Hi all,

Sorry for the delay, but my computer completely died last week. After a small memorial service, I ordered a new computer, then I had to wait for it to arrive, etc...

Any way, thanks for the great reviews, I really appreciate them and I hope this story continues to live up to your expectations. Hopefully I'll be able to update more quickly now.

Enjoy,
Failte


Sven slowly raised his head, looking as though he had aged ten years in the last five minutes. "Does he know?" He asked, his voice thick with emotion.

Dr. Woodhall shook her head, "No, he's in recovery right now. Considering all the medication he is on and depending on how coherent he is when he wakes up, he might not fully understand the extent of his injuries at first."

"I vant to be de von to tell him."

"I don't know if that would be a good idea," she said carefully.

Sven stepped closer to her, towering over the doctor by a good head, "I am de only von who knows just vhat he is going through. I vill be de von to talk to him."

Romelle moved closer to her husband, offering him support with a gentle hand on his back.

Dr. Woodhall sighed resignedly, "Before you speak to him, I think we should talk and make sure you fully understand his condition so you can explain it to him."

He nodded, "I vould appreciate dat."

Sky appeared at his side, "When can we see him?"

"Not tonight, he's in recovery and I don't expect him to be up for visitors until tomorrow. I would suggest you all go home and get some sleep, come back tomorrow, visiting hours start at 8:00."

Sky stared at the doctor, her mouth opened in surprise. She had assumed they would be allowed to see him, or at least she would be able to.

"Come on, sweetie," Allura wrapped her arm around her shoulders. "He's going to be okay, you can calm down now. You need to rest, you'll do Erik no good if you're worn out. You'll see him in the morning."

"I'm going to get us a ride out of here and call Arus," Keith whispered to his wife.


Tristan jolted out of a light doze as his communicator sounded. He quickly grabbed it from the bedside table and stood, flipping it open and whispering, "Yeah?"

"Tristan?"

He looked over and watched Cady sigh in her sleep and turn over. Not wanting to wake her, he moved out into the hall, "Yes, sir. How's Erik?"

Keith filled him in on everything Dr. Woodhall had told them, his voice was monotone and strained.

"How is he taking all this?" Tristan asked.

Keith shook his head, "He doesn't know yet, he's still in recovery. We'll be coming back tomorrow during visiting hours to see him."

"Does this mean he has to give up flying Black?" Tristan asked.

"Most likely. But otherwise, he's going to be fine, and that is the most important thing. I have a huge favor to ask, Tristan, it's too late to get a hotel room, would it be all right if Sven, Romelle, and Delora came to the house tonight?"

"Oh, of course sir, you don't even have to ask. They are more than welcome to stay as long as they need to. Do you need a ride?"

"I already called for a couple of taxis, we'll be there in an hour."

"I'll make sure beds are made up, I'm sure you guys are ready to drop."

Keith nodded, "I don't even know how Sky is still standing right now. How's Cady?"

"She's fine, she finally fell asleep."

Keith's jaw twitched as he fought back the urge to ask Tristan where he was sleeping, but now was not the time to discuss that. He knew Cady wasn't up to doing anything inappropriate and he knew that Tristan loved his daughter too much to try and take advantage of her when she was in this condition. If he was going to be totally honest, Keith had to admit that he was glad Cady wasn't alone, that she was being taken care of. "Okay, Tristan, we'll be there soon. Thank you, for everything. I don't know how we're going to be able to repay your family for their kindness."

"There's nothing to repay, sir. I'm just so glad Cady's safe and Erik is going to get better," Tristan replied.

"Me too. We'll see you soon."

After Keith ended the communiqué, Tristan turned and slipped back into his room. He knew he had promised to wake Cady and tell her as soon as he heard from Keith, but as he stood over her and watched her sleep peacefully, he was hesitant to wake her.

As though she could sense him watching her, Cady turned her head and slowly opened her eyes, "Who was that?"

"That was your father," Tristan explained, sitting on the edge of the bed.

She sat up, rubbing her eyes, "How's Erik?"

"He's going to live and, for the most part, he'll be fine."

"What do you mean?"

"He was badly cut and there will be scaring on the left side of his face and neck, but most of that can be fixed in the future with plastic and reconstructive surgery. "

Cady let out a breath of relief, "So he is going to be okay."

"He has a long recovery ahead of him and he lost sight in his left eye."

"He's blind?"

"In one eye."

She looked down at the comforter and plucked at the edge, "I, uh, I guess this means he can't fly."

"No he can't, but you know everything will be done to help him. I bet Sven is already looking into optical experts."

"I know."

Tristan slid his arm around her shoulders and hugged her close, "He's going to be fine, Cady, with time he will be back to normal. We are so lucky to have the two of you back, safely."

"When can we see him?"

"They're going tomorrow for visiting hours, but I think you should just take it easy tomorrow, just rest."

"No, I want to see him. How's Sky?"

"Keith said she was tired, but I'm sure she's fine now that she knows he is going to be all right. You've had quite an ordeal, I would really like for you to just rest tomorrow."

Cady narrowed her eyes, "I know exactly what kind of ordeal I've had, Tristan, I don't need you to remind me. I am going to see Erik tomorrow, you don't have to come, I'll just go with my parents." She pulled herself from his embrace and flopped onto the bed, her back to him.

He took her shoulder and gently forced her onto her back so he could see her face. She glared at him like an angry child who had just been sent to bed early, her eyes narrowed and her mouth set in a defiant line.

"Cady," Tristan forced his voice to stay steady, speaking through clenched teeth. "Don't you dare pull this 'spoiled Princess' crap on me. I had a rather difficult ordeal this evening as well, my God, Cady, you could have died tonight. You'll have to forgive me for feeling a little overprotective of the woman I love when she was almost torn from me in the most horrific way imaginable."

Her expression softened as she raised her hand to gently caress his cheek, "I'm sorry, Tristan, I know this has been difficult for you too. I just…I'm not going to break. I want to see Erik, I need to see Erik. He nearly died saving me. I have to see for myself that he is going to be okay, I need to…to thank him."

"He's not going to be real coherent, it'll be a couple of days before you can talk to him."

"I know, I just want to see him for myself and I need to be there for Sky."

"You're a good person," he whispered, softly kissing her forehead. "Just promise me you'll take it easy, don't over exert yourself."

She nodded.

"And will you let me take care of you?"

"I don't know if I really need to be taken care of, but you can look out for me."

Tristan smiled, "Deal."

"Where is everyone now?"

"They're heading back, speaking of which, I need to go make sure there are beds made up for them." Tristan stood and stretched. "Go back to sleep."

"I should go back to my room, if my parents found me in here…"

He stopped her by pressing his finger to her lips, "Don't worry about that. Your parents had to know I wouldn't leave you alone tonight. Just relax, get some sleep. I will be right back. You have your communicator, if you need anything, anything at all, call me."

She nodded.

"Get some sleep, hon."

Yawning, Cady slid back down into the soft warmth of his bed, "Yes, sir."

Tristan chuckled softly, "Smartass."

"Are you hitting on me?" She mumbled.

"Always," he kissed her forehead one more time before slipping from the room.


Declan was worried. Well, they had all been worried from the moment they had heard about Erik and Cady. But the worry that was weighing on his mind was different. Some strange things had been happening. Strange things that he hadn't mentioned to anyone, not Lance, not Brina, not even Gideon.

It had started the previous day, before they had even heard what had happened to his sister and cousin. The Force members who were still on the planet were out practicing. Just a simple run, going over formations and a few races over the flatlands. Nothing out of the ordinary. But Declan began to notice that Blue was behaving strangely. She wasn't responding to him as well or as quickly as she normally did. He tried speaking in soothing tones and then tried overpowering her hesitation, but she seemed unsure about his commands.

When they arrived back at the castle, Declan took Blue to the workshop and told Hunk about the problems he had had. After doing a complete once over, Hunk could find nothing wrong with Blue, she was in top working condition.

Keith called them a while later and told them all what had happened to Cady and Erik. Declan guessed that Blue was worried about their Commander. It was no secret that the Voltron Lions were magical, had personalities of their own. So maybe Blue knew something had happened and was upset.

But that didn't make sense, he thought. Wouldn't the other Lions have been behaving strangely too?

No one had flown Black that afternoon so he decided to go visit the monument and see if he could see how Black was feeling. But he was on duty after dinner, so he had to put off his walk until later.

The others had noticed how quiet and introverted Declan had become. Gideon tried to pull him out in different ways, like pulling his chair out from beneath him as he sat down at dinner. Everyone else had laughed, but Declan just stood, grabbed the chair and sat at the table, behaving as though it had never happened. After dinner, Gideon asked him what was wrong, but Declan just shrugged and assured him he was fine.

While on duty, Brina sneaked into Castle Control to check on him. She tried to talk, but all his responses were one word answers or just grunts. Thinking she could use the female wiles that always worked on him before, she wrapped one hand around the back of his neck and laid the other on his chest as she pressed her lips to his in a deep, drawn out kiss. When they broke apart, he smiled softly, but didn't say anything.

Assuming he was worried about his sister and Erik, she gave him a peck on the cheek and a reassurance that they would be fine and left him to work. She went straight to Gideon's room to ask his advice on how to bring Declan out of this uncharacteristic funk. Neither was quite sure what to do.

By the time he was relieved, Declan was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. He quickly decided that he would check on Black first thing in the morning and trudged to his room, passing Brina's door without stopping to get his customary good-night kiss, not realizing that worried his girlfriend even more. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out like a light.

Then came the dream.

Declan stood beside the lake, barefoot, the water gently lapping at his feet. It was late afternoon, the sun just starting to set, turning the sky a watercolor painting of pinks, purples, oranges, and yellows. A breeze swirled around him, stirring the leaves and causing a chill to race down his spine. He wrapped his arms around himself wondering why he hadn't worn a jacket.

"Declan."

He turned at the sound of a woman calling him, half expecting to see Brina. He was surprised to see a classically beautiful woman about his mother's age standing by the edge of the woods. Her hair was a dark blonde and fell to her waist in a shining curtain. Dressed in a long, flowing white dress that hung still, even with the chilling breeze blowing, her hands were clasped in front of her as she watched him. Her blue eyes were kind and her face sweet. He had never met her before, but he knew immediately who she was.

"Grandmother."

Smiling, Queen Arianna raised her hand and beckoned him closer.

Without hesitation, Declan jogged up the gentle slope and toward his grandmother. She waited patiently, her smile growing a bit more as he came closer.

"Declan," her voice was a little deeper then his mother's, but soothing. She laid her hand on his cheek. "I am so proud of you and your brothers and sisters, both Grandfather Alfor and I are so proud of you all. We have been with you from the moment you were born, watching you, guiding you."

He nodded, too stunned to speak.

"You are a strong, smart young man and you will do so much and go so far. Although, it wouldn't hurt for you to behave yourself once in awhile."

Declan grinned, "I'll try."

"I know you will, sweetheart." She dropped her hand and turned. Looking once over her shoulder at him, she disappeared into the woods.

"Wait!" Declan called. "Grandmother, wait! I have so many questions."

But she didn't return.

He took a hesitant step toward the trees, paused, and then took off at a run. He hadn't known where she had gone, but he knew where he needed to go. Dodging branches and jumping over exposed roots, Declan hurried through the woods.

Then the trees were gone.


With a suddenness that shocked him, the trees disappeared. He was in a clearing he had never seen before. Looking left and then right, he saw no one, he was alone. His shoulders sank with the realization. He was alone.

Declan turned to head back to the castle.

The hairs rose on the back of his neck. Turning slowly, he looked back at the clearing and gave a small cry of surprise when he saw Black sitting in the field, watching him.

"You will do so much and go so far." His grandmother's voice echoed around him.

Declan woke with a start, sitting straight up in bed, gasping for breath. His first thought had been that Erik had died. And in that moment, he covered his face and cried for his teammate, his cousin, his friend.

Falling back against the pillows, he threw his arm over his eyes and tried to regain his composure. He had to be up in three hours for practice and he had to be ready for whatever it was that came at him.

His communicator beeped, yanking him from his troubled thoughts.

"Whitaker." Declan croaked.

"Get to Castle Control now, gang," Lance replied. "Keith has called in and wants to talk to all of us."

"Hi everyone," Keith greeted them when they all gathered around the monitor. "I have good news and bad news."

Declan leaned closer, noticing how pale and old his father looked.

"What is it?" Lance asked.

Keith filled them all in on Cady and Erik's ordeal and Erik's condition. His voice was hoarse and he stopped more than once to clear his throat and rub his eyes. "With time Erik should be fine," he explained. "I am going to speak with Becca about looking in to specialists to help him. But it will be a long time before he can fly again, if he can ever fly again."

The only sound in Castle Control was that of Brina's quiet sniffles. Everyone else stared dumbly at the monitor, unsure what to think.

"But…but he's alive?" Declan asked quietly.

"Yeah, son, he's alive."

"When will he be able to come home?" Gideon asked.

Keith shrugged, "He's in recovery, we will probably know more tomorrow."

"Keep us posted," Lance said.

"Definitely." Keith looked over his shoulder and then back at the screen. "Our cabs are here. I'll call you all tomorrow and fill you in on what we know."

"Thanks Keith. Uh, Darcy is leaving first thing in the morning," Lance told him. "Tell Sven and Romelle that if there is anything we can do, just ask. And tell Sky…tell her we love her and we're thinking of her."

"Will do. Good night, gang."

And the screen went black.


Sky was suddenly very tired. Her legs felt like lead, she couldn't lift her arms, and her eyes were unable to focus. She didn't know where she was going, just allowing Allura to lead her. But as tired as she was physically, mentally she was running wild. Erik is alive, he'll be okay. She thought. We'll be okay. But he can't fly, that's going to devastate him. What is this going to do to him?

Erik was a laid back, easy going guy and Sky loved that about him. He kept her grounded. But she also knew that below his easy going exterior, he was a passionate man, passionate about many things, his planet, his family, and his relationship with her, but especially his love of flying. When he had first received his calling to be Black's pilot, he had confided in her how intimidated he was, it was a huge undertaking. But from the first moment he had flown the giant metal Lion, all of the nerves and intimidation faded away. It had been like coming home, he had told her.

"As silly as it may sound," he had said, blushing slightly. "It feels like almost like Black was made just for me. As soon as I sat down, I knew where everything was, I was comfortable, and I was happy."

Sky hadn't thought it was silly, she knew exactly how he felt, she had felt it with Red.

"Schuyler, honey," Allura said softly, interrupting her thoughts. "We're here, come on, let's go inside and get some sleep."

Wordlessly, Sky followed her out of the car.

The door opened as the six of them approached. Henry stood at attention. Sky looked at her watch, a little surprised that he was there to meet them at almost three in the morning. Just inside the door was Josie, looking fresh and concerned in her pale blue silk robe, and Tristan beside her.

Josie fussed over them all, offering tea or a snack, which they all turned down. Taking the hint, Josie showed Romelle and Sven to the den where the couch had been pulled out and made up for them. Tristan and Henry took the others upstairs.

"How's Cady doing?" Allura asked.

"She's fine," Tristan assured her. "She's sleeping now, but she did say she wanted to go to the hospital with you tomorrow."

"She should take the day to rest," Keith muttered.

"That's what I said, maybe she'll listen to you."

Delora was going to share a room with Sky. The young girl followed her as she turned left and walked down the dimly lit, loudly silent hall.

"Is this your room?" Delora whispered hoarsely when Sky stopped in front of Erik's door.

"No, uh," Sky shook her head. "I just…I want to be alone, Lora, you can sleep in my room, I'm going to sleep in here."

Too tired to ask what was going on, Delora nodded and disappeared, with her bags, through the door Sky pointed her to.

Turning the knob, Sky slowly pushed the door open as though she was afraid of disturbing whoever was inside. The room was dark, the only light coming from the half moon outside. It was, of course, spotless. His clothes had been hung neatly in the closet or folded carefully in the dresser. His trunk was turned on its end and resting against the corner by the window.

She walked over to the closet and opened it, finding his favorite sweatshirt, a worn old blue one with 'Pollux Pandemonium' emblazoned across the chest, the name of his favorite sports team. They played a sport similar to soccer on Terra called floknat. Each game consisted of four teams, four goals, one on each side of the field, and two balls. He had taken her to see them play twice the previous fall and Sky had found herself swept up in the uproar of the game and the excitement with the fans.

Pulling it off the hanger, she changed into it, the hem falling to midthigh. She climbed into his bed and sank into the comforting warmth. Turning to shut off the light, she saw that Erik had propped a photograph against the base of the lamp on the bedside table. Tears sprang to her eyes when she saw it was a picture of her taken on Arus last summer.

They had taken a day off and gone for a ride on the castle horses past the lake, through the woods, and up to the top of a small hillside. From there they could see the castle and Alforia. They had brought along a picnic lunch that Nanny had packed for them and set it out.

The two of them felt wonderfully, blissfully alone. It was hard to find time alone in a castle full of people, especially with their schedules often conflicting and the hard work that came with being both a member of the elite Voltron Force and studying at the Arusian Military Academy.

It was a beautiful day, the sun high above them and barely a smattering of fluffy, pink tinged clouds to dot the brilliantly blue sky. A slight breeze ruffled the trees around them and mingled with the songs of the birds. They talked and flirted and ate to the point of bursting. After packing away the leftover food, the two of them had stretched out on the blanket and tried to find shapes in the clouds. They both fell into a doze, sleeping lightly as the breeze washed over them. As the afternoon wore on, it grew colder and the horses became restless and they decided to return.

As Sky was folding up the blanket, she heard a telltale clicking noise and for one brief moment she had been afraid that some photographer had found them. She had been used to getting attention growing up because her father was Lance Collier, Red Lion's pilot and second-in-command to the Voltron Force. But ever since she had followed in his footsteps, the media seemed to pop-up every time she stepped outside the castle. With a groan and a reprimand on her lips she turned, but instead of paparazzi, she saw Erik standing with a camera.

"Come on, beautiful, pose for me," he teased. "Work it, work it."

Still feeling giddy from the fun they had been having, Sky posed and pranced, behaving silly for the camera. Laughing, Erik continued snapping, finishing with the two of them standing close, their heads together, as he held the camera out at arm's length and took a picture.

In the end, most of the pictures had turned out embarrassing and made her blush every time she saw them. The picture of the two of them had turned out surprisingly well, they each had a copy in their rooms and there was one other photo that Erik seemed to love. It showed her from behind, looking over her shoulder she winked and blew him a kiss. Sky thought it was a horrible picture, from that angle, her butt looked big and her hair was all messed up. But he loved it, saying it showed how sweet and playful she was and how downright gorgeous his girlfriend was.

That photo was now leaning against the candlestick lamp on the bedside table in the Alexander's guest room. The top right corner was curled over and the edges worn from travel, she knew he usually had it tucked in his wallet.

Remembering back on that day, Sky felt the lump rise in her throat. How close she had come to losing ever having another day like that with him. She turned her face into the pillow as the sobs that had been locked in her chest, weighing on her heart, burst out and she cried herself into a fitful sleep.


Tristan woke a few minutes after seven to find his bed empty. He got up and quickly showered and dressed and went in search of Cady. The sounds of voices led him to the dining room where she was eating with her parents, his parents, Sky, and Sven's family. Apparently, he was the last one up.

His eyes swept the table and noticed that no one had really touched the food. They were all speaking in low tones and talking only when absolutely necessary. Exhaustion and emotional strain was obviously wearing on them all.

Josie smiled when he entered the room, "Good morning, darling. Did you sleep well?"

"Uh, yes, Mother. Thank you," he mumbled, almost afraid to speak out loud. He pulled out the last available chair across from Cady who offered him a weak smile as he sat and Henry set a plate in front of him.

She looked more rested, but still pale as she pushed the eggs around on her plate.

Sky looked at her watch impatiently.

"Once Tristan eats, we can head over to the hospital," Keith announced.

Feeling everyone's eyes on him, Tristan shoveled a few forkfuls of food into his mouth and chased it with two big gulps of coffee, "We can go any time."

"Don't hurry, dear," Allura assured him.

"No, you can go ahead and hurry," Sky muttered. She jumped when someone kicked her under the table.

Tristan stood, "No, really, I'm not that hungry, let's go."

They took three cars, Henry driving Sven, Romelle, and Delora, Vince driving Josie, Keith, and Allura, and Tristan following them with Cady and Sky. It was a quiet ride, no one speaking, not really knowing what to say. Tristan fought the urge to turn on the radio to cover the silence, afraid it would annoy Sky who was sitting in the back seat, staring out the window and nibbling on her already too short fingernails.

His eyes shifted to Cady again. She was staring out the window, watching the landscape pass by. Her left hand kept clutching and then releasing and smoothing her skirt in a reflexive movement. He did a doubletake when he noticed her fingers were bare. Leaning forward a little he saw her right hand was also bare.

Where's the ring? Tristan thought. Of course she isn't wearing it, what was I thinking? This was really bad timing. I can't believe I actually proposed to her right after she was kidnapped and while her cousin was in the hospital. I am such an idiot. Why couldn't I wait? I never do anything impulsive, why? Because you always regret it when you do something impulsive.

Cady jumped in her seat when she heard Tristan smack the steering wheel with his hand. She looked over and saw him gripping the wheel and glaring angrily through the windshield. Thinking he was worried about Erik, she reached over and gently squeezed his knee.

He flashed her a tight smile and patted her hand.

They followed Vince's Jaguar into the visitor's parking lot, finding three spots near each other. Wordlessly, they all trudged into the lobby.

"Ve're here to see Erik Johansson," Sven told the nurse on duty.

"Johansson," she murmured, typing it into the computer. "Is that with one 's' or two?"

"Two."

"Um hm."

"Come on," Sky muttered.

"I have a note on his file," the nurse said. "Dr. Woodhall would like to speak with Sven Johansson before he sees Erik. I take it that's you?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll page her and let her know you're here. You can head on up to the third floor nursing station, Dr. Woodhall will meet you there. The elevator is at the end of this hall, take it to the third floor and turn right. You can't miss the nurse's station."

Sven nodded, "Tank you."

Dr. Woodhall was standing at the nurse's station reading over a file when they arrived. She looked up and greeted them with a grim smile as they approached. "You arrived just in time. I'm off duty in ten minutes and my replacement just got here. I'd like to speak with you, Mr. Johansson, before you see your son."

"How is he?" Romelle asked.

"He's awake, but heavily medicated. He has been able to communicate using hand gestures, his right hand and arm are uninjured. When he's feeling a little stronger I think we'll be able to get him a pen and paper and he can communicate that way until he is able to speak more clearly." The doctor explained.

Appearing impatient, Sven stepped closer to the woman, "I'd like to see my son."

Dr. Woodhall nodded, "The rest of you may wait in the waiting room over there. Come with me, please, Mr. Johansson."

Sven offered them all a reassuring smile before following the doctor down the hall.