Keith sat on a rock outside of the hunting lodge. He had changed out of his uniform, and was now dressed more comfortably in a loose pair of pants and a sweatshirt. He looked out across the lake at the Castle in the distance, and sighed, rubbing his aching head in his hands. I wish this day were over. Or better yet, that it never happened.

A rustle in the underbrush set his senses on alert. Headache forgotten, hequickly got to his feet, and blended into the shadows.

Lance emerged at the edge of the woods. He took a few steps forward, then froze as a gun barrel materialized between his eyes. "Jesus Keith!"

Keith held the gun a heartbeat longer, then lowered it and glared at Lance. "What are you doing here?"

Lance walked over and sat down on the rock Keith had vacated. He carried something in his hands. "A little twitchy, aren't you? Here, this'll help." He opened the bundle and pulled out a bottle.

Keith took it and read the label, his eyes widening. "This is undistilled Alocolian spirits! Do you have any idea how illegal this stuff is? Where did you get it?"

Lance merely grinned and pulled a second bottle out of his pack. "I have a brother-in-law who's got connections." He popped the cork, and took a swig right from the bottle. Eyes watering, he grinned up at Keith. "Bottoms up."

Keith shook his head and sat down next to Lance. "We shouldn't be drinking this stuff on an empty stomach." He said, taking a cautious sip.

"Don't worry Cap, the others will be here soon." Lance told him.

Keith frowned. "I came out here because I wanted to be alone."

"Too bad. We're not saying good-bye to Pidge without a proper ceremony." He looked up as he heard voices. "Ah, here comes the food now."

Hunk and Sven entered the clearing a moment later. Hunk held up a large basket. "Someone mention food?"

"And I have more to drink. I don't tink I vant vhat Lance has." Sven smiled. He placed another large bundle down and stepped up to Keith, pulling his friend close. "Gudskelov min broder. I tought you vere dead." He said hoarsely.

Keith rolled his eyes. "If one more person tells me that…" He slapped Sven lightly on the back. "When did you get here? How's Romelle?"

Sven smiled, his deep blue eyes twinkling. "She is fine. As are my new children."

"What?"

"When!"

"You didn't tell us that!"

Sven sat down and pulled a bottle of wine out of his pack, and handed out the rest. "Dey vere born two days ago." He lifted his bottle in the air. "Here is to my new son, Aren and my daughter, Kaia. Skoal!"

They cheered and clinked their bottles together. "Aren and Kaia huh?" Lance quipped.

Sven nodded. "Aren Keith." He glanced over at Keith who blushed. Sven shrugged. "We tought you vere dead."

"And now that he's alive, you can change the name back to Lance." Lance grinned and clinked his bottle against Hunk's, who laughed.

"Thanks alot guys…" Keith muttered. He got up and walked over to stand at the edge of the water.

Sven sent the others a questioning look. Lance shrugged and nodded at Keith. Sven put down his drink and walked over to stand next to Keith. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

"Elaborate on 'fine'."

Keith frowned at Sven. "I'd be a hell of alot better if everyone would just back off." He said testily.

"As your friends, we cannot do dat Keith." Keith sighed. "Vhat is troubling you?" Sven asked after the silence had gone on too long.

"Nothing. Just tired I guess."

"Is dat all?" Sven persisted.

Keith shrugged. "I mean, there's some pain, but it's nothing I can't handle."

"Ja dat is good. And de rest?"

Keith looked sideways at him. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I tink you do."

Keith picked up a small stone and skipped it across the lake. "The pain and torture I could handle. The rest…He told me he was going to kill all of you. And the things he said about Allura…." Keith shook visibly.

Sven laid a comforting hand on Keith's shoulder. "I know min broder, I know." They stood quietly for a few minutes. "Come, let's go join de oders." Keith nodded and they made their way back to Lance and Hunk.

Lance had started a small fire and was sprawled in front of it, a bottle of spirits in one hand, and a sandwich in the other. Hunk had a bigger sandwich and a bottle of what looked like Arusian beer.

Keith sat down between them and helped himself to a beer. Taking a sip, he made a wry face and looked over at Lance. "So, what's this about anyway?"

Lance held his bottle high. "That service today was for the public. This one is for us. To Pidge."

"To Pidge." The others echoed and all took a drink.

Keith stared down into the flames. "Remember the time Nanny tried to get him to go to school with the other 'children'?"

They all laughed. "And he went one day and knew more than the teacher!" Hunk grinned.

"What about the time he tried to reprogram the Castle security cameras and only succeeded in homing in on Allura's bedroom." Lance chuckled.

Keith glared at him. "Yeah, and who's fault was that?"

Lance batted his eyes innocently. "Who, me?"

"Remember de crush he had on Allura? For a while, I tought Keith was going to have some competition!"

They continued to trade stories throughout the night, laughing and grieving, until one by one, they fell asleep around the fire.

Shortly before dawn, a shimmering figure appeared. It walked toward them, stopping first by Sven. "Keep them in line Sven. You always were best at doing that. Don't let them grieve too hard or too long over me. Keep an eye on Keith especially. Make him understand it wasn't his fault." He looked down at his sleeping friend. "May your children grow up to be as noble as you are. And leave Romelle alone!"

The figure then moved to Lance and pulled the empty wine bottle out of his arms. "Don't ever change Lance. Keep them all laughing for me. I have a feeling you're going to need alot of laughter in the next few years. I'll be keeping an eye on Troi. He could be one of the best computer experts that ever came out of the Academy. After me of course."

Then onto Hunk. "Hunk, you were my best friend and I'll never forget you. Keep those Lions in shape. Especially my Green. Find a new pilot worthy of her. Watch over them for me Hunk. I won't be there to take care of them anymore, so I leave that up to you. And take care of yourself too, big guy. Tell your children about me someday. But not everything!"

He turned last to Keith. "Keith, where to begin? You're the older brother I never had. Don't beat yourself up over me. It was my time and nothing could have changed that. I'm at peace now, and I wish you could be too. I won't ask you to tell Allura I love her, she knows already. Fix things with her Keith. You two are so much stronger together than you are apart. You taught me that. You taught me alot of things, the most important being family. You, Lance, Sven, Hunk, and Allura showed me that we didn't have to be blood to be a family. We just were." He placed one glowing hand on top of Keith's head and looked out over the others. "Good-bye my friends. I'll miss you."

Then, just as the first rays of light appeared on the horizon, Pidge shimmered and faded away.