Hi all!

Thank you so much for your incredible reviews and patience.  I do have a laptop, I just didn't want to lug it half way across the country, especially since I already had my two carry-on bags ;-)

I didn't intend for this chapter to be this long or this fluffy, but I couldn't stop my fingers as they raced across the keyboard.  I guess I wanted to even out the darkness of the previous chapter.

I hope you enjoy it!

Failte

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

"Over dere!"  Sven shouted.

Keith was already ahead of him, running toward the door guarded by three soldiers.  They had spotted Lotor turning down that hall just ahead of them, "Lotor!"


The Doomian Prince didn't stop or look over his shoulder.  Haggar was supposed to be helping him, where was she?  Damn witch!  Shots were fired around him, he hissed in pain as one grazed his shoulder. 

"Dammit Lotor!  Where is she?"  Keith yelled, a few feet separating them.

Lotor didn't respond, his feet pounding the floor.  He drew closer to the room where the Princess was.  The three guards he had posted there all turned, weapons at the ready.  Two of the guards were shot down by Sven, the third fired, accidentally hitting Lotor in the leg.  Slowed by his injury, Lotor was tackled by Keith while Sven disposed of the last guard.

Pressing the muzzle of his gun against Lotor's skull, Keith hissed, "Where is she, you son of a bitch?"

Lotor swallowed, his leg throbbing painfully, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Keith pulled back his fist and slammed it into the smug, lavender face of his enemy.  "I will kill you."

~I'm in here~

It was barely a whisper, but Keith heard it.  He raised his head, "Allura!"

~Keith.~

Again, it was just a whisper, barely audible.


"Keit?"  Sven asked, worriedly, watching as his friend whipped his head around.

"She's here," Keith said, getting off Lotor and rushing over to the door.  "Allura!"

No answer.

He ran his hand over the door, slamming his fist on the keypad.  He turned, Sven had his weapon trained on Lotor.  "Open the door."

Lotor remained silent.

Sven prodded him with the gun.

"Open the fucking door!"  Keith shouted.

Lotor raised his gaze and stared defiantly at the Captain.

Keith pulled back his arm and hit Lotor square in the face, sending the man backwards, hitting his head on the stone floor. 

"Captain!"

"Over here, Lance!"  Sven shouted as Keith tried opening the door.

"Hunk open it!"  Keith demanded desperately.

The big man ran over.  Taking a Leatherman tool from his belt, he popped the cover off the board.  Cutting and crossing a few wires, Hunk stepped back when the door slid open.

Keith raced in and fell to his knees when he saw her.  "Oh God."

Allura was laid out on the bed, the blankets pushed down to her knees.  Her nightgown was spread open, leaving her essentially topless, her body covered in cuts and bruises, her arm in a sling and pushed back to the side in what looked like a painful angle.  Her skin was a faint yellow color, her lips cracked and dried blood pooled in the corner of her mouth.

He found some solace in the fact that she was unconscious.  Hoping she was unaware of what had happened to her, Keith crawled over to the bed.  Relief swept through him when he saw the slow rise and fall of her chest, she was breathing, she was alive.

The others turned, embarrassed for the Princess, seeing her in this condition.  Lance and Hunk stood outside the door, keeping watch, while Sven and Pidge stood just inside the door to back them up.

With shaking hands, Keith pulled her nightgown together and wrapped the blanket around her.  She was limp in his arms as he carefully lifted her and cradled her to his chest.

Lance looked up as he approached the door, "Keith…"

"Don't talk to me right now."

"What should we do with asshole, here?"  Lance nudged Lotor's still body.


"Shoot him."

"Keit," Sven said tiredly.

"Fine, restrain him, tightly, wrists, ankles, mouth.  Drop him off at the Garrison outpost on Zettle, it's between here and Arus.  I'm taking Allura straight home."

"I'll go with you," Pidge said.  "You might need some coverage."

Keith nodded and turned to leave.  He stopped when he saw Haggar blocking his way.

"Where do you think you're going?"  She asked casually, stroking her cat.

All four men moved as one, surrounding Keith and raising their weapons.  They all fired at once, their lasers hitting the spot where Haggar had been standing a second before.

"Dammit!"  Lance swore and swung around, searching the hallway.

Both Haggar and Lotor were gone. 

"Go Keith!"  Lance shouted.  "We'll get Blue and contact the Garrison about cleaning all this up."

Keith looked down at the limp, beaten body of the woman he loved and nodded.

"I got your back, Cap," Pidge said, following Keith closely, his weapon in hand.

They raced back to the Lions, Keith's injured arm throbbed, but he ignored the pain.  Two Doom soldiers laid their weapons down when Pidge turned his blaster on them.

"Let Lance deal with them," Keith muttered through clenched teeth after Pidge had disarmed them.

It was a struggle for him, but with Pidge's help, Keith was finally able to secure Allura in the fold down seat in Black's cockpit.

"You alright to fly?"  Pidge asked, watching Keith slap a bandage on his arm.

"Yeah," Keith assured him.  "We've got a long trip, let's get a move on."

"Yes sir."

Within seconds, the two Lions were in the air.  Keith contacted Castle Control and told them they had the Princess and were heading home.

"Have Dr. Gorma standing by, she's, uh, she's pretty beat up."

Koran nodded grimly, noticing the way Keith's voice cracked, "Call us when you get closer."

"We will."

"Be careful, Captain."

Keith nodded and closed the connection.

He flipped on autopilot and turned to look at Allura.  Her head hung to the side and her hands lay limply in her lap, her wrists red and raw where the shackles had cut into her skin.  The blanket he had wrapped her in was starting to fall.  With shaking fingers, he did up the buttons of her nightgown, feeling embarrassed for her and afraid to touch her.

With a quiet gasp, Allura's eyes fluttered open.  "What's going on?"  She murmured, slurring her words.

"It's okay, honey, we're going home," Keith whispered, bringing his hand up to cup her cheek.

"Keith?"

"Yeah, Allura, it's me.  We're in Black, we're going home."

A tear slid down her cheek, "L-Lotor said you wouldn't come.  He said you left me for dead."

"Oh no, honey," he lifted her face in his hands so she could see him better.  "I would never do that.  So help me, Allura, I will never give up on you, I will always come for you."

"He drugged me," she whispered, tears racing down her cheeks.  "I can't move."

Keith felt the rage rise within him as a painful lump formed in his throat.  "It'll be alright, Allura, I'll get you home and Dr. Gorma will fix you up."

"I like it when you call me honey," she muttered.

He smiled and kissed her gently on the forehead, "Rest, honey, and when you wake up we'll be on Arus."

Her eyelids lowered slowly.  Keith grabbed a jacket he had stowed in a compartment behind his seat and rolled it up, placing it carefully between her head and her shoulder, supporting her head.

It was a quiet ride, Keith would frequently reach over and grip her hand or stroke her cheek, just to assure himself she was still there.  Three hours into the trip, Lance contacted him to report they had found Blue and that they had turned the Doom soldiers over to the Garrison officials.

"Sounds good," Keith's voice was hoarse with exhaustion and emotion.  "How's Sven holding up?"

"Like he never stopped flying, how's the Princess?"

"He drugged her.  She woke up a while ago and told me she couldn't move, I'm hoping Dr. Gorma can take care of her."

"I'm sure he can, Cap, he's the best."

"Yeah, he is.  Keep me posted on your progress."

"Will do, Keith."

After closing the connection Keith glanced over and saw Allura watching him with heavy lidded eyes.

"Hey, beautiful," he whispered, taking her hand.  "How're you feeling?"

"Very weak," she murmured.  "I…I think it's starting to wear off, my whole body is tingling, kind of like when your foot falls asleep."

"Don't push yourself."

"How much farther do we have to go?"

Keith looked at the onboard computer, "A ways."

"Keith."

"About forty hours."

Her eyes widened, "What?"

"Lotor had you in the Walerin Galaxy, that's over forty hours away from Arus."

Allura shifted her gaze and looked around the cockpit.

"I'll get you back as soon as possible."

"I know, I just…" she stopped when her left arm jerked.

Keith watched helplessly as her muscles began to spasm.  "This could be good, it means it's wearing off."

Allura closed her eyes, feeling her arms and legs jerk, "When will this stop?"

"I don't know, do you want to call Dr. Gorma?"

She shook her head, her body had stopped jerking, but was now shaking.  "Why did he do this?"

Keith sighed, "I don't know, honey.  He's evil, I don't think we could ever understand why he does what he does."

Allura pulled the blanket tighter around her, "I still feel weak, but at least I can move."

He ran his hand up and down her arm, feeling her tremble beneath his touch, "That's good, it's wearing off.  How are you, really?"

"Really?  I'm weak, but I'm okay.  Do you have anything to drink?"

Keith swiveled his seat and opened a compartment that held a canteen and some food.  "Here, it's water.  Are you hungry?"

She shook her head but greedily drank the water.

"Careful Allura, that has to hold us until we get back."

"Sorry," she swiped the back of her hand over her mouth.

"That's alright," he flashed her a reassuring smile.

"Well, we have a long trip ahead of us, what should we do?"

"I think you should try and rest, you've been through a lot and I don't want you to push yourself."

He watched as Allura pursed her lips and glared at him, her cheeks darkening.

"What is it?"  He asked.

"You don't know what I've been through, Keith."

"Do…do you want to talk about it?"

"No, not right now, I just don't want you to tell me what I should be doing."

"Sorry," he muttered sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.  "It's just that, well…I'm worried about you."

"I'm not going to fall apart, Keith, I'm…I don't know, I'm so glad to be away from Lotor and safe with you."  She took his hand in hers.

"These have been the worst six days of me life, Allura," he whispered.  "If anything had happened to you, I honestly don't know what I would have done."

Without saying a word, Allura released his hand and unbuckled her seatbelt, "Do you have autopilot on?"

Keith nodded.

With some awkward maneuvering on her still shaky legs, Allura perched herself on his knees, "I think we were discussing some kind of law before we were interrupted by Lotor."

Keith wrapped his arms loosely around her waist, "Do you really want to talk about that right now?"

"When he had me shackled up, I had a lot of time to think," she laid her head on his shoulder as he tightened his arms around her.  "I went over it in my mind how we should word it."

"Allura, I don't think now is the time to think about this."

She tilted her head back so that her mouth was beside his ear and breathed, "Thinking of you was the only thing that kept me from losing my mind and giving up hope."

Keith closed his eyes and stroked her hair as she laid her head on his shoulder.  It felt so good, so right to be holding her.  She settled against him, breathing in his scent and gathering strength from his nearness.  Pushing aside the coldness and fear that had come with Lotor touching her, Allura relished in the warmth and comfort that came with Keith's touch.

"Are you in any pain?"  He whispered after several moments of silence.

"I can handle it."

"I have pain pills in the first aid kit, I just need to…"

"I don't want you to move right now."

Keith smiled, "That sounds just fine with me.  So, what else were you thinking about?"

"I was thinking about you, us, our future."

"And what did you come up with?"

Allura tilted her head back to look up at him, "I want to be with you for a while, just date.  I've…I've never had a boyfriend before and I want to enjoy it."

He captured her lips in a gentle kiss, "That sounds like a great plan."

"I kept imagining you would like that idea."

"Oh yeah?"  Keith raised his eyebrows.  "What else did you imagine?"

"That you would burst into the room and rescue me, which you did.  And you would take me in your arms, like you are doing now, and then you would kiss me."

He did.

With a contented sigh, she settled her head against his shoulder again, "So, are you going to ask me?"

"Ask you what?"

"Ask me for a date."

Keith chuckled, "I thought that was implied."

"Well, you know I'm going to say yes, but I would still like to be asked."

"If you're going to say yes, why should I have to ask?"

She traced the patch on the chest of his flightsuit with her finger, "Because I've never been asked out before."

"What about all those Princes?"

"I've had a few marriage proposals and some guys showing interest, but I've never been asked out on a real date.  Why are you making such a big deal out of this, if you don't want to go out with me, you don't have to."

"Don't be silly, of course I want to.  Allura, would you please do me the honor of joining me for some kind of a date?  I don't really know what we would do yet, there isn't a movie theater or any restaurants, but I'll come up with something."

"No, thank you."

Keith tensed, "No?  What do you mean no?"

Allura giggled, "Of course I will!"

"You tease," he whispered, digging his finger into ribs.

She laughed and squirmed, but quickly stopped when he accidentally came in contact with a tender bruise.

"Oh, geez, Allura I am so sorry.  We were kidding around and I forgot how hurt you were, I am so so sorry."  He gushed, pulling his hand back, suddenly afraid to touch her.

"Keith, it's alright, really."  She repositioned herself, curling up closer to him.  "I'll have to get Romelle to help me pick out what to wear."

"May I suggest something in pink?"  Keith whispered into her ear.

"That's not funny."

"I thought it was."

"You would," she yawned.

"Maybe you should move back to your seat and rest."

"Nah, this is a lot more comfortable.  But if I'm too much for you…"

"Never," he tightened his arms around her again.  "I could never get tired of holding you."

"I am so glad you came for me," she whispered after a few moments of silence.

"Of course I would come for you, I will always come for you."

Swallowing hard, she admitted, "I was scared Keith, he had had me for so long and…"

"And what?"

"He, uh, he said I had been unconscious for over a day, I, uh, I don't know what he did while I was…"  She trailed off, scared to voice her concerns.

"Oh God," Keith whispered burying his face in her hair.  When he spoke again, his voice shook, "We'll have Dr. Gorma examine you, he'll find out if Lotor did anything."

Allura shuddered, "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'll never have to find out," he vowed.

She sat upright suddenly and looked at him, "Keith, what about the transfer?"

"What?"

"The transfer you put in for with the Garrison."

He closed his eyes and groaned, "I totally forgot about that."

"How do you forget about something like that?"

He opened his eyes and looked at her, "I've kind of had other things on my mind lately."

Biting her lip, Allura brought her hand up and brushed her fingers over his cheek, tracing his jaw, "You need to shave."

"You don't like my 5 o'clock shadow?"

"On you?  No.  You're too handsome to hide your face behind a beard."

Keith blushed slightly.

"What about your transfer?"

"I'll write to Col. Wilhelm and see if I can retract my request."

"And if you can't?"

"I'll figure something out."

She laid her head on his shoulder again and closed her eyes, "How much longer do we need to go?"

"It's a long trip, Allura, why don't you try and get more sleep," he suggested, stroking her hair.

"Can't you make Black go any faster?"

Keith chuckled, "Honey, Black is the fastest ship in the universe.  In any other ship, the trip would have been about seven hours longer."

"I just want to get as far away from Lotor as possible," she mumbled.

"I know, honey, I know."

She was quiet for a while and Keith felt her breathing slow.  He brushed the hair off her face to see her eyes closed and her face peaceful.  So beautiful, he thought.  And for some reason, she likes me.

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

Keith had dozed off.  He jerked awake when he felt Allura move and heard her gasp quietly.  She was having a nightmare.

"Allura," he whispered.

"Mm mm," she whimpered.  "No, please, Lotor, no."

"Allura," he raised his voice slightly.  "Honey, wake up, it's a nightmare, you're okay."

Her eyelids fluttered open and she jumped slightly, "What's going on?"

"You were having a bad dream."

She sighed and shifted on his lap, Keith groaned as she came in contact with a rather sensitive spot in his anatomy.  If Allura had heard him, she ignored it.  Somehow, she had turned so her back was against his chest and her legs covered his.

"Are you okay?"  Keith whispered, resting his chin on her shoulder.

She nodded and scanned the onboard computer in front of her, "Still over twenty hours."

"I know this is a long trip, we can stop somewhere if you want to get out and stretch."

"I would like to, but I really just want to get home."

"How do you feel?"  Keith asked, gently snaking his arms around her waist.

"I'm alright."

"Allura," his voice warned as he kissed her neck.  "Do you want the pain pills?"

She nodded slightly, "I ache all over."

With one arm wrapped around her waist, holding her to him, Keith groped under his seat with his other hand.  He pulled out the first aid kit and set it on the fold down seat Allura had vacated earlier. 

"Keith," she whispered after popping the pills into her mouth.  "You're, uh, you're hurting me."

"Oh sorry," he loosened his arm around her waist, not realizing how tightly he had been holding her.

She relaxed against him, "Tell me about your family."

"Huh?"  He was surprised by her request.

"We have a lot of time and I realized I don't know as much about you as you do about me."

"Okay, well, I'm the middle of three, I have an older brother, Gerald, he's an insurance adjuster, I don't really know what that means, but he seems to enjoy it.  My sister Dana is still in school, she wants to be a teacher, and my mother works in a woman's clothing store."

"I'd like to meet them," Allura whispered.

"I'd like you to meet them."

They passed the time sharing stories of their childhoods.  Allura was amazed at how different his life had seemed, football practice, school, friends.  He never attended balls or had to entertain the children of visiting dignitaries.  Keith's family had thrown backyard bar-b-ques, not elaborate parties for hundreds of people.  He hadn't been homeschooled, he had gone to public schools before attending the Academy.  His life fascinated her while he thought it had been quite boring.

Their conversation was interrupted by a beeping that indicated an incoming message.

"That will be Koran," Keith whispered.  "I don't think he should catch you sitting on my lap."

"Don't open the visuals," Allura responded.

Grinning, and feeling rather devious, Keith opened the audio only line of communication, "Whitaker."

"Captain?"  Koran's voice filled the cabin of the Lion.  "Is everything alright?  I don't have any visuals from you."

"Really?"  Keith quietly kissed Allura's cheek.  "That's strange, I'll have Hunk check it out when we get back to Arus."

Koran couldn't help but notice how much more relaxed Keith sounded.  "You haven't checked in in a while, Captain, I wanted to make sure everything was alright."

"Yes, Koran, it is, we're still on course."  Keith replied, trying to ignore Allura who had taken his hand in hers and was kissing his fingers.

"How is the Princess?"

Keith squeezed her gently, letting her know she should answer.

"I'm alright, Koran," she told him.  "I'm tired and a little sore, but more than anything I'm glad to be heading home."  She giggled softly when Keith pressed soft kisses to her neck.

Koran pursed his lips, anger coursing through him, the Princess was alone in Black with the Captain.  "Turn on the visuals, Captain, now."

Allura turned her head and kissed his cheek before reaching over and flipping on the visuals.

Koran clenched his teeth, "I believe there are two seats in the cockpit of the Lion."

Keith sighed deeply, but Allura stared back at her advisor defiantly, "The fold down seat is not very comfortable."

"This is totally unacceptable behavior, Your Highness."

"Koran, let's wait until we're back on Arus to discuss this," Keith said.  "We're both tired and Allura isn't feeling so well."

"I feel fine," Allura spoke up, still staring at Koran.  "I'm sorry, Koran, I didn't want to upset you or disappoint you, but I have to do what I know is right.  We have found a way around the law and we're going to do it.  I love Keith and I hope you can understand why I'm doing this."

Keith felt his heart stop.  Did she really just say she loved him?

"We will talk when you are feeling better, Princess," Koran's voice was stilted when he spoke.  "But if you are so willing to ignore what I say, there is really no reason for me to continue on as your advisor."

"No," Allura whispered.  "You don't mean that, I need you."

"You think you do, but you blatantly ignore my advice.  I am wasting my time and yours pretending you're listening to me."

A tear slid down Allura's cheek, "Please, don't do this Koran.  Don't make such a decision before we can talk about it, you owe it to the memory of my father to wait for me."

Koran nodded his head once, "Very well, Princess.  But I would suggest you two behave yourselves."


"Oh come on," Keith said angrily.  "You know we wouldn't do anything improper."

Koran glared at the two of them, "No, I don't know that."

Allura blushed a brilliant red, "We'll see you in a few hours."  She reached over and closed the connection.

"Are you okay?"  Keith whispered.

"Why is he doing this?"  Her voice broke.  "I need him and his help.  Why can't I just have this?  First I'm told that if I want to be with you, I have to give up my planet.  We find a way around that and now I have to choose between you and Koran."

Keith closed his eyes, feeling very guilty and tired.  "Maybe I should take the transfer, give us time apart, let Koran see how serious we are."

"No," her voice rose.  "I don't want to lose you too."  She turned on his lap so she was sitting sideways and could see him.  "I need you.  I am so sick and tired of this.  Don't go, promise me you won't leave me."

"I won't leave you," he whispered.  "I love you."

Without a word, Allura wrapped her good arm around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder.  She wasn't crying, but he could feel her shaking.

"We'll figure everything out," he continued.  "We'll talk to Koran, he's just upset now, once he calms down, he'll see this is right."

Allura turned her head and trailed kisses up his throat across his cheek and finally to his lips.  "Say it again," she demanded when they broke apart.

"Say what again?"  He asked, every coherent thought erased from his mind with her kisses.

"Tell me you love me."

Keith grinned at her, "I love you, Allura, with all my heart, with everything I am, I love you."

Allura smiled back with moist eyes, "I love you too, Keith."

He brought his hand up and cupped her cheek, "Do you know when I realized how much I loved you?"

"When?"

"I asked Kadmus to help us find you and he assured me that we would find you alive.  He said he saw our children."

Allura blushed and looked down.

"The thought of our children excited me.  I hadn't given any thought to the future, other than next week's schedule, I hadn't given any thought to getting married or having kids.  But when he said that, I…I don't know what I thought, Allura, but it felt right.  I knew it was going to happen and I wanted it more than I wanted to take my next breath."

Not trusting her voice, Allura slid her hand into his hair and pulled his head down, sliding her lips over his.  Keith deepened the kiss, pouring into it the intensity of his feelings for her, feeling her return the passion he felt.

"Allura," he gasped, pulling away moments later, breathless.  "Stop, we have to stop."

"Why?"  She breathed, sucking gently on his neck.

"Because we can't, not now, not here."

"I love you so much," she whispered, tugging at the zipper of his flightsuit.

Keith groaned quietly as his body responded to her touch, "Please stop, Allura, we can't."

She heard how strained his voice was when he pleaded with her and she stopped.  "I want to show you how much I love you."

He smiled softly and took her hand in his, gently pressing his lips to her raw wrist, "I know you do, honey, but this is neither the time nor the place.  We're letting these close quarters get to us, cloud our judgment, and we can't."

"I know you're right," she sighed and tugged the zipper back up.  "My shoulder hurts and I'm all bruised and ugly."

"Oh stop it, you're beautiful and you know it."

"I just like hearing you say it," she teased, settling her head on his shoulder.  "So, did he say how many children we're going to have?"

"No, but we can ask him when we get back."

"How many do you want to have?"

"Two?"

"No, we need more than that, we have a huge empty castle we have to fill."

Keith laughed softly, "Alright then, four?"

"Twelve?"

"What?  Are you crazy?"

"Fine," she sighed dramatically.  "Ten."

"Five."

"Eight."

"You really want a lot of children?"

"I want a big family," she told him. 

"Maybe we should plan a wedding first."

"I was thinking you should be planning our first date."

"Don't worry," he assured her.  "It will be a good one."

"Well, our first date is my first date ever, so I don't really have anything to compare it to."

"Good, that takes the pressure off me," he teased.

"I love you," she snuggled closer, cradling her injured arm to her chest.

He dropped a kiss on the top of her head, "I love you, too."