"Now I mentioned to you guys last night how important it is for you to stay on Castle grounds at all times unless you're escorted by myself or another member of the Force."

Allura entered the kitchen the next morning to find Keith going over some of the ground rules with his family.  Nanny had whipped up a breakfast of pancakes and sausage and the entire Whitaker clan were gathered around the table digging into the mountains of food.

Isabelle smiled up at her, "Good morning, Allura."

"Good morning, Isabelle.  How did everyone sleep last night?"

"Wonderfully, thank you," Allyson told her.  "The rooms are beautiful and it was so nice to sleep in a regular bed instead of a bunk on a ship."

Allura sat between Keith and Gerald, thanking Nanny as she set a plate in front of her.

"I was just going over a few things with them," Keith told her, turning back to his family.  "You need to keep in mind that we are at war here.  If you hear the alarms go off, the safest place for you will be in Castle Control.  Koran will be keeping watch there and he will be able to tell you what to do and where to go."

"Are we in danger here?"  Dana asked.

"No," Allura assured her.  "You will be perfectly safe in the Castle."

"So why did you invite us if you're at war?"  She asked.

"Nothing will happen to you, Dana, if you do as you're told," Keith told her.  "We wanted you guys to visit and Doom has backed off a little, so it seemed as good a time as any."

"I'm sure we'll be fine," Isabelle said cheerfully.  "What are the plans for today?"

"We were thinking that you guys might like to see more of Arus, take some of the Lions up."  Keith told her.

"Fly in de Lion, Uncle Keif?"  Adam looked up at him, hands and face covered in syrup.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Adam," Allyson reprimanded him.

"Sure, Adam, maybe you can even fly the Lion," Keith winked at him.

Allura looked up and say Dana watching her as she swirled a piece of pancake in the lake of syrup on her plate.  She tried to read the younger woman's face.  Dana's expression was one of pure defiance, like she was challenging Allura to speak to her.  The young Princess was at a loss for words and returned her gaze to the plate in front of her, feeling foolish. 

Why was this girl getting to her so much?  No, she knew why Dana's behavior upset her.  She desperately wanted all of Keith's family to like her.  Allura looked up at Keith when she felt his hand rest on her knee.  He squeezed gently and winked at her and Allura felt better.

"Dana," Allura spoke up, smiling across the table.  "Keith told me you like to read, I can show you my father's library later.  It's quite extensive."

Dana shrugged, "Whatever."

"Or you can just sit there and brood," Gerald said.

Dana scowled at him.

"We could just take her out and drop her in the volcano," Keith suggested.

"Or the lake," Gerald added.  "With those huge boots on, she'll sink right to the bottom."

"Or you could stop talking as though I'm not here," their sister snarled.

"Boys," Isabelle warned.  "Be nice."

"Aun' Dana," Adam turned in his seat to face her.  "Don't be mad."

"I'm not mad."

Gerald snorted.

"Adam, can you say bitter?  Bitter." Keith coached.

Allura smacked his knee under the table, "Stop it."

"I don't need you to stand up for me," Dana spit at Allura.  Without another word, she stood and stormed out of the kitchen.

Isabelle stood and flashed a weak smile at Allura, "If you'll excuse me, I have to go smack some sense into my headstrong daughter."

Allura nodded numbly.  It was the first time anyone had ever spoken to her in such a fashion.   Even her enemies had always treated her with respect.

"Don't take it to heart, Allura," Allyson said as she cleaned Adam's face and hands. "She's going through a rough time and, to be honest, I think she's feeling a little threatened.  She didn't really like me either when I first married Gerry."

"But why?"  Allura asked.  "What did I do to her?"

"Nothing," Keith assured her.  "She's being a brat."

"But why would she feel threatened by me?  I just want to be friends."

Allyson sat down in the seat vacated by Dana, "All her life Dana had been the youngest, the only girl.  Now she has you and me to compete with for attention."

"That's just silly," Keith muttered.

"Try to be a little understanding," Allyson continued.  "She's young and confused.  And it doesn't help that you two boys keep picking on her."

"We've picked on her her entire life," Gerald said.

"Could you try and be a little nicer for now," his wife pleaded.

Gerald grinned and reached across the table to take her hand, "My darling psychiatry student of a wife, I will do whatever you ask me to do."

"Are you studying psychiatry?"  Allura asked.


Allyson nodded, "I'm studying part-time."

Keith looked down when he felt a small hand on his leg and saw Adam starring up at him, "Let's go in da Lion, Uncle Keif."

"Adam, is that how you ask?"  Allyson reminded.

Adam looked at his mother and thought a moment before turning back to his uncle, "Please?"

"Alright," Keith stood and swung his nephew up onto his shoulders.  "Let's go see if we can find Lance.  I bet going for a ride in Red with him would cheer Dana up."

"He's so good to her," Allyson said, lifting Ben out of the old highchair Nanny had found.

"He's a good guy," Allura remarked.

Keith nodded, "He thinks of her as one of his sisters."

They walked into Castle Control to find Koran and Pidge talking beside the main console.

"How're things looking?"  Keith asked.

"Good, Captain," Koran told him.  "All clear.  You had a good practice this morning."

"Yeah, we were flying pretty tight.  I was thinking about taking a couple of the Lions out for a spin."

The older man nodded, "It seems safe, Captain, just don't stray too far."

"No problem, Koran."  Keith handed Adam to his brother and unclipped his communicator, dialing up Lance.

"Yo, Collier."

"Yo, Lance," Keith replied with a smile.  "What are you doing?"

"Not too much, why?"

"Well, I was hoping you could help us out.  I'm thinking about taking the family out in the Lions, to get a better view of Arus, and I was thinking you would help me out, maybe take Dana up in Red."

Lance shrugged, "Sure thing, Cap.  Everything alright?"

"She's giving Allura a hard time.  I'm hoping to be able to break her out of this snit she's in."

"Snit?"  Lance laughed.  "I'll be right there, Cap."

"Thanks man."

The door slid open and Isabelle entered, a tight grip on Dana's arm, and marched her over to Allura.  "Dana has something to say to you Allura.  Dana?"

"I'm sorry for having been so rude."  Dana mumbled.

Allura smiled kindly, "It's alright, Dana, really.  I just hope that you and I can become friends."

The girl rolled her eyes in response.

"Hey there, kiddo," Lance appeared at Dana's side and slung his arm over her shoulders.  "Want to take my Kitty for a ride?"

"Uh, yeah, sure, I guess so."  Dana tried her hardest not to sound too excited.

"I think I'll stay here and watch Ben," Isabelle offered.

"Come on, Mom, don't you want to fly?"  Keith asked.

"Uh, thanks, dear, but I'm fine on the ground.  I can see so much of this beautiful planet from the castle."

Keith rolled his eyes, "The Lions are perfectly safe, Mother."

"I know they are, dear.  Go ahead now, take your brother."

"Come on, Uncle Keif!" Adam tugged at his hand.  "Fly de Lion!"

"Alright, let's go, gang," Keith took them over to the entry tubes and explained how to enter the Lions.  Gerald and Adam squeezed into the cockpit of Black with Keith while Allyson rode with Allura and Dana with Lance.

Inside Red, Lance turned to Dana as they flew over the countryside.  "So, what do you think of Arus so far?"

She shrugged, "It's alright."

"It's beautiful here.  We'll have to take a walk around the lake later, maybe even go swimming.  I'm sure Adam will love that."  He tried to keep up a steady stream of conversation, but she wasn't making it easy.  "So, uh, how's school going?"

Dana shrugged again, "Alright."

"You know, I remember a time when you were a lot more talkative."

"Are you going to stay on Arus too?"  She asked.

"As long as I am assigned here."

"You're not going to move here permanently too?"

"Nah, I'm not ready to settle down," he told her as he steered Red over toward Alforia.  "There is a lot more I want to do and see."

She nodded, seemingly pleased with his answer.

"When it's finished, this will be the capitol city, Alforia," Lance explained, circling the finished and half-finished buildings.  "So what do you think of Allura?"

Dana shrugged.

"She's an amazing person."

"That's what Keith said," she muttered.

"You don't like her?"

"She's alright, I guess."

"Didn't you ever want a big sister?"

"No, and don't talk to me like I'm a child."

Lance raised his eyebrows, "I'm not, Dana.  You have to know that what Keith and Allura have is forever.  You can either accept it and learn to love her as much as we all do or you can make it difficult for everyone."

Dana didn't respond, she turned and looked out the window.  It was one thing to be lectured by her mother, but it was something entirely different to hear it from Lance.  What made Allura so special?  Why did everyone like her so much?

"You know," Lance continued as he steered Red around toward the woods.  "Keith has been so excited about you guys coming to visit, it's all he's talked about for weeks."

She shrugged.

"Come on, where's that sweet, bubbly girl we all know and love," he elbowed her in the side.

"You wouldn't understand, Lance," she mumbled.  "I've grown up and I see things how they really are now."

"And how are they?"

"Don't patronize me, Lance."

"I'm not, I want to know what's going on with you."

"Nothing, just forget it."

Lance was about to respond when a beeping filled the cabin.  He flipped on the audio and visuals, "Yeah."

"Hey, Lance, we're heading back to the castle.  It's about time for lunch and then we thought we'd hit the lake, take the kids swimming," Keith told him.

"Sounds good, Captain, we'll meet you back in Castle Control."

"Do you always call him Captain?"  Dana asked when he closed the connection.

"Not always, but he is my commander."

"Don't you think calling him that puts you into a subordinate position?"

"I am his subordinate, I'm second-in-command."

"I thought you guys were friends."

"We are, he's my best friend."

"Doesn't it get weird, having to take commands from your friend?"  Dana asked.

"No, we've all worked out a balance.  We're all friends, but when it comes to our job and protecting Arus, Keith is the undisputed leader."

"It's strange to think of Keith as being the leader of some big military operation."

"He's a great leader."

Dana rolled her eyes, "Everything is great here, huh?  Keith is great, the Lions are great, Arus is great, Allura's great."

Lance bit his tongue.  It was all so clear now.  She was jealous.

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

"Dana say anything to you?"  Keith asked Lance as they sat beside the lake, watching Gerald, Allyson, Adam, Allura, Pidge, and Hunk play in the water.  Isabelle sat near by with Ben.

"I think she's jealous, man," Lance lowered his voice.  "You and Gerry are both involved and I think she feels left out."

"Yeah, Allyson said something like that this morning.  But what do we do about it?"

Lance shrugged, "I don't know."

"What do you do about what?"  Allura plopped down beside them.  She had thrown a short terry cloth cover over her swimsuit and her hair was pulled back into a wet braid.

Keith tugged on her braid, "Dana."

"Oh," Allura nodded.  She was at a loss as well, but she wasn't about to allow Keith's sister to ruin the fun she was having with the rest of his family.  She and Allyson had become quick friends and his mother and brother were just wonderful.

"Yeah, oh."

Allura leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder.  Keith tilted his head and rested his cheek against her wet head, watching as Gerald picked up Adam and threw him into the water.

Dana walked out of the castle and saw her brother and the Princess.  She scowled at the cozy scene they made and turned toward her mother and her nephew.

Keith sighed.


"Let me," Lance jumped to his feet.  "Hey Dana!"

"What?"

"Did you bring your bathing suit?"

"I'm not wearing it."

"Well, that's a shame."  Lance rushed her, threw her over her shoulder, ignoring her protests, and tossed her into the lake.

"Lance!"  Dana sputtered, standing in the water and pushed her hair out of her face.  "What are you doing?"

Lance pulled his t-shirt off and dove into the water.  He came up beside her and grinned, "You need to chill out, girl."

She couldn't help but laugh, "Jerk." 

"I'm a jerk, am I?"  Lance dunked her.


What followed became on of the largest splash fights ever had in the lake beside the castle.  Everyone had joined in, Allura and Keith had leapt into the water and Adam was riding his father's shoulders as they tried to dunk Hunk.

Allura cupped her hands and fought back as Pidge tried to splash her.  She had just enough time to get a gulp of air in her lungs as she felt familiar hands grab her around the waist and pull her under.  She swung out with her arms, but he had slipped away.  When her hand came in contact with a hard body, she grabbed an arm and pulled hard.  Breaking the surface, Allura looked around, feeling triumphant.  She got slapped in the face with a handful of water.

"Now why did you just try to drown me?"  Lance asked cheerfully.

"Where'd Keith go?"  She asked, treading water.

"Try over there," Lance pointed behind her.

There was a section of the lake that was mostly hidden from view by a large tree whose branches hung down into the water.  She swam over and pushed aside the branches.  It was a lot darker and more calm, the tree cutting off the sunlight and breeze.  It was also eerily quiet.  Allura moved slowly forward, she didn't particularly like this area because the lake was so deep.  She was a good swimmer, but not a strong one, like the guys. 

"Keith?"

No answer.

With an annoyed sigh, Allura turned to swim back so she could give Lance a piece of her mind.

"Where ya goin'?"

Allura stifled a scream as Keith popped up out of the water in front of her, a goofy grin on his face.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," he said earnestly.

"What are you doing?"  She asked.

"I was trying to get the attention of a pretty girl," he teased, wrapping one arm around her waist and pulling her close.

Still moving her legs, Allura wrapped her arms around his neck, "You need to behave, your family is out there."

"They need to get used to the idea of us," he murmured.

"Not…like this."

"Come on," he whispered, his breath warm on her neck.  "Be bad."

Her cheeks reddened, "Not with your family here."

"Listen."

She did, all she could hear was splashing and laughing.

"They are completely unaware of us missing," he whispered, kissing her bare shoulder as it was exposed just above the water.

"Keith," she breathed just before his lips caught hers.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered, tightening his arm around her.

Knowing he wouldn't let her down, Allura wrapped her legs around his waist.  She was acutely aware of how close they were and how little they were both wearing.  It terrified and excited her.

Keith groaned as Allura deepened the kiss, wrapping herself around him.  He couldn't get enough of her, the way she felt, the way she tasted.  He was drowning in her and that was just fine with him.

Allura reluctantly broke the kiss, "Keith."

He looked up at her through half closed eyes.

"We can't stay here."

"Says who?"  He challenged.

She smiled and rested her forehead against his, "I love you so much."

"Then stay here with me, forever," he whispered.  "We'll stay here, away from Nanny and Koran, Lotor, the war, everything."

"We'll get hungry," she pointed out.

"We'll fish."

 "I don't like fish."

"You'll learn to."

Allura gently caressed his face with butterfly kisses, "If we stay in the water that long we'll wrinkle up beyond recognition."

Keith chuckled, "Alright, alright, I can take a hint.  You don't want to be alone with me."

"It isn't proper."

"You worry too much about what's proper."

"I can't help it."  She twirled the hair at the nape of his neck around her fingers.  "You know, when we get married, we can spend as much time alone as we want."

"Are you fishing for a proposal?"  He teased.

She tossed her head back defiantly, "I would never lower myself so far as to fish for anything.  I can wait for you to realize how much you want to be with me."

"You have no idea how much I want to be with you," Keith whispered threateningly.

Allura shivered, "Then what are you waiting for?"

"The right time, Angel, the right time."

"Yes, well, don't make me wait too long."

Keith smiled, "Honey, we'll know when it's right and we can't let the decision be made by our hormones."

Allura blushed again at his innuendo, "We really should head back out there before they notice we're gone."

He winked at her, "Then you're going to have to let me go."

Allura grudgingly released him.

"Race ya," Keith challenged.


Before she could respond, he was slicing through the water and out of sight.  Shaking her head, Allura pushed forward and broke through branches.  She was greeted by silence as everyone watched her and Keith exit their hiding place.

The heat rose to her face so quickly and so intensely, Allura was afraid her head would burst.

Gerald laughed and was quickly followed by everyone else.


"Wha's so funny, Daddy?"  Adam asked.

"Nothing, Adam, just Uncle Keith being silly," he told his son.

"What were you doin'?" The little boy asked his uncle.

"We, uh, well, Allura and I were, uh…" Keith looked at her for help.

"They were playing 'Hide the Sausage'," Lance spoke up.

Gerald howled with laughter while Keith tackled Lance into the water.

"Wha'?"  Adam looked around, confused.  "Wha' sausage?  Daddy?  Wha' sausage?"

"It's nothing, Sweetie, they're just being silly," Allyson took her son from her husband.


"Boys!  What's so funny?"  Isabelle stood on the shore, Ben on her hip.

"Nothing, Mom!"  Gerald and Keith called back at the same time.

Nanny appeared over the slight hill and came down to stand beside Isabelle.  She clapped her hands for their attention, "Dinner in about an hour and a half.  You will want to start coming in so you can dress for dinner!"

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

That evening, they all retired to the rec room.  A board game was spread out on the coffee table and everyone paired off.  Keith and Allura, Hunk and Pidge, Lance and Dana, Gerald and Allyson.  Isabelle offered to get the boys bathed and ready for bed.

"Lance, dear, do you know what this is?"  Isabelle walked in, holding Adam's hand in hers.

Lance glanced up, "Um, I think that's your grandson, Isabelle."

"No, this."  She held out her hand.

Lance jumped to his feet and snatched it from her hand, noticing it was wet, he wiped it on his shirt.  "That's Red's key!  Where did you get this?"

"Adam said you gave it to him."

"Lance," Keith's voice held a warning.

"I know, Keith," Lance said.  "I have no idea how he got it."

"Adam, come here," Keith held his hand out to his nephew.  He picked up the little boy and set him on his lap, facing him.  "Listen very carefully to me, Adam," Keith pulled Black's key out of his pocket.  "If you ever find one of these, you give it to me right away, do you understand?"

Adam nodded, his eyes glued on the shiny oval key.

"Adam, look at me.  This is not a toy."

"I know."

"So what do you do if you find one of these?"

"I give it to you," Adam whispered.

"Good boy," Keith set him back on his feet.

Lance sniffed his key, "Why is this wet?"

"I wanted to see it float," Adam explained.

"Where?"

"In da toilet."

"You put Red's key in the toilet?"  Keith's voice rose.

Allura put a reassuring hand on his arm, "It's alright, Keith, nothing happened."

"Adam, you know better than to take things that aren't yours," Allyson chided.  "You tell Lance you're sorry."

"Sorry, Lance," he muttered, looking at his feet.

Always the peacekeeper, Hunk spoke up, "Alright, nothing too bad happened and Lance can once again fly his Lion.  Let's get back to the game."

"He is obsessed with putting things in the toilet," Gerald said.

"You went through a phase like that," Isabelle said, sitting on the couch.  "You loved to flush things down the toilet."

"Like what?"  Allura asked.

"Oh, bits of paper, toys.  We caught him one time trying to see if Keith would float."  Isabelle laughed at the memory.  "We thought he had grown out of that phase, he was six and Keith was just a baby.  James heard Keith crying like a banshee, he ran into the bathroom to find Gerry standing over the toilet and holding Keith in the bowl, feet first."

"It's amazing I made it to adulthood," Keith muttered, rolling the dice.

"Oh stop it," Isabelle said.  "You guys became good friends when Dana was born, you actually teamed up to try and sell her."

"We almost had a taker too," Gerald said.  "Mrs. Walters down the street offered us ten dollars."

"Crazy old Mrs. Walters?" Dana gasped.  "You almost sold me to the woman who always went shopping wearing a robe and curlers?"

Keith shrugged, "She offered the best price."

"Hey, Keith," Gerald laughed.  "Remember our family trip to Virginia?"

"Oh yeah!  We had Dana convinced she had to get her money converted because we were in a different state!"  Keith grinned.

"She actually went to a bank beside the hotel and handed them a five dollar bill, asking them to convert it to Virginia money."

"Oh, that's awful!  Did you guys always gang up on Dana?"  Allura asked.

"She was a girl," Keith told her.  "We had too."

"And she was Dad's favorite," Gerald added.

"Now that's not true," Isabelle interrupted.  "She was 'Daddy's Little Girl', but your father loved you all just the same."

"Hey Keith, remember you're fourth grade play?"  Dana asked slyly.

Gerald howled with laughter, "You mean when he split his pants and didn't know it so when he turned his back to the crowd we all got a great view of his underwear?"

"Poor Keith, that must have been so embarrassing," Allura said sympathetically.

"It wouldn't have been so bad if my brother and sister hadn't felt the need to bring that story up at every opportunity," Keith pouted.

"Poor baby," she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Or what about the time we went to…what's that?"  Gerald looked at Keith.

"It's the castle alarms," Keith said as the entire Force jumped to their feet.  "Get the baby and meet us in Castle Control."