. Plates of waffles, eggs, sausage, home fries, and toast covered the table.

"We can't have you starting on that long trip without a good meal," Nanny said, ushering her to her seat beside Pidge.

"Looks like someone worked up quite an appetite," Lance commented as Pidge shoveled eggs into his mouth.

Darcy smacked his hand, "Behave yourself."

"What? I'm just saying…"

"We know what you're saying and it's better left unsaid."

"For all I know he just went for a five mile run, but nooo, you have to go and assume I meant something else."

"You always mean something else."

"Children," Keith warned. "Let's play nice or we'll have to separate the two of you."

"Yeah, but when they play nice, it turns into a rather sickening display," Dante pointed out.

"Let's try for some good behavior then." Keith said.

"I am really going to miss this," Becca whispered to Pidge.

"No whispering at the table," Hunk announced. "It's rude."

"I don't think we want to know what she was whispering to him," Caleb pointed out.

Lance swallowed a mouthful of juice and said, "I think it's time for Caleb to get a woman." He turned to his wife, "We all seem to have good luck with the Barlow women, what about your cousin Gina?"

"She, uh, she enjoys the company of woman," Becca said.

"What?" Darcy choked on her toast. "When did that happen?"

"She came out a last Christmas, I can't believe I didn't tell you."

"No, what did Grandma say?"

"She's in denial."

"Alright, what about June?" Lance asked.

"Engaged," Becca told him.

"Hey, Lance," Hunk spoke up.  "What about your sister?  Isn't Leslie available?"

"You lay a finger on my sister and I'll rip your hand off."


"How about you don't try to set me up," Caleb suggested.

"Oh, so you can offer up members of my family, but you can't allow him to hook up with your sister?"  Darcy asked.

"That's different."

"How so?"

Giving himself time to think, Lance stuffed half a waffle into his mouth.

"That's disgusting, Lance."  Becca said.

He shrugged and mumbled something through his full mouth.

"I think Dante and Leslie would make a great couple," Keith said, conversationally.

Darcy pounded on Lance's back as he choked on some waffle.

"That's not funny!"  Lance coughed as he choked out the words.

Koran appeared in the doorway and cleared his throat.  "Your bags are on the ship, Miss Barlow, and take off is in fifteen minutes."

"Oh dear," Nanny jumped to her feet.  "I'll put together some food for you to take with you."

Becca slowly got to her feet and walked around to Allura, "Thank you so much for letting me come."

Allura smiled at her, "We were more than happy to have you, you're welcome whenever you want to come."

"And I want to hear as soon as the babies are born."

Keith stood, "We'll give you a call.  Come back any time."  He gave her a quick hug.

She said her good byes to everyone else.  Lance, Darcy, Schuyler, and Pidge escorted her to the tarmac.  Lance and Darcy led the way while Becca and Pidge loitered behind, walking slowly, neither one speaking.

"Good bye, Becs, have a safe trip," Darcy pulled her into a tight hug.  "Let me know as soon as you get home.  Send Mom and Dad my love."

"I will."

Lance threw an arm around her and gave her a quick, brotherly squeeze, "Take care of yourself, kiddo.  We'll see you in a few months and just think, this time next year, we'll have our own place and you'll always have a room there."

"Thanks Lance," she returned his hug and dropped a kiss on Schuyler's head.  "Good bye, little Sky.  Next time I see you, it'll be time for Santa."

Nanny scurried out on to the tarmac, clutching a bag.  "Here, there are enough sandwiches and whatnot to keep you fed for the trip home."

"Thank you, Nanny."

"Come visit us again soon."

"I will," Becca smiled at the older woman.  "Thank you."

Lance and Darcy stepped aside, giving Becca and Pidge the illusion of privacy.  Not that they needed it.  As soon as she stood in front of him, everyone and everything around them disappeared.

"Pidge…"

"Becca…"

They laughed awkwardly.

"Go ahead," he whispered.

"I'm going to miss you," she threw her arms around him.

"I'm going to miss you too, Bec," he turned and kissed her hair before bringing his lips to her ear and whispering, "Remember that I am always thinking of you.  If you ever feel lonely or overwhelmed, just remember I'm thinking of you and I'm here for you if you ever need me."

Becca drew in a shaking breath and pulled back to look him in the eye, "The same goes for you.  And I promise not to study anatomy with anyone but you."

He smiled weakly, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Pidge cupped the back of her head and kissed her, allowing the intensity of his feelings to flow into her.  Becca felt her knees weaken as she clutched the back of his shirt, tears spilling from her eyes, moistening his cheeks.

"Bec," Darcy said gently.

Becca pulled back, her cheeks wet and her lips swollen.  "I'll let you know as soon as I'm back on Terra."

He nodded, "Please do."

Becca was reluctant to let go of his hand and held it until both their arms were out stretched.  The four of them stood on the tarmac and watched her board.  She saw Darcy go to stand beside Pidge, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.  They all waved as the ship took off, speeding her off Arus and towards Terra.

On board, Becca brushed her shaking fingers over her tingling lips and toyed with the delicate necklace she wore.  It was only going to be a couple of more months.

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

AN:  Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up.  You know how it is when life gets in the way.  Thank you all for your wonderful support and reviews.  The gears are turning and I have been giving thought to a fluffy holiday story and a K&A story.  When I get time, I'll put them together and post them.

MustangAce~ I have to say that I was in no way putting down the Buffalo Bills, I thought of it as more of a tribute and I'm speaking as someone who has boxes of Flutie Flakes and Kelly Krunch proudly on display in my kitchen ;-)  I come from a long line of Bills fans and I have been one since 6th grade (and that predates the 90s, so you can't accuse me of jumping any bandwagons).  The Becca I imagine is a bit of a tomboy and a sports fan.  Since she and Darcy are from Toronto, I thought I would make her a Buffalo fan.  Go Bills! 

RedLion, Queen Merla, QuikerKookie, Craze, Anony ~ Thank you all so much for your wonderful, helpful reviews and support! 

Thanks everyone!
Failte