Keith awoke not knowing where he was. He sat up and realized he was in his own bed, in his own rooms. Remembering how he must have gotten there, he groaned and lay back down. I'm going to kill Lance. He rested a few minutes more, then got up and headed for the shower. Before going in, he called down to the kitchen and ordered a pot of coffee. Rank has its privileges. He stepped into the shower and let the steaming hot water pour over him. He got out and shaved, then got dressed and headed out into the living room. His coffee was sitting in a thermal warmer on his desk. He poured himself a cup, then stood looking out the window. He heard the door open. "Lance, you'd better start running." Keith said without turning around.

Lance walked over and joined him. "Good Morning Commander. Beautiful day."

Keith glared at him. "I wouldn't know, since I slept through most of it. What did you do that for?" He growled.

Lance shrugged. "You were practically dead on your feet. We all knew you wouldn't stop until you dropped, so we decided to help you along a bit. The Doc knew you'd never take a downer willingly, so he and Allura enlisted me. I must say, I did rather a good job. Mom would be proud." He said smugly. How mad is he, really?

Keith took another sip of his coffee. "How long was I out?" He asked a few minutes later.

Lance knew he had been forgiven and let out a breath of relief. "The meds kept you out for about six hours, but you slept for almost a day. Guess you needed the rest." He paused a moment. "The Doc said Allura could be released today. I think he's just waiting for you to show up to let her go." Lance faced Keith. "You are not to be on duty today. She needs you. The two of you have things to talk about. I know she's grieving, and so are you for all you try to hide it." Lance forced Keith to look at him. "Keith, I mean it."

Keith sighed. "I know. I've just be avoiding the whole issue. I wish I could wake up and find out it had all been a horrible dream." He turned and faced out the window again. "I lost my son Lance. My son…" His body started to shake.

Lance didn't know what to say. He placed his hand on Keith's shoulder and just stood next to his friend.

After a few minutes, Keith cleared his throat and turned to face Lance. "Aren't you supposed to be suffering from a concussion?"

Lance grinned. "I have a wife with a knack for making boo-boos better." He sobered. "She and I both wish we could have done more."

"You saved her life Lance. I couldn't ask for more." Keith placed his cup back down on the desk. "So, you and Allura cooked up this plan to drug me huh? I'll have you know that drugging a flag officer is a capital offense. I could have the both of you arrested and tried for treason."

"Go for it, I could use a vacation." Lance smirked. He and Keith headed out the door. "I've got to get back on duty. Everything's been quiet. Take the day off, I'll let you know if anything comes up." With one last squeeze of Keith's arm, Lance sauntered off down the hallway.

Keith watched him go, then shaking his head, went to see his wife.

Allura was talking with Doctor Gorma, so Keith paused in the doorway. Allura spotted him, and waved him inside. "Well, Good Morning!" She said cheerfully. "Or should I say Good Afternoon."

Keith glared at both of them. "You two have alot to answer for."

Allura smiled innocently. "Why Keith, whatever are you talking about?" She asked, batting her eyes at him.

"Ha-ha, very funny. I have no sense of humor, remember?"

"All we did was force you to rest, a little longer than you may have intended." Doctor Gorma stood up and turned to Allura. "Now Your Majesty, you are free to go, however, I do not want you doing anything strenuous for a few days yet. Take it easy, the both of you." With that, he left the room.

Keith held a hand out to his wife. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

She nodded emphatically. "I just want to get out of here!"

Keith laughed. "Now I know you've been hanging around me too long. Let's go." They started off down the hallway. "Want to go lie down for a while?"

"No! It's a beautiful day, I want to be outside." She paused, thinking. "How about a walk by the lake?"

"Sounds good to me." They walked outside, through the gardens towards the lake.

When they got to the lakeshore, Keith sat down on the grass, and pulled Allura down next to him. He kissed her softly, then rested her head against his shoulder. "Allura? About what happened…"

She looked up at him. "I try not to think about it too much."

He tightened his arms around her. "Me either, but we need to talk. What happened wasn't your fault."

"But I feel like it was." Allura got to her feet and walked away from Keith. She stopped at the edge of the lake and stood, her arms wrapped around herself, staring out over the water. "I shouldn't have been flying. Then it never would have happened."

"You don't know that." Keith walked over and turned her to face him. "Allura, it wasn't your fault. Some one tried to kill you and me, and they damn near succeeded."

She finally looked up at him, her blue eyes brimming with tears. "I lost our baby Keith. And destroyed any hope of us ever having another."

Keith pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, his own throat tight with emotion. "Allura, we can have other children. Just because they won't be made by us, won't make them any less ours." She looked up at him. "Being a family doesn't mean we have to be of the same blood. We're a prime example of that. Look at me and Lance, he's my brother no matter that we have different parents. And Pidge, he's as attached to you as any blood sibling I've ever seen." Keith held her close again. "Please Allura, stop blaming yourself. After seeing what's left of Blue and Red, I'm lucky to have you at all." He said huskily.

"If it weren't for Lance…" Her voice trailed off.

"I know." He looked down at her. "Allura, we can grieve for the child we lost, but we can't let it cast a shadow over our future." He took a deep breath. "I want you to come with me for a ride in Black. Just a ride, nothing else."

Allura drew back, panicked. "No Keith, I can't."

"Are you going to stay here on Arus for the rest of your life then?"

Allura broke away. "I…I don't know. Please Keith, not yet. Give me some time."

"The best way to get over a fear is to face it down." Keith took her hand. "Talk to Jeff. He'll help you, he's been through it."

"Lance once told me he had crashed when you were all young."

Keith nodded. "He almost died. Had a horrible head injury. We didn't think he'd come out of his coma, let alone fly again, and now look at him. Commander and teaching flying and martial arts classes at the Academy, plus happily married to Lisa and the father of three daughters!" He sighed. "All right Allura, I'll leave you alone, but just think about talking to Jeff, OK?"

"All right." She was quiet for a few moments. "How did the trade talks work out? Were you able to get anything accomplished before…" Her voice trailed off.

"Actually yes. The Council agreed to Hazar's terms. Looks like Earth and the Druhle Empire are partners. For the time being that is." Keith told her.

"That's good. Anything else new? Did you get to visit with anyone other than your parents?"

Now's not the time. I'll tell her about the promotion and Graham's offer later. "Not really. I did get to see Jeff. I helped out with his class." Keith told Allura how Aria had taken down the cocky student. "You should have seen him, lying on the floor looking up at this innocent looking nine year old girl." Keith grinned.

"It must have been priceless. She's just like you. Charming and sweet with a nice chunk of attitude thrown in." She smiled. "Speaking of Jeff, how is your back feeling?" She asked nonchalantly.

He glared down at her. "Who told you about my back?"

"I talked to Lisa yesterday. She told me what happened and asked how you were feeling."

Keith sighed. "It's fine. I guess I'm just not as young as I used to be." He said ruefully.

Allura laughed at his tone. "None of us are Keith." She gently ran her hand along his cheek.

Keith smiled down at her and kissed her softly. "I love you."

"I love you too." They sat there quietly for a few minutes.

"I should get you back inside to bed." Keith said.

Allura giggled. "Now Keith, the Doctor said I need to wait a bit longer for that."

Keith turned bright red. "That's not what I meant."

She laughed out loud. "Keith Montgomery, why is it I can still make you blush after all these years."

Keith glared at her. "You're really not that funny you know." He got to his feet, and easily pulled Allura up next to him. "Come on, let's go in." Hand in hand, they walked towards the Castle.

A figure stepped out from behind a clump of bushes and watched them walk away. He chuckled softly to himself, and disappeared from view.

Keith paused a moment, and looked back towards the lake, one hand on his gun.

"What is it?" Allura asked.

Keith shook his head, still looking out over the water. "I'm not sure…" He smiled down at her. "Just being paranoid I guess."

She smiled back and squeezed his hand. "If you weren't, you wouldn't be the Keith Montgomery I fell in love with." She teased.

Keith tweaked her on the nose. "Brat. I love you."

"I love you too."