Keith made his way to the hospital wing the next morning. He wanted to see how Allura was doing and fill her in on what he had done already. The Commander of the Voltron Force was feeling rather proud of himself. Allura had been so worried about getting everything taken care of, but Keith was sure she would be thrilled to see what he had done.

Since sleep escaped him last night, Keith spent most of the evening carrying the smaller pieces of furniture and whatnots up to the North Tower. He still needed to move Allura's bed up to their room, but he was going to need help with that monstrosity. It had taken the four of them nearly four hours to take it apart, move it, and then put it back together when they had moved it into her room. So if things went as planned, their room would be done this afternoon, they could worry about the other rooms after Allura was feeling better. He just wanted to make sure that everything was perfect for their wedding night.

After a few hours of sleep, Keith woke up that morning and went straight to Allura's study. There he found a portfolio his Princess had put together for their wedding ceremony. Most of it had been checked off, it was mainly just last minute things that needed to be done now.

Nurse Jewelia was just leaving Allura's room when Keith walked into the hospital.

"Captain," she greeted him.

"Nurse Jewelia, how are you?"

"I'm fine sir, and yourself?"

"Fine, thank you. Is the Princess up to having visitors?"

The nurse looked at the closed door and then back at him, "Dr. Gorma is in with her now, you'll have to wait until he comes out."

"What is it?" Keith asked, feeling the first licks of worry.

"I don't believe it is anything serious, Dr. Gorma will be able to explain it to you when he's done." She assured him before disappearing into the doctor's office.

Keith sat down in a chair facing the door to Allura's room. He mentally ran through what would need to be done if they had to push the wedding back. She would get over any disappointment she might be feeling, her health was what was important.

It was five more minutes before Dr. Gorma walked out of the Princess' room. He looked up from her chart, surprised to see Keith sitting there, clutching some papers in his hands. The Captain jumped to his feet, a worried expression on his face.

"What's wrong?"

Closing the file, Dr. Gorma smiled reassuringly, "It's nothing serious, Captain. Something bit her on the arm when she was crawling through the vent, it appears to have been a small, spider like creature, and she is having an allergic reaction to it."

Keith furrowed his brow, "How bad is it?"

"I cleaned the bite and applied hydrocortisone and antibacterial creams and wrapped it in gauze to keep her from scratching. I am also putting her on antibiotics to stave off any possible infections."

"Can I see her?"

"I wish you would," Dr. Gorma lowered his voice. "If I may say so, Captain, the Princess can be a very difficult patient."

Keith laughed, "I know what you mean. Thanks, Dr. Gorma."

Allura was sitting up in bed, staring glumly at her bandaged left arm.

"Maybe if you glare at it long enough, it'll go away."

She looked up and stuck her tongue out at Keith.

"You know," he closed the door and crossed to sit on her bed. "If you're going to disrespect me like this, I may have to rethink the whole idea of marrying you."

"Go ahead," she pouted. "I can't leave until tomorrow, Dr. Gorma wants me under observation to make sure this bite doesn't turn into anything serious."

"That's not a bad idea, you could use the rest."

"But I have so much to do."

"Oh stop it, you're pouting and it doesn't suit you, my princess."

Allura's mouth fell open, "I am not!"

He took her hand and smiled, "My family is arriving this afternoon and I called Romelle, she and Sven are going to come tonight. We all want to help you, honey, don't try to do all this by yourself."

"But it's our wedding," she said softly. "The only one we'll ever have, it has to go right."

"It will, I found your portfolio," he held up the papers in his hand. "We're ready."

"I don't have a dress," she whimpered.

"Hilla is already working on it and Nanny is helping."

"But it can't be the same as the one I wanted."

"Why not?"

"Because you've seen it, it'll be bad luck."

"No, Allura, I saw a ripped, dirty piece of fabric, not your dress. No bad luck will befall us. I promise."

"You're making fun of me."

"Yes I am."

"Keith!"

He chuckled and leaned over to kiss her forehead, "Tell you what, if you calm down and let us all help you, I will see what I can do to get Dr. Gorma to let you out today."

"Really?"

"You're stressing yourself out. I want you to be able to enjoy our wedding and everything that happens leading up to it. The North Tower is almost done, our family and closest friends will be here. Relax, enjoy it."

She rubbed her arm over the gauze and gnawed on her lower lip, "I promise to relax if you can get me out of here."

He laughed, "Alright, I'll see what I can do."

Half an hour later, after convincing Dr. Gorma that she would take it easy with her ankle and that she would return that evening and again the next morning to have her arm looked at, Keith and Allura left the hospital wing.

"This is perfect," she gasped, looking around their bedroom. "We just need to get the bed in here."

"We'll do that this afternoon," he promised, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on top of her head.

"Well, it's almost perfect."

Keith groaned and dropped his forehead down on her shoulder.

"No, I mean it's great and all, I just…" she trailed off.

"What?"

"I wanted the bookshelves beside the fireplace, not the dressers."

"You're lucky you're hot," he muttered, walking over to the bookshelves. "And you're lucky these aren't filled yet."

Sitting down in the big chair by the window and batting her eyes, Allura replied "I'm lucky to have such a big, strong handsome husband like you."

After making the necessary changes, Keith knelt in front of her, "Better?"

"Yes, thank you," she leaned forward and laced her fingers behind his neck. "Now, why don't you get the guys and move the bed in here while I got meet with Hilla and see how the dress is coming."

He leaned forward, meeting her lips with his, "What's your hurry? I thought you were going to relax."

Raising an eyebrow, she smiled, "And how do you suggest I do that?"

"I think we can come up with a few ideas," he mumbled moving up so he was stretched out in the chair beside her.

Allura framed his face with her hands and gently kissed him. Keith shifted so he rolled under her and she was on top of him, still attached at the mouth. His hands roamed over her back while her fingers combed through his hair before sliding down to his shoulders. Moaning against her lips, he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.

"Keith," she lifted her head and looked at him. "We really don't have time for this."

"There is always time for this."

"You know what I mean."

He slowly stroked her hair, "How are you feeling?"

She made a face, "I'm fine."

"I had to ask."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Allura pushed herself off him and stood. "I want to get this room done before your family arrives."

"Come on, Allura," he whined, holding his hand out to her. "We can take fifteen minutes."

She smiled, "I would love to, but you know that fifteen minutes would turn into thirty and then it would be even harder to get to work."

Sighing dramatically, Keith pushed himself to his feet, "Fine, I'll get the guys and you go meet with Hilla."

"Do you need help bringing stuff up?"

"Not until your ankle is better."

"Okay," she stood on her toes and brushed her lips over his. "I'll check on you boys later."

"I hope this bed is worth it," Lance muttered as he set down his end of the massive headboard.

"Oh it is," Keith replied slyly.

"It's big enough to fit us all on it and still have room left over for Nanny."

"Thanks for putting that image in my mind, Lance."

"How old is this thing?"

Keith steadied the headboard against the wall, "I know it's an antique, it used to be her parents and I think it had been her grandparents before that."

"The carving in the headboard and posts are amazing," Hunk added, carrying two of the posts into the room.

"Yeah, it was entirely handmade," Keith said, tracing one of the carved cherubs. "Let's get this thing together, my family is supposed to be here in a couple of hours."

"How is Allura dealing with everything?" Lance asked as he dug out some tools.

"She's stressing."

Pidge shook his head, "It amazes me that she can run a planet and escape from Doom, but she gets stressed out about meeting your family and putting on a wedding."

"She's convinced something will go wrong."

"Something will go wrong," Hunk assured them as he lifted a post. "Something always goes wrong during a wedding, but it's not going to be a catastrophe."

"Well, with everyone here to help, it should go smoothly. I just don't want her to push herself. She was pretty beat up yesterday and she still can't walk a lot or stand for long on her ankle."

"Captain?"

Keith turned to see Koran standing in the doorway. "Yes, Koran?"

"Um, it seems we have a bit of a problem."

Keith felt his heart stop, thinking something had happened to the ship carrying his family. "What is it?"

"Well, you and the Princess ordered your wedding cake from the bakery in town."

"Yes, we ordered from the Zipners."

Koran cleared his throat, "The bakery was badly damaged in the last attack a couple of weeks ago, they are still rebuilding and the oven they ordered will not be in on time. They will not be able to finish the cake."

"Okay," Keith sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Let me be the one to tell Allura, this is the kind of thing that's going to stress her out even more. I'll handle it."

"There you go," Hunk said. "Something has to go wrong and if that's it, that's not a big deal."

"What do you mean you're on Fi'lak?" Keith demanded. He was standing in Castle Control after answering a page, saying the pilot of the ship getting his family to Arus was on the videophone for him.

"I'm sorry, Captain, our engine blew a cylinder and we had to land. If all goes well, we'll have the part replaced and we'll be in the air tomorrow afternoon."

"Fine," he replied resignedly. "You did the right thing, just get them here safely."

"Yes, sir."

"Keep me posted if anything else should change."

"I will, Captain."

Keith nodded and closed the connection. Okay, so now his family was coming another day late. Not a big deal. He had hoped his mother would be able to make their wedding cake, she should still have time.

He checked his watch. It had been two hours since he had last spoken to Allura, when she had gone to find Hilla. The guys were still in their bedroom putting the bed together. Pulling out his communicator he thought it was safe to call her up and not see anything he wasn't supposed to see.

Before Keith had a chance to dial her up, the door slid open and she hobbled in.

"I was just about to call you."

"What's up?" She asked, limping over to the chair beside him.

"I just spoke to the pilot of the ship bringing my family in. They had to stop over on Planet Fi'lak for repairs."

"When will they get here?"

"Probably late tomorrow night."

"Well, that's a shame we have to wait another day, but they'll still be here in plenty of time for the wedding."

"Which is a really good thing," Keith said, rubbing the back of his neck. "We got word today that Zipners will not be able to get our wedding cake to us in time for the reception, they're still rebuilding from the last attack. So I was thinking my mother could make the cake."

Allura nodded, "If you don't think she'll mind."

"She won't."

"Well then that could be fun! Maybe I can help her."

Keith smiled and dropped a kiss on the top of her head, "Or maybe not. How're you feeling?"

She shrugged, "My ankle hurts and I'm ready to scratch the skin right off my arm, but otherwise I'm fine."

"How did the dress fitting go?"

"Good. It won't be exactly the same, but it will be beautiful. Hilla also needs to do a fitting with Romelle since I am sure her dress will need to be let out. She's going to be very busy." She yawned.

"Why don't you go lay down, take a quick nap before dinner. I'm sure the guys are done with the bed now."

Allura shook her head, "Nanny said she wants to put clean sheets on the bed in my room and she won't get around to that until after dinner. And I need to meet with Koran."

"Don't push yourself, and I think we can put the sheets on the bed."

"No, they're in the laundry."

"No, they're in our room."

Allura smiled at him, "Our room. Don't you love the sound of that?"

"Yes I do," he crouched down beside her. "Come on, you can rest and we can get you settled in our room."

"I'm not staying there before we're married."

"What?"

"I'm staying in the room beside Nanny's until after the wedding."

"Why in the world are you doing that?"

"Because," she cupped his cheek with her hand. "My bed is in our room and I am not going to stay in our room without you."

He smiled, "You're insane. Why don't you go lay down in my room until dinner. You need to get off you ankle so you aren't hobbling through the ceremony."

"Alright, alright," she pushed herself to her feet. "I'm only agreeing to this because I am tired, not because you're being overprotective."

Keith chuckled, "Fine, but after next week, you have to let me be overprotective of you, I'm having Koran write that into the vows."

"Then I won't agree to marry you."

"Yeah right," he snorted. "You're stuck with me."

"I know," she sighed. "And such is my curse in life."

Keith kissed her gently, "Do you need help getting to my room?"

"No, thank you, I think I can find it."

"Smartass. You know how to get a hold of me if you need anything."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she waved him off. "Tomorrow I get back into the stress of everything."

"We'll see."

The next few days left Keith feeling like he was barely able to keep his head above water. His mother agreed to make the cake, but Nanny was insulted that they hadn't asked her and was giving Keith the silent treatment. He was continuing daily practice while convincing Allura he could handle the wedding preparations so she could rest. It seemed as though no small detail was allowed to be taken care of without his and/or Allura's input, and since Nanny wasn't talking to Keith, it was proving to be a trying task.

Three days before the wedding found Keith in his study. Officially, he was finishing up some last minute correspondence with the Garrison so he can take a few days off for the wedding and a couple of days after. Unofficially, he was hiding from Nanny's temper, Allura's questions, his mother's well-meaning meddling, and Lance bugging him about having a bachelor party.

Allura was with Hilla and Romelle having their final fittings. The royal seamstress was working almost around the clock to finish Allura's dress and let out Romelle's to accommodate her nearly five months along pregnant belly. Sven was probably waiting outside the door, playing the obnoxiously overprotective father-to-be. Lance was on duty and Hunk and Pidge were giving the Lions their weekly once over while Koran was entertaining his family. If all went well, he should have an hour of freedom.

Groaning with frustration, Keith barked out "Come in!" when there was a knock on his door.

The door slid open to reveal a rather timid looking guard, "S-sorry to disturb you, sir."

Keith sighed, "It's alright, Private, what is it?"

"This, uh, this just came for you, sir." He held out an envelope.

"Bring it here, please."

The guard crossed the room and handed Keith the envelope. He then stood at attention in front of the Commander's desk, waiting to be dismissed.

With apprehension, Keith tore open the envelope. This could not be good. Scanning the letter, he swore quietly.

"Sir?"

"What?" He looked up and saw the guard still standing there. "Oh, you're dismissed, sorry."

The young guard saluted and turned on his heel.

Keith skimmed the letter one more time before heading over to Castle Control. He found Lance standing over the main console talking quietly to Hunk. When they saw Keith enter the room, they jumped apart and started talking in loud, false tones. Keith rolled his eyes, they still planned on giving him a bachelor party the night before his wedding, even though he had told them repeatedly he didn't want one.

"Guess what I just found out," he said walking over to them.

"What's up?" Lance asked.

Keith held the letter up, "The rings won't be ready until the day of the ceremony."

Hunk whistled under his breath, "That's cutting it a little close, isn't it?"

"Yeah, a little too close."

"Don't worry, Keith," Lance clapped a hand on his shoulder. "They'll be done, just a little late. Did they say what the holdup was?"

"Some problems with the device that engraves the rings."

"It's alright," Hunk grinned. "Everything has been working out, the cake, the dress, this will too."

"We don't have our tuxes, yet," Keith pointed out.

"They'll be delivered tomorrow, don't jinx it."

"Are stressing?" Lance teased.

"No, I am not stressing. Let's see how calm you are when you're getting married."

"Not gonna happen, I was born a bachelor and I will die a bachelor," Lance vowed. "Why waste time stressing about a ceremony that will forever tie me to one woman when there are so many beautiful women out there vying for my attention?"

{{ "You didn't really say that, did you?" Becca asked her brother-in-law.

"Oh yes he did," Keith replied.

Lance shrugged, "What can I say? The ladies loved me."

Becca smiled and asked innocently, "So you were a man whore?"

Lance scowled as laughter erupted through the room, "I was not, I just enjoyed the company of women, there was nothing wrong with that. And I was not a man whore!" He turned to his wife, "Back me up here, would you?"

Laughing, she shook her head, "I want to see you dig yourself out of this one, lover boy."

"Alright, enough of this," he huffed. "I believe we were discussing the potential fiasco that was Keith and Allura's wedding."

"Yeah, Keith was stressing out about the wedding, mainly because he was trying to shield me from any problems and it only added to his," Allura continued, lacing her fingers through Keith's.

"It would have been a lot easier if Nanny was speaking to me," he mumbled.

"Come on," Paton spoke up. "I want to hear about the wedding."

"Vell, de night before, Keit did not vant a bachelor party," Sven explained. "So ve convinced him to just relax for de evening, put aside de stress and enjoy deir last night of freedom…}}