Startled awake, Lance sat up from the bed. When and How he got there, he had no idea. Sleep still had a heavy effect on him as he dragged his eyes over to where Pidge was asleep.

Or had been.

The empty bed sat there, and for a minute Lance sat there blinking at the bed and the unmade sheets. Then it hit him. He launched into a standing position, using the bed in front of him to steady himself.

The bed was empty. She was awake.

Lance cursed himself for falling asleep, as he hurried from the infirmary. The adrenaline that was awaking inside him chased away the sleepiness.

He burst into the bridge startling Allura, Coran, and Shiro. The room was empty except for the three people who now stared at him with concern.

"Lance what is it?" Shiro asked.

"Pidge-" He gasped out, "She-She's awake." It was all he said before he turned and ran to locate the green paladin. She had to be somewhere in the castle, but where?

Keith was in the middle of a training session when Lance came barreling in. Seeing the expression on Lance's face plus the three others that came in behind him, the training session was immediately paused.

The group then hurried to where Hunk was tucked into a lab working on Pidge's suit. He hadn't seen her either, however he quickly left the lab and joined their hunt for Pidge.

They searched high and low for their friend, but she was nowhere to be found. It was as if she had simply vanished.

After looking high and low, Lance finally wandered back into the infirmary. His rushed steps from earlier had slowed to a casual walk as his eyes slid over the room looking for any missed details.

And then one hit him.

Like a freaking truck.

It was so obvious that in his panic from earlier he had completely missed it. In the corner was a supply closet. Mostly stocked with fresh linens for the beds, but there was room at the bottom for a small body to fit.

He had no hesitation flinging the closet door open, as he dropped to his knees. Lance was expecting to peek into the bottom shelf and find Pidge…what he was not expecting was for the small body that launched from the closet tackling him to the floor. His head slammed against the floor, he grunted as his teeth came clamping down on his lip.

Pidge had quickly gathered herself from her initial attack, and currently had both his arms pinned under her knees as she straddled his abdomen. Her face was a mixture of fear and anger as she focused her eyes on him, her hand was outstretched pointing a scalpel at his throat, mere inches from breaking the skin.

Lance swallowed as his body stilled. He became acutely aware of Pidge's knees digging into his arms, his blue eyes widened as Pidge's shaky arm inched ever so closely to his skin. He closed his eyes, head tilting back in order to create space between the sharp blade and the pulsing artery beneath his skin.

She's acting on instinct. She's scared.

"Pidge, it's me. Lance." His voice cracked and for a second he thought she didn't hear him. Then all at once her body tensed her knees digging harder into his arms.

"How do you know that name?" Her body shook above him, "How do you know that name!?" She repeated her voice raised. The scalpel came dangerously close to his skin as she came closer to his face.

"Pidge!"

Startled Pidge pressed the blade to Lance's skin hard enough to draw blood. Lance hissed as the sting set in.

Footsteps came from the door as the others entered. Lance could feel Pidge shaking above him. She wasn't just acting on instinct this was pure terror.

"Time to go." Shiro said just as footsteps could be heard outside the room they currently occupied. An alarm was going off somewhere inside the ship alerting the rest of the crew to the intruders aboard.

"Not yet!" Pidge's voice sounded above the chaos. The other four paladins paused, turning to see the youngest of them holding her hand out for them to wait.

"Pidge, we don't have time." Lance told her, coming to kneel by her side. As soon as he spoke the doors to the room opened and a group of twenty sentries entered. Lance rested a hand on Pidge's lower back as if to guide her up and out to the safety of the lions. "We need to go. Now." Lance said, speaking firmly.

"There is valuable information on this ship. Information that could help us win the war. I'm not leaving until it's finished." Pidge's voice was firm as she leveled her gaze with Lance. He could see the warning in her eyes and the flame that dared him to try and see what would happen if he continued.

Lance glanced back to the other's who simply stared back at him. Shiro gave a nod that he approved of the risk. "How long do you need?" Lance asked Pidge. As the words left his mouth they were echoed by the sound of twenty blasters powering up, the sound of the sentries shifting echoed throughout the room.

"Give me three minutes." Pidge replied, turning back to her screen.

Three minutes. They could do that. Three minutes and then they could make their exit to the lions.

"Alright, you heard her." Lance said activating his shield, "Stall for three minutes."

Lance pressed his fingers to the small cut that was bleeding on his neck, pulling them away he noted the partially dried blood that caked onto his fingertips. Good. Already clotting.

His eyes trailed to the cot where Pidge now lay limp. Her arm was hanging off the edge, scalpel still firmly grasped in her hand. His own blood shining from the overhead lights.

Hunk gently removed the scalpel from her grasp before tucking her arm beneath the blanket. Coran stood on the other side of the bed with a tablet in hand.

"Here."

Lance accepted the wet rag from Allura with a nod of thanks. He wiped his chin with it before pressing it to his lip. There was only a small amount of red that was absorbed onto the rag when Lance pulled it away, his split lip no longer bleeding.

"She was terrified, Allura." Worry churned inside him as his gaze focused on Pidge once again. He fidgeted with the rag for a minute then stilled. "When I called her Pidge, she freaked out. Asking how I knew her name."

"That doesn't sound like Pidge. As far as we observed her injuries didn't hint at - Coran!"

The altean turned to them drawing his gaze from the tablet in his hands. "You are correct Allura, as far as the scans showed she was headed for a full recovery but you know just as well how sometimes the scans aren't accurate.

Allura nodded, "It's hard to remember that technology isn't the best at times."

"So what does that mean for Pidge? Is there a change in her status?" Lance pressed. He approached the end of the bed where Pidge laid, settling his hands on the mattress the rag tossed over his shoulder. He'd take care of it later.

"From her previous scans from the healing pod she was bound for a steady recovery, but with these new scans…a full recovery doesn't seem as likely. Her physical injuries are fully healed, but non-physical injuries-"

"Like her memory." Lance interjected. His thoughts were occupied with earlier of Pidge's terrified voice asking the same question. Of her wondering how he knew her name.

"Exactly, and from what you were telling Allura that seems like the most likely case."