Cady ran through the castle hallways, her shoes echoing loudly on the marble floors. She moved aside just in time to avoid slamming into Nicky as he chased his puppy. She raced past the rec room and skidded through the open door to Castle Control.

Tristan turned at the sound of running feet just in time to catch Cady as she launched herself into his arms. She jumped up, wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist as she kissed him excitedly.

"Oh, Cady, really, show some decorum," Keith sighed.

She broke the kiss and smiled at her fiancé, "Congratulations."

"You heard?"

"Yup, Gideon just told me."

"Cady, get down," Keith demanded.

"Sorry," she released Tristan and grinned at her father. "I'm just a little excited."

"I can tell, everyone can tell."

Sticking her tongue out at her father, she turned back to Blue's new pilot, "So we can start planning our wedding?"

"We should probably pick a date first."

"Yeah, Mom said we should have at least six months to plan and allow for invitations to be received and returned."

"Sounds fine to me," he smiled down at her. "I have to call Owen."

"I have to talk to Sky."

"You haven't yet?"

"Well, she knows I want her to be my maid of honor, but, well, I'm not sure if she wants to talk about a wedding now that she and Erik…" Cady trailed off.

Tristan nodded, "I take it no one's heard from him yet."

"It's only been three days," Keith pointed out.

"Yeah, but I thought he would have called because the twins…" Tristan trailed off.

"Because the twins what?" Keith asked.

"Nothing."

"Tristan."

"Well, the twins were bragging about how the got back at Erik for leaving Sky."

Keith sighed and rubbed his hand over his face, "What did they do?"

"I overheard Dec and Gid telling Lance that they had intercepted Erik's trunk before it was loaded into the ship and they had rigged it so that when the trunk was opened, a balloon filled with perfume, would explode all over the contents and whoever opened them."

Cady gasped, shocked at how destructive a prank that was. She looked at her father and saw he was standing there with a hand over his mouth and his eyes closed. It took her a moment to realize he wasn't mortified, he was laughing. "Dad!"

Keith cleared his throat and composed himself, "Whose perfume?"

"Nanny's," Tristan told him.

"Oh, man, he's going to reek for days."

Tristan chuckled, "It wasn't a very nice thing to do, but Erik had to know he wasn't going to get away scot-free."

"Yeah, that's probably why he didn't call and complain."

"I was planning on calling him any way, talk to him, let him know I'm Blue's new pilot."

"When do you move into the castle?" Cady asked him.

Tristan looked at Keith.

"You can move in any time. Erik's room is now available or there is the last room in that wing, it doesn't have a fireplace, but it's nice." The commander explained.

"I couldn't take Erik's room," Tristan said. "He'll be back."

"You think so?"

"I certainly hope so. If he doesn't, it'll be the biggest mistake of his life."

"Let's get you settled in," Cady said excitedly, grabbing his hand.

Keith raised an eyebrow, "Don't you have class today?"

She shook her head, "Mr. Moran is sick, he cancelled today."

"Well, you don't need to go down to the barracks. Tell Nanny that we need to set up the last room in the Voltron wing for Tristan, you can help her make up the bed, open the windows, get some fresh air in."

"But Dad…"

"No buts, young lady, I don't want you traipsing around the barracks, there are a lot of young men down there."

Cady rolled her eyes.

"It'll be quicker and easier for me to run down there and grab my stuff alone," Tristan said, hoping to stop an impending argument.

She shrugged, "Okay, I'll go find Nanny."

Tristan parted ways with Cady just outside Castle Control. It was a beautiful day outside as he jogged toward the barracks and he thought it would be a good night to take Cady out. It had been a few days since he tried out for Blue and he hadn't had any free time to spend with her since then.

I'll have to give Erik a call tonight, see how he's doing, Tristan thought as he crossed the castle grounds. He has to be as miserable as Sky is right now. I hope he's getting the help he needs.

He nodded to Lance who was in the hallway talking to a couple of soldiers. There were a few men hanging out on their bunks when he walked in, a couple called out greetings and congratulations to him as he passed.

Feeling really good about himself, Tristan stopped beside his bunk and started throwing his meager belongings into his trunk. There were a few photos of Cady and his friends and family that had been hung on the wall above his bed, his extra pair of boots and his clothing. He set his packed duffle beside the trunk and started stripping the bunk.

"Well, well, if it isn't the golden boy."

Tristan glanced over his shoulder and saw Mytch leaning against the wall. "Jealousy isn't an attractive trait, Martyn."

"I'm not jealous, a little annoyed, but not jealous."

"And what are you annoyed about?"

"The fact that my time was wasted. Why did they even invite Marihanna and me up to the castle if you were getting the position?"

Tristan took a deep, steadying breath. "I'm not going to fight with you, Mytch. We were all applying for the position, no favorites were played, I won the spot as Blue's pilot fairly. If you can't see that now then you never will."

"Yeah, well, if I were boning the Princess too, I would have had a better chance at being Blue's pilot."

Something deep within Tristan snapped and he whirled around, grabbing Mytch by the collar and slamming him against the wall. "I really don't care if you have a problem with me," he hissed at the boy he was standing nose to nose with. "But I will not allow you to disrespect Cady in any way, not as your Princess and not as a woman."

Mytch pushed him away, "You want to fight, pretty boy? Bring it on."

Tristan's lip curled in disgust, "I wouldn't waste my time."

"No, not when that time can be spent grabbing some royal tail."

He knew he was being baited. He couldn't be named Blue's pilot one minute and then fighting with an Air Brigade pilot the next. Ignoring Mytch, Tristan threw his duffle bag over his shoulder.

"Good luck, Alexander, just try to be more careful when you're sneaking back to your bed after a night of getting your rocks off in…"

Whatever Mytch was going to say was cut off when Tristan's fist came in contact with his jaw. He shook his head and cleared his mind, ready for this fight. No Terran pretty boy was going to come to his planet and take over.

Tristan ducked and weaved, delivering two good shots before getting hit in the ribs. He swung and missed only to get another hit in the in the jaw. His side throbbed and jaw burned, but he fought back, catching Mytch with a right hook and an uppercut before he felt arms pulling him back. Lance's voice cut through the angry buzzing in his head.

"Break it up! Break it up now!"

Tristan wrenched his arms free from the two men holding him back and wiped at the blood oozing from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve.

"Tristan, go up and have Becca clean you up, Jonsey, take his trunk and duffle up to the Castle. The Commander will be hearing about this. Go!" Lance demanded angrily. "Mytch, stay right there. Everyone else, get out of my sight before I give you all five miles."

The gathered crowd dispersed quickly with Tristan leading the way, his arm wrapped gingerly around his ribs.

Mytch wiped at his bloody nose and glared at Lance.

"What the hell is your problem, Martyn?"

"Nothing, sir."

"I wouldn't say it was nothing," Lance snarled, leaning in close. "I heard what you said and all I can say is that it's a good thing Tristan got to you before I did."

Mytch paled.

"You have ten minutes to get your bunk cleared and to get out of the barracks before I physically remove you."

"But sir…"

"Don't argue with me! Do you really think you can speak about the Princess that way? She is a member of the royal family you are sworn to protect, if you don't respect her then what are you doing in the Air Brigade?"

"I'm sorry, sir, I just…"

Lance held up his wrist and pointed to his watch, "Your ten minutes are ticking away."

Mytch opened and closed his mouth, shocked.

"If you don't get moving, I will tell Commander Whitaker what you said, do you really want to face him?"

Mytch swallowed hard and shook his head slowly.

Lance sighed, "You can stop at the medic on the way out and get cleaned up. Then, I don't want to see you on castle grounds again."

"Yes, sir," he mumbled, lowering his head.

For the second time that day, Cady raced through the halls of the Castle of Lions. She was carrying a vase of fresh flowers to Tristan's new room when Gideon met her in the hallway and asked her what had happened to Tristan.

"What do you mean?" She asked her younger brother.

"He hobbled into the castle with a split lip and went straight to the hospital wing," he explained.

"What? When?"

"About five minutes ago."

Cady shoved the vase into Gideon's hands and took off at a run. She ignored Nanny who yelled after her not to run indoors and nearly knocked down Pidge as he walked out of the rec room. Without knocking, she slid open the door to exam room three, the only closed door in the wing.

"Cady, what have I told you about bursting in without knocking?" Becca asked, not lifting her head as she bandaged Tristan's hand.

Cady raked her eyes over Tristan. He sat on the edge of the examination table, shirtless, holding an ice pack to his ribs, while Becca cleaned and dressed the broken skin on his knuckles. "What happened?"

"It was nothing," he assured her.

"What do you mean it was nothing?" She walked over and lifted the ice pack and gasped at the purple and black bruise. "That is certainly something! What happened?"

"Go ahead and tell her," Becca said, securing the gauze. "Tell her what a stupid man you were being."

Tristan scowled at her.

Becca chuckled, "Go. Take it easy and try not to get into any more fights."

"You were fighting? Who were you fighting with?" Cady asked.

Tristan hopped off the table and slipped his shirt on, wincing as pain pinched his side. "It was nothing, Cady, it was stupid."

She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest as she followed him out of the room. "I'd say it was stupid, you're hurt and you're supposed to officially start practice tomorrow morning. Can you fly with your hand bandaged like that?"

"Yeah."

"What happened? You were gone for fifteen minutes and you get into a fight, what happened?"

"Cady," he took her hand and kissed it. "Stop it, I'm fine, I'll fly tomorrow morning, and I won't fight again."

"But this isn't like you."

"I know."

"The only time I know of you fighting was when…" she trailed off. "Oh, Tristan, you didn't get into a fight because of me, did you?"

"No."

"Tristan, did someone say something?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Hey, Tristan," Declan jogged down the hall, Gideon at his heels.

"What?"

"Is it true that you beat the crap out of Mytch because he was talking about Cady?"

"I knew it!" Cady gasped.

"He's a jackass," Tristan said. "I'm not proud of fighting, but let's just say he deserved it."

"If he really did say what we heard he said, I'm sorry I wasn't there to finish what you started," Declan grumbled.

"What did he say?" Cady demanded.

"Nothing I want to repeat," Tristan told them. "But I will say he did deserve it, I'm not all that sorry I beat him up, it felt good actually, but it won't happen again. Now let's drop it."

"Lance kicked Mytch out of the Brigade," Declan sold them.

"What?"

"He kicked him out. Said Mytch was acting very inappropriately for a member of the Brigade and discharged him."

The corner of Tristan's mouth quirked up, "Good."

"Come on," Cady took his hand and pulled him toward his room.

"Geez. Cady, loosen the leash a little," Gideon grumbled.

Declan flicked his wrist and made a whipping noise.

Tristan snorted, "Yeah, like Brina doesn't lead you around by the nose."

Cady tugged on his hand and pulled him into his room. She closed the door behind them and stood, hands on her hips, "You beat up some guy because he said something about me?"

He shrugged, "Maybe."

She smiled, "That is the sweetest thing I've ever heard!"

"What?"

Cady threw her arms around his neck, "You are the sweetest man I have ever known."

"Yeah, well, I couldn't let some scumbag talk about my lady."

She gently kissed the side of his jaw where a bruise had formed, "My poor baby."

"I was hurt here too," he said, holding up his injured hand.

She took it in her hands and pressed her lips to his palm and each finger. "Anywhere else?"

"Umm…here," he tapped his lips.

Happy to oblige, she stood on her toes and captured his mouth with her own. Tristan wrapped his arms around her and pulled her flush against him, deepening the kiss. Cady slid her hands between then and started popping the buttons on his shirt, spreading it open.

"Why, Miss Whitaker, are you trying to take advantage of me?" He teased quietly.

"There's no trying about it," she replied.

Tristan winced as they tumbled onto his bed. His side was tender, but he wasn't about to let that stop him from enjoying a spontaneous moment with his fiancée.

The sun shone brightly through the window and across the bed. Tristan gently stroked Cady's back as she curled up beside him, dozing. Her left hand was laying on his chest as he laced his fingers through hers and lifted her hand, the small, delicate hand with long, slender fingers and short, manicured nails. He turned their joined hands and studied the ring on her finger. She was his. Well, she had been his from the moment they had met and he had lost his heart to her. It amazed him to think about where he was in life. He was now a member of one of the most elite military forces in all the known universes and he was engaged to a smart, beautiful, incredible woman he had ever met. A Princess, he thought with a chuckle. I am going to marry a Princess.

"What's so funny?" Cady asked in a quiet, husky voice.

Tristan turned their hands and kissed the back of her hand, "Just laying here thinking about how lucky I am."

"And that's funny?"

"No, I'm just happy."

She lifted her head and looked down at him, "So am I."

He reached up and brushed back the golden curls that tumbled into her face, "I love you."

Cady smiled and leaned down to kiss him, gently at first and then more passionately as she slid over him.

"Cady, don't, it's getting late."

She lifted her head and smiled mischievously, "Why are you worried about the time? It's only four."

"I wanted to call Erik before it got too late and if we're gone too long, people will wonder where we are and come looking for us." He closed his eyes and groaned as her fingers walked down his torso, "God, you're killing me, Cady."

"Yeah," she kissed him and straddled his waist. "But what a way to go."

Gideon ran the brush through his hair, scowling at his reflection in the mirror. He had just gotten a haircut the day before and it was too short.

He and Lynnai had a date that evening, they were going to dinner and then see a show at the new theater that had just opened. It was a play written by a local author and was earning rave reviews. Originally, it was supposed to be a double date with Declan and Brina, but Brina's brother had a baseball game and she promised to be there and then they were going back to her parent's house for ice cream.

Gid was pretty excited, it had been almost a week since he and Lynnai had been together. He had been busy with the Force and she had gone to visit her cousins for a few days. To be perfectly honest, he was happy their plans with his brother and Brina had fallen through, he was glad to have this time alone with her.

He glanced at his watch, he had to be at her house in fifteen minutes. Tossing the brush on his dresser, Gideon grabbed his wallet and, after checking to make sure their tickets were in there, he slipped it into his back pocket and left his room.

"Whoa, Gid, lookin' sharp," Declan teased. He was standing outside Brina's open door, waiting for her to finish getting ready.

"Thanks, Dec, when are you guys leaving?"

"Whenever the beauty queen is done primping," he said, a little too loudly.

"I heard you!" Brina called from somewhere inside her room. "I'll be there in two minutes."

"We're leaving in two minutes."

Gideon laughed, "Well, have fun. Hope Damien's team wins."

"Thanks, Gid, enjoy the show," Brina said as she walked out of her room, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. "I want to hear all about it, I can't wait to see it."

The three of them turned at the sound of a door opening. Sky stepped out of her room looking tired and annoyed.

"Hey, Sky, what're your plans tonight?" Declan asked.

Since Erik had left, Sky had taken over for him in the quiet, brooding department. She spent most of her time in her room, studying and avoiding everyone. "I have a paper to work on."

"That's not due for a while, come to the game with Brina and me, it'll be fun."

"Yeah, it's beautiful out," Brina added.

Sky shook her head, "Thanks, but I don't think so." She walked past them and disappeared around the corner.

Gideon checked his watch, "I have to get going. Tristan said he was going to call Erik tonight, maybe he can talk some sense into him."

"Hope so. See you later, Gid." Declan waved after his brother as Brina shut and locked her door.

Lynnai was watching from the front window when he pulled up in front of her house. He got out of the car as she jogged down the steps and made it to her side of the car just as she did.

"You're running late," she said, giving him a quick kiss as she slipped into the car.

"I know, sorry, I got held up," he replied, just before he shut the door after her.

"Is everything okay?" She asked as he got behind the wheel.

Gideon started the car and backed out of the driveway, "Same old, same old. We have a new Blue pilot, Sky is depressed, and Tristan got into a fight protecting Cady's honor."

"That's so sweet, what happened?"

"What do you mean that's sweet?"

"Fighting for her honor. What happened? Did some guy make a pass at her?"

"No, the guy who was turned down for the position as Blue's pilot got pissy with Tristan and started saying some not so nice things about Cady. One thing led to another and I heard Mytch was in pretty bad shape and kicked out of the Brigade."

"So Tristan is officially Blue's pilot now?"

Gideon nodded as he pulled into a spot in front of the intimate little restaurant they had reservations at. "We start practice in the morning."

"So everything is okay with the Force?"

"Yup, well, everything except Erik being a total jerk."

Lynnai smiled as she took the hand he offered and stepped out of the car, "Did you ever hear from him about rigging his trunk?"

"Nope. Kinda wish I had, I would love to tell him exactly what I think of him right now."

"Oh, Gid, you can't do that, you'd say stuff you can't take back and make a bad situation even worse."

"Yeah, probably."

Tristan obtained permission from Keith to use his office to call Erik in private. It took nearly five minutes to connect to the Polluxian castle. Tristan held his breath and hoped that Erik would be in.

"Castle Control, Pollux."

Tristan smiled at the guard who answered, "Hello, I'd like to speak with Erik Johansson, please."

"His Highness is not accepting calls at the moment."

His smile fell and was replaced with a look of concern. "Is he okay?"

"Yes, sir, if you'd like to leave a message, I can have him contact you later."

"If he's there, can you please tell him it's Tristan, I'm sure he'll speak with me."

"I'm sorry, sir."

"Please, if he says he doesn't want to talk to me, I'll hang up, but could you please ask him."

The guard hesitated a moment before nodding and turning away from the screen. Almost immediately, the screen dipped to black and the words 'Please Hold' twinkled in silver letters.

Several moments later, just as Tristan was starting to contemplate disconnecting, the screen flashed and Erik appeared. He wore a baseball cap down low over his dark glasses as he lounged in a chair in front of the videophone. The sharp edge of a razor hadn't touched his skin in days. He looked miserable.

"Tristan, how are you?"

"I'm doing all right, how are you?"

Erik shrugged, "I'm all right. What happened?" He pointed to his jaw.

"Oh, I got into a bit of a scuffle."

"What happened?"

"Well, I'll start by telling you that I am Blue's new pilot…"

"Congratulations."

"Thanks. Any way, one of the guys who applied for the position accused them of playing favorites and then he said some unkind things about Cady…"

"And you kicked his ass."

Tristan grinned, "Yeah."

Erik chuckled and took a pull from a bottle Tristan hadn't noticed before. "How is everyone there?"

"Everyone is doing pretty well, we start practice tomorrow morning and Keith wants us to undergo some team building exercises."

"Yeah, we did that. They dumped us in the middle of the woods and had us find our way back."

"Erik, we've been worried about you. We haven't heard from you. Seriously, how're you doing?"

"I'm fine, just getting used to life back on Pollux. And tell the twins they're lucky we were on separate planets when I opened my trunk. Damnit, I smelled like Nanny for two days."

"Aren't you even going to ask about Sky?"

Erik took another swig from the bottle, "How is she?"

"As miserable as you are."

"She brought this upon herself."

"Don't be such an ass, Erik, you're just as much to blame for this, if not more. Did you really think you could keep pushing her away and she would keep coming back? Eventually she was going to break, and you know that."

"I just needed some time to adjust…"

"And you were getting it, everyone was being patient with you and helping any way they could. But you pushed everyone away, you broke her heart…"

"What about my heart?" Erik snapped. "No one has thought to ask me how I feel about the fact that my girlfriend, the woman I was going to marry, broke up with me."

"Damnit Erik! Even you aren't so stupid to miss how much of this was the direct result of the attitude you developed. She loves you every bit as much as you love her and all you have to do is tell her that. Apologize and beg her forgiveness. What you're doing now is putting distance between you and making you both absolutely miserable. Why?"

"Why don't you ask her why she was so willing to throw away everything we had? She was the one who threw my ring back at me, she was the one who told me to return to Pollux, she was the one who broke my heart!"

Tristan's mouth fell open in disbelief, "Do you hear yourself, man? Think back to what it was like before the incident. Before we went to Terra. Do you remember how happy you were? Do you remember the man you were? I can't believe you won't swallow a little pride and crawl back here so you can have that again."

Erik took a long drink from his bottle and leaned forward toward the screen, "You have no idea what you're talking about."

Frustrated, Tristan rubbed his forehead and decided to try another tactic. "You know, the best day of my life is the day Cady agreed to marry me. I don't even know if I could put into words how I felt. I was excited, terrified, ridiculously happy, and madly in love. And that barely scratches the surface. If you felt even a quarter of how I felt on the night Sky agreed to marry you, I will never understand how you could possibly walk away from that. From her."

"I never said this has been easy," the Polluxian Prince mumbled.

"Then why did you go?"

"Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to be in the same castle as her when she couldn't even look at me? It was like a knife buried deep in my gut and every time she walked by and didn't smile like she used to the knife twisted. Every time she avoided me, looked the other way, the knife twisted. Knowing she was there and I couldn't go to her was pure agony. You wouldn't understand."

"What do you mean I wouldn't understand?" Tristan asked angrily. "You are just now starting to understand how I felt when I was here and I thought I couldn't be with Cady. When Captain Klari reassigned me and sent me away. When Cady was injured and I couldn't go to her. I know the knife you're talking about, it was buried to the hilt in me for over a month. But I took that chance, I came back and I made it right. I told her I loved her and it was the best thing I ever did. The only way you'll get rid of the knife is to get back here and make things right with Sky."

Erik sighed heavily and drained the remainder of his beer bottle, "I appreciate you checking up on me, just tell everyone I'm fine and I'll see you all later."

"What should I tell Sky?"

"She knows how to reach me if she needs me."

Tristan shook his head, "When Sebold cut you, it's like he tore your soul out and turned you into some kind of heartless monster. You are making the biggest mistake of your life by not coming back here and begging her to take you back. You will regret it until the day you die and you know I'm right."

Erik sadly shook his head, "Look, Tristan, thank you for calling. But…look, she's better off without me. She's better off with someone who can take care of her and be seen in public with her."

"I feel so sorry for you, Erik."

"Don't. I don't want anyone to ever feel sorry for me."

"Then first you have to stop feeling sorry for yourself."

Erik looked down at the empty bottle in his hand, "I have to go. Good night, Tristan."

"Erik…"

The screen blinked to black and the room was silent.

Tristan swore loudly and slammed his fist on the top of Keith's desk.

"It was good, but it kind of dragged in the middle."

"What are you talking about? It gave just enough background story so you became attached to the characters."

"Oh, come on, Lynnie, it was obvious the writer was just using filler to stretch the play out to an hour and a half."

"You just have no romance in your soul. We had to see how their relationship grew so we could sympathize when they broke apart and share their joy when they found each other again."

Gideon smiled down at Lynnai. They moved through the crowd in front of the theater, she had wrapped both arms around his arm and rested her cheek against his shoulder as they discussed the play and made their way to the car they had left parked in front of the restaurant five blocks away.

"What do you mean I have no romance in my soul?" He took her hand and stopped, twirling her away and then back into his arms.

Lynnai tilted her head back to look at him as he held her close and began dancing slowly in the middle of the sidewalk. "What are you doing?"

"Being romantic."

"There's no music."

"Want me to sing?"

"No!" She said a little too loudly, clamping a hand over his mouth. "We can't let it out that the Prince of Arus can't carry a tune in a bucket."

Gideon mumbled something against her palm.

She lowered her hand, "What?"

"I thought you loved my singing."

"I love you," Lynnai stood on her toes and kissed him quickly. "But I always thought your singing sucked."

"Sucked? Oh, well, I was going to take you to the bakery for an after show cookie, but now I don't think I will."

She tilted her head, "What about an after show brownie?"

"I don't know, you hurt my feelings."

"I did?"

He sniffled and stuck out his lower lip.

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry," she kissed his cheek. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, but I have a feeling you'll get over it. Now you have me thinking about cookies and brownies, so you better do something about it."

"Oh come on, if I had hurt your feelings, I would have to buy you something."

"Fine," she sighed and took his hand, dragging him along. "I'll buy you a cookie."

It was getting late and since it was a weeknight, there weren't many people on the streets of Alforia. They passed a uniformed police officer who nodded to them as he continued his rounds. A few shops had already closed, but the bakery stayed open an extra half hour in the summer.

"Psst."

Gideon looked around, sure he had heard a noise.

"Hey, you."

Lynnai looked over her shoulder.

"Over here."

Gideon saw movement in the dark space between two closed stores. Worried that something might be wrong, he stepped closer, "Hello?"

"Come here."

"Are you okay?" He asked, stepping closer, instinctively moving in front of Lynnai.

"No. I need help."

"Are you hurt?"

"Yes."

"Gideon," Lynnai hissed in his ear. "We should go get help for him."

"We can't just leave him," he whispered back.

"Please," the disembodied voice pleaded from the dark.

Thinking only of helping, Gideon stepped into the alleyway and immediately knew it had been the wrong thing to do. Lynnai had followed him and her gasp echoed off the walls that seemed to close in on them as four young men moved in on them.

Gideon pulled himself up to his full height of six foot two and put himself in front of Lynnai, "What's going on here?"

The moonlight glinted off the blade of a knife as one of the men stepped closer, "Your wallet."

"Okay, it's in my back pocket," Gideon spoke gently as he slowly moved his right hand behind him.

"No sudden moves!" One of the other men said sharply.

He felt Lynnai grip the back of his shirt in her hands. If it had just been him, he would have fought back and taken all four of them on, but he was afraid of what might happen to her if he did. "No sudden moves," Gideon repeated. "I have to get it out of my pocket." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the other men step closer to Lynnai and he mentally cursed himself for not bringing a weapon with him. But he had never done that on a date before, Alforia was not a place in which they normally worried about violence. While he slowly pulled his wallet out with his right hand, he wrapped his left arm back around Lynnai.

"Come on!" The man with the knife shook the blade impatiently.

Gideon held his wallet out in front of him and slowly turned so Lynnai's back was toward the street and took a step back, putting a little more space between them and the muggers. "Go ahead, take it, no one wants to get hurt."

"Oh come on, we just want to look at your friend there, she's kinda pretty." One of the other men said, stepping closer.

Gideon tightened his arm around her and nudged her back even more. "Get ready to run," he whispered to her.

She whimpered in response.

The beam of a streetlight cut across his face and the four muggers stopped in their tracks. They were four men, probably in their twenties, all poorly dressed and appeared a bit misty eyed.

"Oh shit!" The man with the knife exclaimed.

"It one a da princes!" Another guy said.

"Damn!" The one hitting on Lynnai took off at a run, the others quickly followed.

Gideon quickly turned to his girlfriend, "Are you okay?"

She looked at him with huge, terrified eyes, "Uh, yeah."

"Come on, Hunk and Paton live near here, let's go tell her what happened."

"'Kay."

He pulled her into a tight hug, "I won't let anything happen to you, you know that right?"

"I know," she replied, shakily.

"Come on, let's get out of here."