Darcy woke early the next morning, not really sure what it was that woke her.  Something hot was pressed against her back.  She rolled over and saw the back of Lance's head. 

"Lance," she murmured, laying a hand on his arm, shocked at how warm he felt.  She brought her hand to his forehead and gasped.  "Lance, honey, wake up."

He sighed and burrowed deeper into his pillow.

She remembered how he hadn't eaten much at dinner the night before and when she commented about how pale he looked, he had waved her off, saying he was fine.  "Lance," she said more insistently, pushing on his shoulder.

He rolled over, his eyes squeezed shut, "What?  What's wrong?" 

"Honey, you're burning up," she cupped his cheeks with her hands.  "I'm going to get Dr. Gorma."

He nodded and rolled back onto his side.

The fact that he didn't argue had Darcy pushing the blankets off and rushing for the phone on the desk.  It was connected to an internal system that allowed them to call the hospital wing, Castle Control, the guards' quarters, and the kitchen. 

"Yes?"

Darcy didn't recognize the voice of the nurse who answered the phone, "Uh, yes, this is Darcy Collier, my husband, Lt. Collier is burning up with a fever.  Is Dr. Gorma available?"

"I'll alert him.  Can the Lieutenant make it to the hospital wing?"

"I, uh," Darcy glanced over and saw Lance curled up in the fetal position, cocooned in the blankets.  "No, he can't."

"Alright, I'll tell Dr. Gorma, he'll be there as soon as possible."

"Thank you."  Darcy hung up the phone and turned to face the bed.  The clock read 6:13 am.  The castle would be walking over the next half hour.  His parents were due in this afternoon.  She sat on the edge of the bed and brushed the hair off his forehead, "Lance, honey?"

"Hm?"

"Dr. Gorma's on his way.  How do you feel?"

"Pretty crappy."

"Why didn't you say something earlier?"

He sighed and rolled onto his back, "I thought it would pass.  I can't be sick now."

"Don't worry about anything, it's just important for you to get well.  Can I get you anything?"

He shook his head and closed his eyes.

Darcy stood and turned on the light.  She stopped when she heard Schuyler crying through the baby monitor. 

"Go," Lance mumbled into his pillow.  "Leave the door open for Dr. Gorma and go take care of the baby."

She pursed her lips, torn.

"Go Darcy."

"Okay, let me know if you need anything."  She glanced at him once more before entering the nursery.

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

Darcy had just finished buttoning up Schuyler's overalls when Dr. Gorma knocked on the door to the nursery.

"Yes, Dr. Gorma, how is he?"


The older man walked into the room, "The best way to describe it is to say it's very similar to the influenza you have on Terra.  But luckily, it usually passes quickly."


She nodded, "What do we do?"

"He needs rest and we need to try and keep fluids in him.  I left some medicine that will help lower his fever."

"How long will he be sick?"

"Well, if he gets enough rest and can keep enough down to keep up his strength, he'll start to feel better in a few days."

"What about the baby?"  Darcy asked.

"Keep her away from him.  I would even suggest you move her out of here for now, maybe she can share the nursery with the young Princess.  You might not want to share the bed with him for a few days."

"I'm not going to leave him alone."

He smiled at her, "I know you want to care for him, but I don't think you want to get sick too.  Get plenty of rest and I suggest you do that in a bed other than the one next door."

She sighed, "Where did he get this?"

"Some of the guards have been sick, but they've all taken off from work.  To be honest, I'm surprised he's the only one who's come down with it, but he does tend to work with the guards the most, doesn't he?"

"Yeah," Darcy settled Schuyler on her hip.  "This couldn't have come at a worse time.  His parents are coming in today and Christmas is just over a week away."

"He should be better by then, just make sure he gets some rest.  I'll be in to check on him."  Dr. Gorma turned to the door.  "Oh, and if you start to feel unwell, or if the baby starts to show signs of illness, let me know right away."


"Okay, I will, thank you very much Dr. Gorma, for everything."

He nodded to her and left.

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

Becca had just finished getting dressed when there was a knock on her door.  Grinning, she opened the door, expecting Pidge but finding her mother.  "Uh, hi Mom, good morning."  She forgot, Pidge was on duty and she wouldn't see him for a couple of hours.

"Good morning, dear, how did you sleep?"  Lucy Barlow walked past her daughter and entered the room.

"Good.  You?"

"Good, good.  It's a lovely room, really."

"Yup."

"So, what do you have planned for today?"
 

Becca sat on the bed and tucked her legs under her, "I thought we were going to go into town."

Lucy sat beside her daughter, "Is Pidge coming with us?"

Becca blushed a bit and nodded.

"So, is he the real reason you visited this summer?"

She looked up at her mother, surprised.

"Oh, come on, Becca, I'm not stupid.  I know you two hit it off at Darcy's wedding and you wrote and called each other frequently. And a boy doesn't give you a necklace like that," she indicated the silver caduceus Becca wore around her neck, "if you're just a friend.  How come you didn't tell me?"

Becca shrugged, "I don't know.  I guess we weren't really sure how to tell you guys, I mean, Dad wasn't too keen on the idea of Darcy and Lance, so I can only imagine what he would think if he found out I was seeing one of the other Voltron pilots."

"Oh, honey, you have to understand, we met Lance under, um, not very comfortable circumstances.  And Darcy had just been shot, we were worried and upset.  You know we love Lance and we're glad he and your sister are so happy.  I don't want you to think you can't come to us with this.  We want you to be happy."

"I am happy."

"Well, we don't want this to get in the way of your studies, you have worked so hard and so long…"

"It's not getting in the way, Mom, he makes me happy."

Lucy smiled at her, "Tell me about him."  And she watched as her youngest daughter's face lit up while she talked about Pidge.  She became animated and excited while she extolled his virtues.

"I've never known anyone like him.  He is so smart and sweet.  He is kinda shy, which is why he was so quiet last night, but once you get past that he is such a great guy, Mom."

"I'm glad you found someone who makes you so happy, dear, but what about the distance?"

"We're dealing with that."

"It can't be easy."

Becca looked down at her hands, "It's not.  But we email each other practically every day, we call each other when we can, and I'm coming back this summer and Pidge is planning to come to Terra for my birthday."

Lucy patted her knee, "I want you to know you can come to me about anything, dear."

"We were going to take you guys to lunch and talk to you then, tell you all about us."

"I promise to keep your father in line."

"Thanks, Mom," Becca smiled at her.

"I'll go see if your father is ready to go down for breakfast," Lucy stood and crossed the room.  "When do you want to head into town?"

"Well, Pidge is on duty until ten, so how about eleven?"

"Sounds good, I know Darcy wants to go too and I want to go see Schuyler."

Becca smiled, "Alright, I'll see you in a few minutes for breakfast.  Do you know how to get to the dining room?"

"Darcy is going to come and get us.  Maybe I should ask her for a tour of the castle again," Lucy opened the door and jumped when she saw Darcy standing there, her hand raised to knock.

"Geez, Ma, you just about gave me a heart attack," Darcy laid a hand to her chest.

"Good morning to you too," Lucy said wryly.

"We have a change of plans today," Darcy told her.  "Lance is sick, so I thought you would like to babysit for the day."

"I would love to," Lucy held out her hands to take the baby and the diaper bag Darcy had, then listened as her daughter went through a list of instructions.  Lucy nodded and tucked her tongue in her cheek while she pretended to have no idea how to care for a baby and let Darcy explain what to feed her and how to change her diaper.

"Is Lance okay?"  Becca asked.

"Dr. Gorma said it's like the flu, he'll be alright in a few days.  I don't want Sky to be sick for Christmas, so I'll probably set her up in Cady's room."

"Nonsense," Lucy said.  "She can stay with us."

"But, Ma, she gets up really early and…"

"You know, Darcy, I raised you and your sister, I have an idea how to handle a baby."

Darcy smile gratefully, "Thanks Ma, I'll get her stuff together later.  I'm really sorry I can't go into town with you guys."

"Oh that's alright, it will give us time to get to know Becca's new beau."

Darcy raised her eyebrows questioningly, "Oh, really?"

"Can we be mature about this?"  Becca pleaded, taking Schuyler from her mother.

"No," Darcy and Lucy said at the same time.

Becca snorted, "Well, that was scary."

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

At 10:30, Becca went in search of Pidge.  She figured she would give him a little time after he got off duty before she went to talk to him.

"Who is it?"  He called through the door when she knocked.

"It's me," she called back.

"Uh, yeah, give me a second."


She heard some rustling around and then it sounded like he banged into the desk and he swore before telling her to come in.

"Are you okay?"  She asked, entering the room.

He stood beside his desk, shirtless, water dripping from his wet hair, rubbing his hip, "I just got out of the shower."

"Really?  I hadn't noticed."

"Smartass.  I can't find my glasses," he mumbled, a little embarrassed.

"You lost your glasses?"

"I thought I had left them on the table beside my bed, but they aren't there."

Becca walked around to the side of the bed and looked, finding them on the floor half way under the bed.  "Here they are."

"Where were they?"

"They had fallen onto the floor."

"What would I do without you?"  He asked, taking the glasses from her.

"Walk into the wall?"

"Did you come here to make fun of me?"

"No, I came here to ogle you."

"Ogle me?"

She smiled slyly, "Well, you are standing there, half-naked."

"I prefer to think I'm half-dressed."

"Always the pessimist," she sighed.

He laughed, "You're such a flirt."

"Yeah, but you love that about me."

"Among other things," he admitted, giving her a quick kiss.

Becca ran her finger up his bare arm, feeling the goosebumps, wondering if they were from her or if he was cold.  "We have half an hour before we have to meet my parents."

"Becca, behave yourself."  He warned.

"And if I don't?"

"I'm nervous enough about talking to your parents, let's not make it worse."

"Do I make you nervous?"

"No, you do something entirely different to me."

She brought her arms up around his neck, "Oh yeah?  Like what?"

"You know what," he muttered, capturing her lips with his in a deep, drawn out kiss.

Without breaking contact, Becca ran her hand down his shoulder, across his chest and around his back, feeling as much of him as she could.  He groaned against her mouth, tightening a hand in her hair. 

Very reluctantly, Pidge pulled away, "I have to finish getting dressed."

"I think you look fine as you are."

"Uh huh," he turned and walked to his closet.  "So your parents know I'm tagging along?"

"Well, here's the thing," Becca sat on the edge of his bed.  "Lance is sick, so he and Darcy aren't joining us."

"So it'll just be the four of us?"

"The five of us."

Pidge looked at her, questioningly.

"We have the baby with us."


"This keeps getting better and better," he mumbled.

"Hey, what's wrong with Schuyler?"  Becca asked, defensively.

"What?  Oh, nothing, I love Sky, you know that.  I just don't think it'll be any easier getting the third degree from your father while the constant reminder of Lance's pre-marital fooling around with your sister is sitting in a stroller right beside him."

Becca laughed, "Need I remind you that you partook in some pre-marital fooling around with me."

"Yeah, well…I don't know how to respond to that."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, my mother knows all about us, she approves and she promised to keep Dad in line."

Pidge buttoned up his shirt, "She's a little woman and he's a rather large man.  Should I wear a tie?"

"You would be surprised what she is capable of.  No, you don't need to dress up that much and you'd be tugging at it the entire time."

"Alright, come on, lets get this show on the road," he mumbled, attaching his communicator to his belt and grabbing his watch off the dresser.

"You're so cute when you're nervous," she teased, taking his hand.

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

"How long have you been with the Voltron Force?"

"We've been on Arus together for just over eight years now."

"And the Garrison hasn't reassigned you?"

"We all resigned from the Garrison, except for Caleb and Dante, after the defeat of Doom and took up permanent residence here on Arus."

"So you work for the royal family now?"

"The Arusian military, sir."

"And do you see yourself still living in the castle in five or ten years?"  Howard asked Pidge across the table.

"I, uh, I don't know."  Pidge said.  Thirty minutes of questions about his past and future combined with discussions about how this affects Becca's future were starting to wear on him.

"Come on, Dad, that's enough," Becca spoke up. "We've only been dating for a few months.  Back off a little."

"I just can't believe that both my daughters have gotten involved with men on the Voltron Force.  What happens when you finish school, Rebecca?"

"Yeah, well, here's the thing," Becca took a nervous sip of her drink.  "I've talked to Dr. Gorma, the castle physician, and he offered me an internship here so I could eventually take over for him when he retires."

Lucy's eyes widened, "That's quite a commitment.  What if something happens between the two of you before then?"

"I agreed to Dr. Gorma's offer because I want to come to Arus, I really like it here.  I did it for myself," Becca assured her.  "He is an amazing doctor and I really think I can learn a lot from him."

Lucy nodded, obviously approving of her daughter's answer.

Under the table, Becca squeezed Pidge's knee reassuringly, "So where did you guys want to go after lunch?"

"I think we'll have to go back to the castle for Schuyler's nap," Lucy told her.

"Oh, I had hoped we could do a little shopping," Becca said.

"We can.  Um, you can take the car back up to the castle, Mrs. Barlow."  Pidge said.

"How will you get back?"  Howard asked.  "It's too cold to walk back in this."

"I have my communicator with me, we can call for a car."

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

"That wasn't so bad," Becca said fifteen minutes later as they waved after the car carrying her parents and niece back to the castle.

"Yeah."

She laughed and took his hand, "You can breathe now, honey."

"Bear with me, that was the first time I ever had to officially meet the parents."

"Really?"

"Uh, yeah, Bec," he blushed slightly.  "You're my first real, long-term girlfriend."

She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek, "Come on, I still need to find a few gifts."

"Good, I was hoping you could help me."

"Who else do you need to shop for?"  She asked as they started toward the shops.

"Everyone."

"Everyone?  Christmas is just a week away!"

"Nine days and that's plenty of time."

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

Darcy sighed deeply when her communicator beeped, "Yes, Lance?"

"Can I have some juice?"  He whined, pitifully.

She snapped the communicator shut and walked into their room, "You realize, don't you, that I'm in the nursery and you don't have to page me when you want something."

"I know, I'm just too weak to call out."

"But you're not too weak to get your communicator and dial me up?"

The only part of Lance visible through his cocoon of blankets were his nose and eyes, "Please, some juice."

She smiled, "I'll go get it."

"Are my parents here yet?"


"Their ship was delayed, they won't be here until later this afternoon, I told you that earlier."

"Sorry," he coughed weakly.  "I didn't remember.  Where's the baby?"

Darcy rolled her eyes, she had told him all this already.  "She's taking her nap in my parent's room."

"What are you doing in the nursery?"

"Wrapping Christmas presents."

"Mine?"

"Oh, there is one or two for you."

"Can I have one now?"

"No, Lance."

"Please?  I'm sick."

She laughed, "You're as bad as a child.  I'll get you some juice but you can not open a present."

"With a straw?"

"I'll see if I can find a straw."

"And I need some more tissues."

"Alright."

"No wait."

Darcy stopped, her hand on the keypad to open the door, "What is it, Lance?"

"Instead of juice could I have tea?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want anything in it?"

"No."

"Okay, tea and tissues, anything else?"

"Well, maybe some lemon in the tea."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

"Wait."

Darcy stopped and closed her eyes, I love him, she thought to herself.  I love him, I do, really I do.  "Yes, honey, what is it?"

"Can you hand me the remote to the televiewer?"

Biting her lip, she walked over and picked up the remote off the bedside table, six inches away from where he was lying, and handed it to him.  "I'll be right back."

Nanny and Allura were in the kitchen sitting at the table drinking tea and eating sandwiches when Darcy walked in.

"How's Lance?"  Allura asked.


"He got the flu and has turned into a five year old child."  Darcy muttered, filling the kettle and putting it on the stove. "Where are all the munchkins?"

"The boys are asleep and Keith took Cady shopping for my Christmas present, so I have fifteen minutes of quiet."  She smiled.

"When are the Lieutenant's parents arriving?"  Nanny asked.

"They should be here around four.  When is Keith's mother coming?"

"Day after tomorrow," Allura told her.

"And Dante and Caleb are both leaving to go home tonight, right?"

"Yup, they'll be back after the new year."

Darcy sat on the vacant chair beside Allura, "Are we ready to take on the holidays?"

"Let's see, with four young kids, five grandparents, and a sick second-in-command, I think this could be fun."  Allura assured her.