Hi all!

Once again, thank you so much for your reviews!

RL2 – I will definitely take your suggestion into mind, we'll have to see if the muses can help me come up with something. But have no fear, you have not seen the last of Cady in this story.

Starlette Rose – Thank you for your review! Don't worry, the action is coming soon, all I ask is that you stick with me!

C-Town Chica – You rock! Thank you so much for your support!

Just a little warning that his chapter does contain a little brain candy fluffiness.

Enjoy,

Failte

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The team trudged their way up to the main entrance of the castle late the next morning, tired, dirty, and strangely quiet.

Keith, Lance, Sven, Hunk, and Pidge all met them at the door, having been tracking their movements.

"They look pretty beat," Lance commented.

"If they were able to figure out the most direct route, they walked over seventy miles, so they're probably tired," Keith said.

The five original members broke into applause as the new Force arrived at the door.

"Good job, guys," Keith told them. "Go grab a shower and a fresh set of clothes. We'll meet for lunch and you can fill us in on what you learned and what you did."

"We learned Erik's a good shot," Declan muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" His father asked.

"Well," Erik ran his hand through his hair. "Apparently we stopped for lunch near the mating grounds of a deleto serpent and he almost attacked Sky."

"What?" Lance turned to his daughter and ran his eyes over her. "Are you okay? Go see Becca and have her check you out."

"I'm fine, Dad," she assured him. "I just want to go get a shower."

Keith looked over the gang in front of him and nodded, "Go, all of you. We'll talk later."

"You okay?" Pidge asked Lance when the kids left.

"I want to know what happened," he said shakily. "My daughter was almost attacked by a poisonous serpent? I mean, we knew there are creatures out there, but if I had known it was going to be that dangerous, I wouldn't have let you go through with this."

"You know we would never intentionally put any of them in danger," Keith said. "We'll talk to them and find out what happened. They're all here and they're all safe. This might end up being the best thing for them as a team."

Lance narrowed his eyes, "You are not going to put my daughter in danger for the purpose of bringing them all closer as a team."

"Come on, Lance, you know I wouldn't do that. Let's not pass judgment until we know what happened."

……………………………………………………………..

Sky had just pulled a clean shirt over her head when there was a knock on her door. "Who is it?"

"It's me."

"Come on in, Dad."

Lance slid the door open and walked in, "How're you doing, Shorty?"

"I'm fine, tired, but fine," she told him, brushing her wet hair. "Let me tell you, after yesterday I can truly appreciate a good home cooked meal and a comfortable bed. I am never again taking either for granted."

"Do you want to tell me what happened?"

She shrugged, "We were getting ready to start moving again when Erik saw the, uh, the deleto sneak up behind me. I didn't know it was there until I felt it's breath on my neck. He was able to shoot it before it could do anything."

"You felt its breath?"

"Yeah."

"On your neck?"

"Yeah. What is it?"

"Did the breath feel wet?"

"It was hot, I don't know if it was wet."

He walked over to her, "Turn around, let me see your neck."

"What is it, Dad?"

"The saliva of the deleto is as poisonous as its venom. Let me check your neck."

Sweeping her hair aside, Sky turned so he could see it, "This is silly, Dad, I think I would know if I had poison spit all over my neck."

He ran his fingers over the raw skin, trying to tell if it was a rash or sunburn, "You're rather red back here."

"Sunburn."

"Go see, Becca."

"Dad…"

"That's an order, soldier."

She rolled her eyes, "Yes, sir."

"We'll hold lunch for you," he said.

…………………………………………………………………………….

When Sky entered the dining room ten minutes later, the table had been extended to fit Keith, Lance, Darcy, Hunk, Pidge, Sven, Romelle, Allura, Erik, Declan, Gideon, Brina, and herself. Plates were set out in front of everyone and they twins eyed them hungrily since they had been told to wait until Sky joined them before they could eat.

"Have a seat," Keith told her before turning to his sons. "All right boys, you can eat now."

"What did Becca say?" Darcy asked her daughter.

"She said there is some irritation and she gave me some antibacterial cream to put on it, but I should be fine," Sky said, digging into the food before her. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until the scent of Nanny's cooking invaded her nose.

"Erik," Keith addressed the new commander. "How did it go?"

"It went well, sir. If anything, this whole experience has brought us together as a team."

"What happened with the deleto?" Lance asked.

"We had stopped for lunch, everything was fine. When we got up to leave I noticed a movement out of the corner of my eye, I turned and saw something behind Sky, before I had a chance to say anything to her, it rose up, right, uh, right behind her." He stopped and cleared his throat. "I knew we didn't have time to get her out of the way and when it bared its fangs, I reacted."

"You shot it?" Sven asked.

Erik nodded, "Yes, sir."

"What if you had missed?" Lance asked stiffly. "What if you had hit Sky instead? Or startled the serpent?"

"Neither was an option, sir."

Keith turned to the second in command, "Is that how you remember it, Schuyler?"

She nodded quietly.

"You have nothing to add?"

"No, sir."

Keith returned his attention to Erik, "How did the rest of the time go?"

"Fine, sir. We were able to work together and figure the best way home. We kept up a good pace, stopping to eat lunch and to eat dinner and sleep, other than that we only stopped a handful of more times to rest. We passed the time getting to know each other better, getting to know Brina better."

"So, you think this was a good experience for the team as a whole."

"Yes, sir."

"Good, good," Keith nodded and took a sip from his glass. "That was what we were hoping for. Now, down to business. We have agreed that the five of you have earned the rest of today off, but tomorrow morning you are right back to your regular schedule. We have received Intel that Vinn and his men have been on the move again. They had been laying low, we believe they are hoping to shake anyone who might be keeping track of them, but the Garrison is not giving up that easily. He is gathering his forces on Planet Kil'ar."

"Can't we just go and get him now while he's laying low?" Declan asked.

Keith shook his head, "Then we would be attacking him with no real proof. We suspect he is coming here, but we have no legal evidence to back that up. If we went and tried to take him into custody without the proper evidence, it would all blow up in our faces."

"Everything we're doing is being done for a reason," Lance explained. "You need to be prepared at all times."

…………………………………………………………………….

Feeling comfortably full, Sky made her way back to her room, relishing in the thought of curling up in her bed and giving into the tiredness that had been weighing her down. Her room was dark and cool when she entered and she had just kicked off her shoes, unclipped her communicator, setting it on her bedside table, and pulled her comforter back when there was a knock on the door.

She groaned quietly and contemplated ignoring the knock. But if it was Keith and there was work to be done, she couldn't ignore it. "Yes?"

"It's me, Sky."

Sighing, she sat on the edge of her bed, "Come in, Cady."

Sliding open the door, the Princess strolled in and flicked on the lights. "Why is it so dark in here?"

"Because I'm tired and I was going to take a nap."

"It's the middle of the day you don't need a nap."

Falling back across her bed, Sky asked, "What do you want?"

"I wanted to talk to my best friend," the bed sagged as Cady sat beside her. "So, what happened with Erik?"

Sky folded her arms behind her head, "What do you mean?"

"Did he have a good reason for talking to Brina the other night instead of you?"

"He is the new commander of the Voltron Force, Cady, he was talking to the new Green pilot."

"Sky."

She couldn't stop the smile that crossed her face, "He is the most amazing guy, Cady. He is so sweet and kind and gentle. He saved my life." She filled Cady in on what had happened during their trip through the woods.

"You sound like you're in love," Cady whispered.

"I, uh, I think I might be," Sky admitted.

"Will you be able to work together?"

"I think so."

"This is so exciting, Sky, I am so happy for you."

"What about you? How did your date with Geoffry go?"

Cady rolled her eyes, "He is the most boring man I have ever met in my life. I mean, he's nice and all, but he only wanted to talk about accounting and money and how much money he'll make when he finishes school and how much money I have coming to me. I think the twins might have been right."

Sky laughed, "Just don't let them hear you say that."

"I know. I still have to get back at them for what they did to my hair."

Sky sat up and picked up Cady's braid by the end, examining it, "It looks like the orange is fading a bit."

Cady scowled, "Not really, but when it's braided it isn't so noticeable."

"Well, I still owe them too, so maybe we can team up," Sky suggested, dropping her hair.

"What did you have in mind?"

"I don't know yet, but I bet we could get Erik and my father in on it."

"With Uncle Lance on our side, we can't go wrong," Cady stood and walked to the bathroom. "We'll start planning."

"We can start planning tomorrow," Sky called through the door. "I'm tired."

"Don't be such a baby!" Cady called back.

Sky groaned at another knock on her door. "What?" She slid the door open.

Erik raised an eyebrow, "Bad time?"

"Yes, no. What is it?"

"I knew you'd be cranky."

"I'm not cranky, I'm tired."

"Point taken," he smiled and took her hand. "How's your neck?"

"Its fine, Aunt Becca thinks it'll pass. Where have you been?" Sky allowed him to pull her into a loose embrace.

"Uncle Keith and your father were debriefing me," he said, kissing her gently.

"Sounds sexy," she whispered against his mouth.

Erik chuckled, "You can debrief me anytime, Sunny."

"Ahem," Cady cleared her throat loudly.

Erik tightened his arms around Sky, not letting her step away from him, "What do you want and why are you here?"

"I was talking to my friend."

"Mm hm," he tilted his head and rested it against Sky's. "I outrank you as Sky's friend now, so you can leave."

Cady gasped and placed her hands on her hips, "Erik Johansson, that is not true!"

"Yeah," Sky tilted her head back and looked up at him. "We need your help."

"What? Is there a bug that needs to be squashed? Or something heavy to be lifted?"

She stepped out of his embrace and playfully smacked his arm, "Not funny, I'll pretend you didn't say that."

"I'd appreciate it if you would," he walked over to her bed and fell back across it. "What do you need?"

"We need your help getting back at the twins."

Erik leaned up on his elbows, "No."

"What do you mean no?" Sky sat down beside him.

"No. If you guys want to cause trouble within the team, that's your problem, but I can't get involved. I need the cooperation and respect of my teammates."

She leaned over him, "What about the cooperation and respect of your girlfriend?"

He met her gaze and she could see the conflict in his eyes.

"Damn," Erik sat up. "I knew this was going to turn around and bite me in the ass eventually."

"If that's what you're into," Sky knelt behind him and laid her hands on his shoulders, carefully massaging his shoulders. She was surprised at how tight and tense his muscles were even though he appeared relaxed.

He let his head fall forward and his shoulders slump, "Okay, you just won my support."

"Good," Cady clapped her hands and sat on the desk chair. "What are we going to do?"

"It has to be something they don't expect," Sky said, moving her hands over his back, feeling him relax beneath her fingers.

"Something mean and, preferably, messy," Cady added.

Erik chuckled and leaned back against Sky, "Well, I think it's pretty obvious that Declan has a thing for Brina, maybe we could use that."

"As long as it's him and not you," Sky whispered into his ear, sliding her arms under his and around his chest.

"Stop it," he whispered back.

"Sky was thinking about getting her father to help us as well," Cady said, standing. "I'm going to think on it, but I will do that somewhere else as it appears you guys want to be alone."

"How did your date go?" Erik asked.

"Not too well," Cady stopped at the door. "You don't have any friends you could set me up with, do you, Erik?"

"None that I would intentionally sic you on," he muttered.

"I heard that. Jerk."

"Brat."

"Idiot."

"Monkey face."

"Immature Mama's boy."

"Boyfriendless hag."

Cady crossed her arms over her chest and tossed her silky blonde curls, "Sky's pity date."

Erik tilted his head back and looked at the underside of Sky's chin, "Is that true?"

She smiled down at him, "Of course it is, Erik. Well, it was and then you gave me your peanut butter crackers and, well, let's just say it went from pity to bribery."

"So if I keep you supplied with peanut butter you'll continue to go out with me?"

"Yup."

He shrugged and looked back at his cousin, "Works for me."

"I'm going to think on this and see if I can't get some help from my other siblings," she slid the door open. "You two behave yourselves. Gee, I hope I don't run into Uncle Lance and have to tell him what you're up to. Alone, in Sky's room…on her bed."

"She wouldn't really tell him, would she?" Erik asked when the door shut behind Cady.

"Don't worry about it," Sky rested her cheek on top of his head as he leaned back against her. "But you might want to move."

"I'm comfortable."

"My legs are going numb."

"Suck it up, soldier."

She tried to shift so she was no longer kneeling on her legs, but he weighed about fifty pounds more than she did and at that moment it was all dead weight. "Erik, if I am unable to participate in battle because I've lost all feeling in my legs, you can explain why to my father and Uncle Keith."

Groaning, he rolled off her and stretched out on her bed, "Bitch, bitch, bitch."

Sky stretched her legs out and laid them over his, leaning back on her hands, "Are you going to tell me what happened at the debriefing that has you stressed out?"

"I'm not stressed out."

"Your muscles were so tight and bunched up with tension. What happened?"

"You have a huge bed."

"It's no bigger than the one I have at home. Stop trying to change the subject."

He sighed and crossed his arms behind his head, "I got a dressing down from your father about putting you in unnecessary danger."

"What!" She sat upright. "That's ridiculous! You saved my life! Is he still here? I have to talk to him."

"Relax, Sunny, that's what Uncle Keith told him."

"And?"

"And what?"

"There's something you're not telling me."

He shrugged and closed his eyes.

"Erik, I am the second in command. I should have been at the debriefing."

"It's nothing, Schuyler," he said sternly.

She noted his tone and turned so she was stretched out beside him on her stomach, bracing herself on her arms so she was looking down at him, "Talk to me, Erik."

Heat rose to his face and he pretended not to hear her.

Turning on her side, Sky laid a hand on his chest, "You're worrying me, Erik, what happened? Did my father threaten you?"

With his cheeks burning, Erik opened his eyes and met hers, "I, uh, I promised him that, uh, that nothing would ever happen to you as long as I was around."

"You can't say things like that to him, we need to keep our professional and private relationships separate. This could seriously jeopardize our jobs."

"I know, Schuyler, but he got me so angry. He accused me of using you, of using your, uh, your crush on me," his cheeks darkened even more. "I guess your father believes some of the things that have been said on Pollux about me getting around. I was really pissed off."

"Erik," she rubbed her hand over his chest, feeling his heart race. "What happened?"

"I, uh, I told him I was in love with you."

Sky pulled her hand away so fast you'd think she had been burned.

He shifted his gaze and stared at the ceiling, "I told him I have been in love with you my entire life and that I would sooner give my own life before I allowed anything to happen to you."

"What, uh, what happened?" Sky whispered, glaring at the small flowers in the fabric of her quilt.

"He stared at me a minute and then he left. Uncle Keith dismissed me and told me that you and I were going to be called in for a meeting later."

She nodded and continued to study the tiny stitches in the floral fabric.

"Schuyler," he reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear, tracing her jaw with his finger. "Say something."

"I'm guessing the meeting isn't to address my request for more stylish flightsuits."

"Sky," he sighed.

"Did you mean it?" Her question was barely audible.

Erik cupped her chin and forced her to look at him, "Yes."

"Your entire life?"

The corner of his mouth quirked up, "I can't remember a time in my life when you weren't a part of it or when my feelings for you didn't run deep. Even before I knew what love was, I knew what I felt for you was different. When we were little I always wanted to play with you, I constantly bugged my parents to let me call you or write you a letter. Whenever I heard something funny, my first thought was that I couldn't wait to tell you. I was always seeing things and thinking 'Sky would love that' or 'I have to get that for Sky.' You are always on my mind, whether it's the forefront or a whisper in the back. Any girl I took out on a date never had a chance because she wasn't you. Over the years I like to think I've learned what love is and it's you, my Sky. I love you."

She studied him, seeing the honesty in his deep eyes and the half smile on his lips and her heart tightened. "Really?"

He laughed, "Yes, really. Do you really have a crush on me?"

"I did."

"You did?"

"Yeah, I did. I was always thinking about you and daydreaming about what it would be like if we could be together. But I was afraid after last time and I knew it would never work. It was so hard for me to see you, to want to be with you, but to know it could never be." Unable to look him in the eye anymore, she shifted her gaze to his chest. "I convinced myself it was a childish crush and that I would get over it. I thought that when you missed my birthday that it meant you didn't feel the same way, that I had read too much into little things."

"What happened?" He whispered.

"I saw you at Cady's party and I knew I wasn't over my crush. Then you had to go and be all sweet and romantic, giving me the necklace and I knew it wasn't a crush any more. It hurt so much to want to be with you but to be afraid at the same time."

"You have nothing to be afraid of, Schuyler, I promise," Erik ran his hand over her hair.

Not wanting to say anything else, Sky laid her head down on his chest and closed her eyes. She listened to his heartbeat and relaxed against his solid body. Erik cradled the back of her head with one hand and laced the fingers of his other hand through hers.

"It stopped being a crush," she whispered into his shirt. "I do love you."

He squeezed her hand, "I know."

………………………………………………………………………

Sky tired to ignore the incessant beeping and turned her face into her pillow. Wait a second. Her pillow was usually softer than this. She slowly lifted her head and looked down at Erik. He was watching her through heavy lidded eyes, his right hand still clutched hers and his left gently stroked her back.

"Why didn't you answer it?" She mumbled rolling off him.

"I didn't think it would be seemly if I answered your communicator," he replied.

Reaching over him and grabbing her communicator, she flipped it open, "Collier."

"What took you so long to answer?"

"Sorry, Dad, I was asleep."

Lance stared at the small image of his disheveled daughter, "You need to be able to react faster."

"I'll work on that, sir."

"We need to talk, little girl."

Sky rolled her eyes, "I'm not a little girl, Dad."

"Your mother and I want to talk to you. I got Keith to give you some time off so you can have dinner at home and we can talk."

She looked over at the clock on the table and was surprised to see it was almost four. "All right, I'll head down there in another hour."

"See you then, Sky."

"Bye, Dad." She snapped the communicator shut and rolled onto her back.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Erik asked quietly.

"No, that's all right, they just want to talk."

He rolled over wrapped his arm around her waist, snuggling up to her, "I know, but we could present a united front."

Smiling, she kissed his forehead, "Thank you, but they probably just want to lecture me on responsibility and proper behavior. It's time my father accepted the fact that I'm an adult now."

"Yeah," he nuzzled her neck and splayed his hand over her stomach. "You are definitely all grown up."

Giggling softly, she turned and faced him, "Just because I'm grown up doesn't mean you can have your way with me."

"No," he kissed her. "But I can have my way with you because I love you."

The smile slowly left her face and she looked down.

"Does it make you uncomfortable to hear that?" He whispered.

"No, not uncomfortable," she lifted her gaze back to him. "A little…overwhelmed."

"But I can still have my way with you, right?"

Sky pressed her face into the crook of his neck and slid her arms around him. "Anytime," she mumbled.

"Do I get to hear you say it?" He whispered into her ear.

She tilted her head back and looked at him, "I love you, Erik."

"You're mine," he said quietly, resting his forehead against hers. "You always have been."

Sky chuckled, "Should I get that tattooed across my forehead? 'Property of Erik Johansson'."

"I'd appreciate that."

"You'd have to get a matching one, 'Property of Schuyler Collier'."

"I already have one."

"Oh yeah? Where?"

"Someday, if you're a good girl, I'll show you."

"I'll be good," she promised.

"Then I'll show you," he pulled her close and rolled her under him. "But you have to show me how good you can be."

Sky slid her hands up his back and into his hair, bringing his mouth down to hers, gently caressing his lips with hers. He deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue between her lips, trying to get closer. Moving his mouth down to her neck, sliding his hands down to her hips, Erik kissed his way down to the collar of her shirt before moving up and stopping to tenderly suck on the sensitive skin below her ear. Sky slid her hands down his back, closing her eyes while she gently raked her fingers over his back and he sent shivers throughout her body.

Wanting to taste him again, she took his face in her hands and brought his mouth back up to hers.

"I love you," he whispered against her mouth.

Before she could respond in like, the castle alarms went off, jolting them apart. Without a second thought, Erik was on his feet and racing to the door. Sky grabbed her shoes and tugged them on, following him down the hall to Castle Control.