Voltron belongs to WEP. The others are all mine!

Darkness had fallen over Arus. Lance stood, staring out the window of his living quarters. "Svavaliadeelin, what is it?" Dorma asked, walking over to him.

Lance sighed. "I don't know." He turned to look down at her. "Just…I still have the feeling that something's not right. I thought it was because the kids were missing but…" He shook his head.

Dorma wrapped her arms around him. "Lance, it might not be Lotor."

Lance shook his head again. "It's not just that Dorma. It's something to do with Keith and Allura. I can't put my finger on it, but there's something wrong there."

"Was it the accident?"

"No. Something deeper."

"Have you talked to Keith?"

"No. He hasn't really been all the approachable over the past few days." He looked up at her. "Have you seen Troi?"

Dorma nodded a feral smile on her lips. "He is very anxious, our son. He wonders when you will speak to him, and then what you will say."

"He's lucky I don't kill him."

Dorma laughed. "Now Lance, he has done nothing more than you and your friends would have done. And have done in the past."

Lance sighed. "I guess you're right. What made them do it?"

"They heard there was trouble, and wanted to help. Troi told me it was something about…I cannot remember. Silhouette?"

Lance looked puzzled. "Silhouette? What the hell does that mean?" His head snapped up. "Wait a sec, Shadow? Did he say Shadow?"

Dorma nodded. "Yes, that is the word. Why?"

"They've been accepted for special training. Shadow Corps." Lance paced the room, torn between pride and fear.

"Is that the covert group Keith belongs to?" Dorma looked up, her violet eyes wide. "Lance, they're only children."

"They aren't part of it yet. There's alot of training to do before they have to make a choice." Lance sighed. Damn, one more thing to worry about.

"I do not like the idea of my son being part of a secret military organization." Dorma stated firmly.

"I don't either Babe." He grew quiet again.

"Lance? What are you sensing?"

"Like I said, I'm not sure. Just that something's not right." He sighed and smiled at her. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid."

Dorma leaned close and kissed him. "I know a way to get your mind off it for a while." She said huskily.

Lance's green eyes twinkled and he grinned down at his wife. "Oh yeah?"

She kissed him again, this time making his knees buckle. She broke off the kiss and led him towards their bedroom. "Come, let me show you."

Allura stood in the doorway of the Control Room, watching her husband. She had no doubts that Keith knew she was there, but he showed no sign of it. She started towards him, and he finally looked up. "It's late, I figured you'd be sleeping by now."

She smiled. "I don't sleep well without you." She sat down on the arm of the chair. "How's the arm?" She touched his shoulder lightly.

Keith shrugged. "Not bad actually. It really wasn't more than a grazing shot. How are you feeling?"

"Better. It helped talking to your mother."

Keith shot her a quizzical look. "What were you two talking about anyway? You were gone all day. You didn't even show up for dinner."

Allura smiled. "Girl stuff. Hair, make-up, cute boys, that sort of thing." Keith laughed and turned back to the computer. Her expression sobered. "Keith, when were you going to tell me about Lotor?" She asked quietly.

Keith tensed. "Who told you?"

"Your father. He thought you had already spoken to me."

"I was going to tell you when I got done here. I didn't want to give you more to worry about." Keith sighed. "It appears that Lotor isn't dead after all. The security tapes of the attack this afternoon show him firing at Pidge and I."

"I want to see the tape."

Keith punched a few buttons on the keypad and the screen lit up. "Right there, see him?"

Allura peered at the screen. "It's too fuzzy to tell for sure." She turned back to Keith. "It might not be him."

"Then who could it be Allura? Who else knows those tunnels like he does?" Keith got to his feet and paced the length of the room. "One thing's for sure, you and Aria are not leaving this Castle until we find him." Keith told her firmly.

Allura stiffened. "I'm not afraid of him Keith."

"You say that now, what happens when he gets his filthy hands on you? Or on our daughter?" Keith shook his head. "You will be staying here, unless I can find someplace safer to put the two of you."

Allura's blue eyes glittered with anger, but she dropped the subject. For now. "There's going to be a formal Reception in a few days. With your parents and the 'Explorer' crew here, it's kind of expected."

"I don't think that's a good idea Allura." Keith told her, sitting back down.

Allura ran her fingers through his dark hair. "I do. We could all use a little down time. I already talked to Cliff and he said we could use the 'Explorer's' main deck. There's no way anyone could get onboard undetected. Especially with his security forces in place." She replied.

Keith sighed. "Fine, but I still don't think it's a good idea." He smiled up at her. "You should go get some rest."

"You should too." She ran her hand across his cheek. "I miss you." She said simply.

He took her hand in his. "I have to finish up these incident reports. Between the sabotage, the attack and finding the kids, I'll be here for a few more hours."

"Can't it wait until morning?" She pleaded. I need you.

Keith shook his head. "I want to get to it now, while it's still fresh in my mind."

She sighed, her eyes downcast and got to her feet. "I guess I'll see you later then. I love you."

He smiled up at her. "I love you too." He turned back to the computer.

Allura paused a moment, watching him, then walked out the door, tears running down her cheeks.

Keith forced himself not to watch her leave. He had seen the anguish in her eyes when she asked him to come with her. He swallowed the lump in his throat. I can't deal with this right now, I just can't. He turned his attention back to his paperwork.

When the door opened a few hours later, he scowled to himself. Now what?

"Hey there Keith. Didn't think I'd find you in here this late." Keith turned to see Hunk enter, carrying baby Gil in his arms.

Keith turned back to the desk. "Good, it's you. I figured it was another one of my adoring relatives wondering how I'm feeling."

"Nope, just us." Hunk sat down next to him, and was quiet a few seconds. "So Skipper, how are you feeling?" He grinned.

Keith looked up and glared. Hunk laughed. "Bite me Hunk." Keith stretched his arms over his head, wincing a little. "Give me that boy of yours." Keith held his hands out for Gil. Hunk put the baby in Keith's arms.

Gil looked up at his "uncle", his hazel eyes crossing as he tried to focus on Keith's face. He let out a little gurgle, and snuggled down in Keith's arms. "You're a good man Gil. We'll have you up in a Lion any day now, mark my words." He smiled softly down at the baby.

Hunk watched his Captain making faces and grinned. "You're a natural Keith."

Keith shrugged. "I like babies. It's when they get bigger that they drive me crazy. Take Lance for example." He shifted Gil to a more comfortable position. "We have three terrified Cadets today. I gave them their orders for tomorrow, starting with mucking out the stable, weeding the back gardens, and a four page paper on why they won't try this again. And that's just the beginning of their punishment."

"You're a mean one Skipper." Hunk grinned.

"I try." Keith reached, one handed, into a drawer and tossed Hunk an envelope. "Here, with all the excitement, I almost forgot."

"What is it?" Hunk opened the envelope. "Hot damn! Hopefully I get a raise too."

Keith laughed. "I'm sure you will Lieutenant. Congratulations."

"Thanks Skipper. I can't wait to tell Sereti." He gazed down at the lieutenant's bars in his hands then looked up at his Commander. "So, they promote you too?"

Keith shrugged. "They might have." He hedged.

They sat quietly for a few minutes, the only sounds coming from Gil's cooing. Hunk cleared his throat. "Keith?"

"Yeah?"

"I…I just wanted to say…I'm sorry. About what happened I mean." Hunk said quietly.

"Thanks Hunk." Keith handed the baby back and turned back to the computer.

Gil looked up at his father, smiling crookedly. Hunk gazed down at his son. "I don't know how you can do it. Get up every morning, going about the day normally." He held his son close. "It would kill me. I wouldn't sleep until I found the bastard and made him pay for what he did." He looked up at his Commander. "Keith, I just want you to know that whatever you need, I'm here." He finished quietly.

Keith didn't answer.

The silence grew, and Hunk feared he had said too much. "Skipper? I'll take over here if you want. Obviously, this little guy isn't going down anytime soon and Lance will be here in an hour anyway."

Keith nodded in reply and got to his feet. "Thanks Hunk." He started towards the door, then paused to look back. "What you said, it means alot to me. More than you can ever imagine."

Keith wandered the dimly lit hallways, his mind in turmoil. He was too keyed up to sleep, so he made his way to the outer balcony, overlooking the lake. He pulled one of Lance's cigars out of his pocket and stuck it in his mouth. He was just about to light it, when he felt a tingling sensation at the back of his neck. Whirling around, blaster in hand, he scanned the room. All seemed quiet. "Who's there?" He called out. There was no reply. Keith looked around warily, not shaking the feeling he was being watched.

A figure appeared at the far end of the balcony. "Keith?"

Keith started. His mother walked towards him. Seeing the gun in his hand, she lifted an eyebrow. "What on earth are you doing?"

Keith relaxed his stance. "Mom?" He lowered the gun, still glancing around the room. "You startled me."

"Startled you? What about me?" She glared at him until he put his gun back into his holster. "I thought you would be in bed, it's late."

He shrugged. "Can't sleep." He leaned on the balcony railing and glanced at her. "What about you?"

Cassandra walked over to stand next to him. "My body's still on Earth time. I feel like it's the middle of the day."

Keith laughed and lit the cigar in his mouth. "I know the feeling. It usually takes me a few days to get used to it."

She frowned at him. He ignored her look and took a deep puff. "Trying to kill yourself slowly I see. Lance's bad habits have been wearing off."

"Lance himself is a bad habit."

Cassandra tried to stay serious, but failed. She burst out laughing and hugged her son to her. "Damn you Keith Alexander, it's a good thing I love you." Together they looked out over the lake. Cassandra entwined her fingers in her sons. "How are you Keith? And I don't mean the arm."

Keith took a long drag on his cigar. "I'm fine Mom."

"Keith, don't lie to your mother."

He looked over at her. Cass's brown eyes were filled with concern. Keith looked back over the lake. "I don't know what to feel. Anger, sadness, it's all kinda mixed up together." He stood and paced the length of the balcony. "Part of me is angry at Lance. If he had just kept her inside, like I asked, this never would have happened. And I'm angry at Allura too, for the same reasons." He sighed. "Then there's the guilt, if I hadn't left, she wouldn't have been flying. Or I might have been able to get her down without crashing." He took a last drag on his cigar, then crushed it out on the railing.

Cassandra laid her hand on his arm. "Keith, baby…" Keith shook off her grip and turned away.

"Dammit Mom! I should have been able to see the security breach. I should have been able to stop whoever did this. I will find out who is really behind all this. And, when I catch him…" Keith's eyes grew cold and his expression stony.

Cassandra stood silently for a few minutes, looking out towards the lake. "Your father and I lost a child." She said quietly.

Keith turned in surprise. "What? When?"

"When you were about three. Your father was off on a mission for Shadow, and I had a miscarriage."

"Mom, I'm sorry."

She smiled at him. "When your father was able to come back, it had been almost a month. We had a terrible fight. I blamed him for not being there when I needed him, and he accused me of not taking care of myself. Things got pretty ugly. We thought about separating." She shrugged.

"I don't remember any of this."

Cass laughed. "You were only a baby yourself Keith. Your father and I managed to get over it and move on with our life." She looked up at her son. "Keith, aside from everything else going on, you need to let yourself grieve." She placed a hand on his arm. "You and Allura need to work through this together."

Keith shook his head, but Cassandra cut off what he was about to say. "Keith, you've lost your child. Beating yourself over the head won't change that." She forced him to look down at her. "Let it out baby, let it out."

Keith leaned forward on the railing, his hands clenched. "I can't Mom. If I do that, it'll be real and I'll have to face the fact that my son is gone." He said, his throat tight with unshed tears.

Cassandra said nothing, only took him in her arms. Keith tensed for a moment, then relaxed into her embrace, his forehead resting on her shoulder. "I want my son back Mom. I want my son." He said hoarsely. His body shook with silent sobs.

Cass ran her hands through his hair. "Easy baby. It'll be all right."

After a few minutes, Keith's sobs subsided and he pulled away, still holding tightly to his mother's hand. "Mom, I'm sorry."

"For what? For showing a little emotion and proving you're human after all?" She turned Keith's face so that he was facing her. "Keith, honey you—" Her words were cut off as a huge ship soared overhead. "Who is that?"

Keith narrowed his eyes and frowned as the ship landed in the docking yard. "It's Hazar. Good to know he listened to Dorma. Dammit, doesn't anyone follow orders around here!" Without another word, he stalked out the door, with Cassandra following close behind.

As the door closed, a figure stepped out from the shadows. "Well, well, well. Commander Hazar. Isn't this a nice surprise." He melted back into the dark.