Hi all!

Thank you for the great reviews! I would respond to them all, but it is 2:00am and I'm tired :-) Anyway, I appreciate them all and I do take your suggestions and constructive criticism into consideration.

I also want to warn you that this chapter does get kinda mushy at the end. Sorry, I just couldn't resist!

Enjoy,

Failte

"You would not believe the conversation I had with my father earlier," Sky said as she walked into Erik's room. She hadn't had a chance to talk to him all afternoon, then they went into the meeting where they learned that the men who had attacked Cady were the brothers of the woman they had arrested in town, and after that they were both too busy to talk.

"Oh yeah?" Erik was sitting at his desk.

"Yeah," she turned and shut the door. "He tried to give me the talk."

"The talk?" He mimicked her dramatic tone. "What do you mean?"

Sky walked over and slid her arms around his neck, resting her cheek against the top of his head, "You know what I mean, about how we need to be careful and use protection. It was the most uncomfortable ten minutes of my life. Although, it was fun to mess with Dad, at one point I thought his head was going to explode."

Erik shifted and pulled her onto his lap, "Does this mean we are going to do it?"

She grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck, "You're so romantic."

"I know."

"But you're going to want to be careful, I think if my father ever found out you so much as kissed me he would have your head on a platter."

"That's a chance I'm willing to take," he murmured, gently capturing her lips with his own. "Have you seen Cady yet?"

"No," she laid her head on his shoulder. "She's been in and out of it all day, Aunt Becca wants her to take it easy. I figure I'll try and see her tomorrow. Becca said that if the laser had been an inch lower and to the right, it would have hit her heart."

"She was very lucky, considering."

"Did you email Tristan?"

Erik amused himself by tracing designs on her leg with his fingertip, "Yeah, I sent him an email earlier."

"No word yet?"

"No."

She twirled his hair around her finger, "What did you think of Corporeal Noral?"

Corporeal Holly Noral had been introduced to them at the meeting that afternoon as Captain Klari's new second. She was a quiet, timid young woman, not at all the type of person they would have thought Captain Klari would have chosen for the job.

"I was a little surprised. But I think Klari choose because she knows she'll have more control over the Corporeal than she had over Tristan."

"I just don't get that woman. Why is she making this so difficult?"

Erik shrugged, "I think she's afraid we're trampling on her territory. She has been following Vinn for about a year now and suddenly we come in and want to try and take over."

"But he is threatening our planet, our home." When Erik didn't respond, she lifted her head to look at him. "What is it?"

"Sky, do every think about our future after this battle is over?"

"Not really. I prefer to think about today. Why?"

"Um, well," he looked uncomfortable as he shifted his gaze from her. "I don't really know if I want to make the move to Arus permanent."

Sky jolted. She had never even given thought to living anywhere else but on Arus. Could she leave her parents? Her friends? This was her home. But this wasn't just about her, what about Erik? He had left his home, his family, his friends. And as a member of the Polluxian royal family he had responsibilities to his home and family.

Seeing the expression on her face, he sighed and tightened his arms around her, "We don't have to discuss this now, Sunny."

"I hadn't really thought about it, Erik."

"I didn't say it to upset you."

"I know," she smiled at him. "I'm not upset, honey, you've just given me something to think about."

"We have plenty of time, it will be a while before we can leave here."

"Yeah, I know, but…" she stopped when she heard an unusual popping noise. "What is that?"

"I just got a new email," he explained, leaning over her to hit a button on his keyboard. A window popped up. "It's from Tristan."

Sky sat upright and turned so she was perched on his knees, "What does he say?"

Erik opened the email and they both read the message.

"I don't get it," Sky whispered.

He sighed and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder, "What?"

"I thought he wanted to come back. He told me he didn't want to leave, why is he giving up so easily?"

"He's probably trying to make a clean cut, to make it easier for both him and Cady."

"This will devastate her."

"Don't sell Cady short, Sky, she'll be fine."

Sky scowled and pushed his arms away from her, standing, "I know Cady a little better than you do, Erik. She really feels she is in love with him. You know how sensitive she is."

Erik pulled his chair closer to the desk, "I'll email him back."

With Sky reading over his shoulder, he typed:

Tristan,

I'm glad to hear you arrived safely and you're well, but I have to admit your email confused me. Are you really just giving up? I thought you wanted to come back, I thought you didn't want to leave? Now you're saying you aren't even going to apply for reassignment here? Come on, man, you can't give up this easily. We can all agree that Captain Klari is a nuisance…

"Heinous bitch is a better description," Sky muttered.

Erik looked over his shoulder and grinned, "I love you." He returned to the computer as she kissed his cheek.

…or rather, she's a heinous bitch, but you belong here. We can help you. We can get Keith and Allura to side with us.

Don't give up, Tristan. Don't do this to Cady or to yourself. You deserve to be with each other. Give it some more thought.

Good luck,

Erik

He clicked the button that sent the message over hundreds of thousands of miles to Tristan's computer. "Now we wait and see if we can convince him to come back."

………………………………………………..

The next morning Tristan crossed the grounds to the camp psychiatrist office. Word had spread quickly about his actions in the rec room the night before and he had been ordered to speak with the doctor. He was feeling angry and annoyed and he really didn't want to talk to some head shrinker. Checking his email one more time before going to bed the night before, Tristan had read Erik's email, but he hadn't responded. He didn't know how to.

"Lieutenant Alexander, come on in, have a seat," Dr. Filmore greeted him with a thick British accent. "How are you on this beautiful morning?"

"I'm fine, sir," Tristan replied stiffly.

Dr. Filmore was an older gentleman, a little too thin, both in body and in hair, which he tried to cover with a short crew cut. Small, square glasses sat on the tip of his nose as he read the report in his hand. "I'm glad to hear that, please sit. So, how are you finding our camp?"

"Its fine, sir."

"Mm, hm," Dr. Filmore set the paper down on his desk and leaned against it, smiling softly. "Do you want to talk about what happened last night?"

Tristan didn't respond.

"You attacked a," he stopped and consulted the report. "Private Kalven Erlan. Why?"

"I didn't like what he said."

"What did he say?"

"He made a disrespectful remark about a…friend of mine."

Dr. Filmore nodded, "Tristan, may I call you Tristan? We have witnesses who say that a group of men were watching a news program which showed a story about a young woman. Who is she?"

"Just…a girl I know." Tristan was growing increasingly uncomfortable with this discussion.

"Princess Cadence Whitaker of the Arusian royal family."

Tristan nodded.

"You just served on Arus, didn't you?"

"Yes, sir."

"The Princess is an attractive young lady."

Tristan shifted in his seat.

"There is always a risk of something happening when people are thrown together in a high-stress situation. It is never a good idea to get involved with someone you are serving with or you are to be protecting."

"What are you implying, Doctor?"

"I'm implying nothing, Tristan, I'm just stating a fact. Did something happen between you and the Princess?"

"No, it's not like that."

Dr. Filmore crossed his arms over his chest and nodded, "Then tell me what it is like."

Tristan hesitated. Part of him wanted to open up, tell the doctor everything, get it all off his chest. But another part felt it was too personal.

"Tristan, you know nothing that is said here will go outside these walls."

"Sometimes," Tristan said quietly. "We can't always do what we know is right. Sometimes our heart goes against our brain."

"She was injured."

With a heavy heart, Tristan buried his face in his hands.

"Were you there when it happened?"

"It shouldn't have happened," he whispered. "It shouldn't have happened. It should have been me."

"Why do you say that? Had you been in danger? Did she push you out of the way?"

"No, because she shouldn't have been hit, she shouldn't have bled so much." He lowered his head and fisted his hands in his hair, reliving the moment when he had held her in his arms.

Dr. Filmore stood silently and watched the young man in front of him fight his inner demons. The Lieutenant obviously had feelings for the Princess, but he felt he couldn't act on it, most likely because of the restraints placed on him by his career. "Tristan?"

Tristan looked up.

"I have read your file," Dr. Filmore continued. "You're a hard worker with a long line of accolades and praise. You have been working for the Garrison for four years now and in that time you have only taken leave four times, two of those times you stayed in your camp. I am going to have you granted a two week leave to go home, to Terra. Relax, gather your thoughts. Then you can return and pursue a new assignment."

"I don't think…"

"It's not a suggestion, it's an order."

Tristan slumped in his chair, he really didn't want to go home. To have his mother fawn over him and his father to try and guilt him into going to law school.

"I'll have the papers drawn up today and you'll be on a ship to Terra within the next couple of days."

"Yes, sir," he sighed resignedly.

………………………………………………………

"He just left?" Cady whispered.

Sky nodded, "Yeah, he did. But he also told me that he didn't want to leave, he wanted you to know that."

Cady was reclining back on her hospital bed, pale and weak. Her left arm was in a sling to keep it immobile and her face the picture of despair. "If he really didn't want to leave, then he shouldn't have."

"It's more complicated than that."

"I know."

Sky looked around the room. They were surrounded by flowers, from bud vases all the way up to huge arrangements, cards, stuffed animals, and balloons. When word of Cady's injury had spread, the well wishers and gifts came from all corners of the universe. The larger gifts came from the men who were trying to win her attentions, from huge floral arrangements to a giant stuffed bear that sat in the corner.

"I guess this is for the best," Cady murmured.

"Do you really think that?" Sky asked.

"I don't know what else to think."

"He gave Erik his email address and asked him to keep him updated on your condition."

"He did?" She asked almost hopefully.

"Yeah, maybe we can convince Erik to share it with you."

"I'll leave that convincing up to you."

"I think I'm going to convince him to come here and get some ideas," Sky mumbled, fingering a delicate yellow flower in a vase on the bedside table.

Cady smiled wistfully, "It's his birthday."

"Yeah, we're getting together tonight. Barring any incidents, we have the whole night off and you can't interrupt us."

"I am so jealous of you."

Sky reached over and patted her friend's hand, "Don't be, Cady, the right man is out there for you."

"Do you think it could be Tristan?"

"Do you?"

Cady fingered the edge of her blanket, "Yeah, I do."

"Then we'll figure something out," Sky promised her.

……………………………………………………………………

Sky stood with her hands on her hips and looked around the room. She had gotten Keith and Pidge to help her out by keeping Erik busy for the past hour while she prepared. After dinner, Keith had taken him aside and said he and Pidge needed his help in Castle Control. Erik didn't look to happy since it was the first evening he had had off in over a week.

Sky wasn't good at this sort of thing. She wanted to do something special for Erik, let him know how much he meant to her, how much she loved him. But they were short on time and with everything that was going on, birthday celebrations were at the back of everyone's minds. This was going to be just the two of them, his family was coming this weekend and there would be a dinner and all with everyone else then, but tonight was just them.

She walked slowly around his room where she had lit a couple of vanilla scented candles and dimmed the lights. His gift was wrapped and sitting on his desk next to a small cake for two she had bought at the bakery in town. It was warm and romantic, but she was afraid he would think it was silly. Not to mention the fact that she was so nervous she was afraid she'd be sick.

Sky placed a hand on her stomach and glanced at the clock. 7:53. Erik was supposed to be let go at 8:00 for the evening. She looked down at what she was wearing, trying to decide if she was being foolish or not.

Having taken the advice that Cady had given her weeks ago about not forgetting that she was a girl and it was okay to show it sometimes, Sky had dug into the back of her closet and pulled out one of the few dresses she owned. A simple red dress that fell to just above her knees, remembering that Erik had said he liked her legs. A smile crossed her lips as she thought of him. Remembering another bit of advice Cady had given her, Sky borrowed a pair of red heels from her mother, bringing her to a height of five eleven, but still under Erik's six foot two. She had stumbled around the room a bit, trying to get used to walking in them. It certainly wasn't the same as walking around in boots.

Stopping to look in his mirror, Sky decided that Cady would have been proud of her. She had pulled her hair back with barrettes above her ears and she wore the trinity knot necklace he had given her along with a pair of simple, silver drop earrings. A little bit of red lip gloss and a touch of mascara were the only makeup she felt comfortable with, but it should be enough.

Tired of pacing, Sky sat on the edge of his bed and crossed her legs. Placing her hands on either side of her, she sat and waited nervously for him to arrive.

……………………………………….

Since Erik wasn't completely brain dead, he knew something was going on. Keith had snagged him before he could go and told him they needed his help in Castle Control. Grumbling under his breath, he followed his commander. It was the first time in days that he and Sky had both had the same evening off and he wanted to make the most of it. Not to mention the fact that it was his birthday. Granted, they had all agreed to celebrate it this weekend, but he was planning to try and use it as an excuse to get Sky to shower him with attention.

Keith had said it would only take a moment, but it ended up taking over an hour. They had him doing silly busy work that they would normally give to one of the new guard recruits in order to familiarize them with the castle. He had to run reports to Allura's study, schedules to the guards quarters, and collect and return order forms from the hospital wing. He also did a lot of standing around in Castle Control where Declan was mumbling about not being able to spend to time with Brina while Keith held him there for no apparent reason.

Finally, at a quarter past eight Erik made his way to their wing. He stopped to knock on Sky's door, hoping to earn some sympathy from her because he had to run around doing nothing on his birthday. When there was no answer, he sighed, annoyed. She was probably with Cady. No, she had to be up to something, he thought. He just had to find her. His eyes shifted to his door and he smiled. She had his code.

When Erik slid the door open, what he saw stopped his heart, caused his mind to go blank, and shot lust straight through his body. Sky was sitting on the side of his bed, leaning back slightly with her head tilted to the side. Her legs were crossed and the skirt of her dress had slid up exposing her toned thigh and one high heeled shoe dangled from her toes. The lights were dimmed and a handful of candles were lit and sending seductive shadows across the room. He had never seen anything more beautiful, more sexy, in his life.

"I was starting to worry," she said quietly.

Still unable to speak, Erik quickly crossed the room and in one swift movement he pushed her back on the bed, laid on top of her, and fused his mouth with hers.

To say Sky was surprised by his reaction would be a huge understatement, but she quickly adjusted and slid her arms up his back, deepening the kiss.

After a few moments, Erik lifted his head to catch his breath. "Hi."

Sky chuckled quietly, "Hi."

"You," Erik whispered, his breath tickling her cheek, "are the sexist woman I have ever seen."

Heat flooded her face and her body, "Thank you. You're not so bad yourself."

"Well, I always thought I was cute, but a sexy woman? Thank you." He teased.

Sky slid a hand into his hair and brought his head down to press a kiss to his forehead, "Happy Birthday, Erik."

He shifted so he could rest his weight on his arms and look down at her, "I have to say, this is definitely the best birthday present I ever had."

"You didn't get your present yet."

He raised an eyebrow, "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, it's on your desk."

"Mm," he lowered his head and trailed kisses down her throat and to the collar of her dress before changing direction and moving his lips up the other side of her neck.

Sky closed her eyes and lost herself in the feelings he brought out in her. Her whole body felt as though it were on fire and his touch heated her even more, but she couldn't stop him even if she wanted to. His hands roamed over her body as she arched against him.

Very slowly, Erik lifted his head and looked down at her, "Maybe, uh, maybe I should open my present now, before it goes any further."

She swallowed hard, "Yeah, maybe you should."

Erik sat up and moved aside, trying to ignore the way her skirt had ridden even higher. Sky sat up, pulling her skirt down and straightening her dress.

"What is all this?" He asked, following her over to his desk.

"It's your birthday."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her close, resting his chin on her shoulder, "Where'd you get the cake?"

"Would you believe me if I said I baked it?"

"No."

"I bought it in town."

"Strawberry?"

"Of course."

He kissed her cheek, "When did you find the time to do all this?"

She turned in his embrace and wrapped her arms around his neck, "I always have time for you." She pulled his head down and captured his lips in a tender, drawn out kiss.

Erik tightened his arms around her and pulled her as tightly to him as he could, fisting one hand in her hair and stroking her back with the other. Fighting hard to reign in his libido, Erik lifted his head to catch his breath. "You, uh, you said something about a present?"

"What? Oh, um, yeah, but you're uh, you're going to have to let me go."

"I don't want to."

"I don't want you to," she admitted huskily.

"But if I don't, I won't be able at all."

Stepping back, Sky turned and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Once she felt she had herself under control, she picked up the large box and turned back to him, "Happy Birthday, Babe."

"Wow," he took the package from her, surprised by the size and heft. He turned and sat on the bed, patting the spot beside him. Once Sky was seated, he tore into the paper. "Oh wow, Sky, this…this is awesome." He stood as he pulled the dark brown, leather flight jacket out of the box. "This is incredible."

"Try it on," she said. "I want to make sure it fits all right."

Erik slid his arms into the sleeves and twirled around in front of her, "How do I look?"

"Hot."

"Yeah?"

"Oh yeah."

He slipped it off and hung it carefully over the back of the chair, "You are too much, Schuyler."

"What do you mean?"

"You are amazing. You've taken on this role as pilot and second-in-command with almost no notice and preparation and you are doing an incredible job. You don't let the stress or worry get you down and you never lose your humor. You're always thinking of others, Cady, me. You make all of this easier for me to handle."

Feeling rather embarrassed by his praise, she looked down at her hands in her lap, "I'm not doing that much."

He knelt in front of her and took her hands in his, "You don't even realize how important you are."

Sky pulled a hand from his and cupped his cheek, "Not nearly as important as you are."

He moved to sit next to her and pulled her close, "I love you."

Before she knew what was happening, Sky was once again pinned beneath him, their mouths fused together. Not that she was complaining or anything. Her hands moved down and pulled his shirt from the waistband of his jeans, needing to feel more of him she slipped her hands up under his shirt.

Erik jumped at the feel of her cool hands on his warm skin. He rolled over so she was on top. "Sunny, what are we doing?"

"Celebrating your birthday," she murmured, unbuttoning his shirt.

"Did you want some cake?"

Sky lifted her head and smiled mischievously at him, "We can save that for breakfast if you want."

"You sure?"

"I've never been more sure of anything."

"If you think you have to do this for me, for my birthday…"

Sky pressed a finger to his lips, "I want to be with you because I love you. I want to get closer to you."

Erik grinned, "You're still amazing me, Sunny."

Sky sat up, straddling his hips, and reached behind her to pull down the zipper of her dress. It fell from her shoulders and he sucked in a sharp breath at what he saw.

Ignoring the embarrassment that had her wanting to cover herself, Sky tried to sound seductive, "Y-you said this is what you wanted."

Erik swallowed hard, twice, at the sight of his girlfriend wearing the sheer, silken nightgown they had seen in the window of the shop in town. It was silver and shimmering in the candlelight. She was absolutely breathtaking. Unable to put his feelings into words, he sat up and wound one arm around her waist and used his other hand to bring her head to his, assaulting her mouth his own. His hand gripped the soft material of the gown as he fought the urge to physically tear it off her body. Erik forced himself, once again, to slow down. He turned gently and laid her on his bed. His heart beat wildly as she helped him slid the dress the rest of the way off her body, leaving her wearing only the nightgown and her shoes.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered.

Sky watched the way he studied her, a combination of love and lust in his eyes as he carefully touched her. "I'm not going to break."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"I know."

"You'll stop me if I do?"

"You won't, don't worry."

He leaned over her and kissed her gently, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"There's no turning back, Sunny."

"I don't want to," she whispered, running her hand over his chest. "I just want you."

…………………………………………….

Sky woke slowly the next morning, stretching her arms and smiling. She turned her head and saw Erik lying beside her, half on his stomach facing away from her. The blankets had slid down, exposing his bare muscled back and the memories of the night before rushed back to her.

She and Erik had made love. That was the only way to describe it. He had been tender and sweet, caressing her with his hands and mouth, memorizing every inch of her body. They had joined, completely, in body and soul. Sky had never felt closer to anyone or more loved and downright worshipped. A twinge of guilt made her wonder if he had enjoyed it as much as she had. It seemed as though he had concentrated more on her than she had on him.

She looked down to see that she was wearing the shirt he had tossed off the night before. Sky rolled onto her side and slid her hand down his back as she remembered how a couple of hours after falling asleep in his arms, she had wakened feeling hungry. Erik had stirred when she got out of the bed and asked her what she was doing. Sky picked up his shirt and winked at him. She quickly returned to the bed with the cake and two forks. They had then sat in up in bed, sharing the white cake with strawberry filling and white chocolate icing, feeding each other, giggling, and flirting.

He had repeatedly thanked her and showed his appreciation with soft kisses, gentle caresses, and longing looks. After the two of them ate half of the cake, Erik set it on the table beside him and they made love once again before falling into a deep sleep, wrapped around each other.

Now it was morning and Sky was enjoying the fact that she was with Erik and that she was wildly in love with him. He shifted and turned his head, watching her as she stroked his warm skin.

"Good morning," he mumbled.

"Yes it is," she leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"You're okay?"

"I'm great."

"Really?"

Sky smiled reassuringly, "Really, Erik, it's nothing I can't handle."

He yawned and turned so he was lying completely on his stomach, "You can keep rubbing my back if you want."

"Oh, can I?" She teased, running her hand over his shoulders.

"It is my birthday."

"Not anymore, that ended at midnight."

"Mm," he sighed as she sat up and used both hands to massage him.

The blanket slid down a little further, but Sky didn't readjust it as it bunched up on the small of his back. As a matter of fact, she even pushed it down a little further, feeling mischievous when he didn't stop her. But something caught her eye.

"Erik! You have a tattoo!" Sky exclaimed.

"I told you I did."

"You did not!"

"Sure I did," he turned his head so he could see her. "A while ago you told me I needed to get a tattoo that says 'Property of Schuyler Collier' and I told you I already had one."

"I thought you were kidding," she leaned closer to see just what it was. On the top of his left buttock was the image of a sun with six wavy rays extending out and beneath it in script writing was the word'Sky'.

"Sunny Sky," Erik said quietly.

She didn't know what to think.

"Are you done staring at my ass?" He asked after a few moments of silence.

She stretched out next to him and laid her head on the other pillow so they were facing each other, "When did you get that?"

"Oh, I guess that was about two years ago when I graduated school before I started my military training. Some friends and I were out celebrating and we all decided to get a tattoo."

"But we weren't dating then."

Erik brought his hand up to stroke her cheek, "You were always my girl, Sunny."

"What if I had turned you down when you asked me out?"

"I knew you wouldn't."

"But two years ago you had already broken my heart and had yet to fully regain my friendship."

"I knew, Sky, we were meant to be together."

"You were drunk, weren't you?"

Erik smirked, "Maybe, a little. My friend, Hobbe, told me that I went up to the tattoo artist and declared 'I want the name of the most beautiful girl in the galaxy right here!' and I dropped my pants and bent over the chair."

Sky laughed, "You did not!"

"I don't really remember, I was a little drunk."

"I love you," she kissed him quickly.

He smiled, "That's good to know, I'd hate to have to explain that tattoo to some other girl."

She punched his arm playfully, "No other girl had better know about that."

"Only you," he promised. "Well, maybe a couple of others, but you're the most important."

"Excuse me?"

He loved that she was getting riled up, "You're so cute."

"You're not going to sweet talk your way out of this."

The beeping of his alarm brought a quick smile to Erik's face. He reached over and smacked it off, "Saved by the bell."

"This time," she muttered, pushing back the covers and standing.

"Schuyler."

She turned and looked down at him, still stretched out on his side, the blankets low on his hips. Sky tore her eyes from his body and to his face, "What?"

"Thank you, for everything."

She smiled, "Happy birthday, Erik."