The pressure release hiss and gentle chime of a healing pod always reminded Pidge of a toaster oven.

Ding!

Toast ready!

However, the Green Paladin felt anything but toasty. She was cold, and her side hurt- not a terrible pain, only dull prickles. It didn't feel really nice. What did, however, was the welcoming darkness behind her eyelids, seeming to invite her to stay forever behind the cover of familiar shadows. She almost accepted their offer- but a tiny, rumbling purr that sounded suspiciously like her Lion at the back of her mind prompted her that is was the wrong decision. Slightly unwilling, the small Paladin forced her eyes to open just a crack. Thankfully, wherever she was, it wasn't all that bright, even though her vision was still bleary and thick. She twitched her wrist absentmindedly, trying to regain control of her apparently frozen limbs. A heavy, curved panel of ice-colored holographic mass shield clicked and groaned, startling the Paladin just a little. It lifted, or rather dematerialized, letting out a miniature stream of fog before dissipating completely. After a tick or so of pure confusion, Pidge tried to take a step forwards to relieve herself of the uncomfortably cold temperature, but found that her legs were weak from lack of use. They gave out underneath her, feeling awkward and stiff. She didn't have enough time to gather her voice into a small yelp before steady, strong arms caught her mid-fall.

"Hello, Pidge." At Shiro's simple words, the said Paladin's body relaxed almost completely. Not really the best idea, since Shiro was now fully supporting Pidge's weight. She felt herself lift off the floor, and not a moment later being set down on a healer's cot. Furrowing her eyebrows the slightest, she instantly leaned into the Black Paladin's hug as he sat down beside her and outstretched his arms.

"..Hi, Shiro." She greeted, blinking rapidly as she made an attempt to focus on the dimly lit room.

"Glad to see you're alright. Do you.. happen to remember anything from your mission with Lance and Keith?"

Straight to the point. Not pulling back from Shiro's hug (realistically, she felt like her body was slightly disconnected- being in a cryo pod could delay movements. Also, the friendly embrace felt good), Pidge frowned, trying her best to remember.

Oh.

The timer ticking down as the bomb was activated.

Running out of the control room, heart racing with anticipation.

Facing the droids, feeling confident as ever.

A piercing tear of pain, then.. nothing.

"I do.." Pidge said, her voice soft and quiet, slightly muffled by Shiro's shirt. "I remember pretty much everything. The control panels, the droids, the hallway... hang on." She suddenly stopped, a ping of realization ringing in her head. Pidge pulled back, her eyes glittering with newfound worry.

"Keith- Lance! Are they.. did... are they alright? Were they-"

"They're fine," Shiro soothed, offering his youngest teammate a reassuring grin.

"Lance is all good. Came back to the Castle with little more than a couple scratches. Keith got out of his pod only a few hours ago. He's perfectly fine, just exhausted. Nearly had to force him into his room. Keith wanted to stay by your pod... from what I've observed he thinks it's his fault you became injured in the first place." The Black Paladin's volume dropped a little during the end part of the report. Pidge couldn't help but feel a hitch on her throat. It really wasn't his fault.. Pidge has been reckless, diving headfirst into danger with close to no plan. Shoulders slumping a little, she gave an acknowledging nod.

"Okay..." she started, trailing off due to a loss of words. 'I'll talk to him' sounded weird, so she just decided not to say it. An odd shiver ran down her spine. It really was cold in here. Trying again, Pidge looked up and met Shiro's eyes.

"What time is it? Also, can we get out of this room? It's like a big freezer in here." The Green Paladin asked, wrapping her arms around her chest.

"It's supposedly close to morning, or whatever it's called when the Castle's night shift is over. Only a few more dobashes until 'daytime'. I'm going to guess Hunk is already up and cooking some delicious breakfast, unless Coran got to the kitchen first."

Shiro replied, pausing to release a surprisingly wide yawn.

"And yes, this room feels like the North Pole. Come on, before either of us freeze into a block of ice."

Ignoring the fact that freezing into ice was scientifically and biologically impossible, Pidge lifted herself from the cot and gladly accepted Shiro's steady hand as a temporary balance.

After leaving the chilly room, Pidge eventually found her strength and released Shiro's arm, offering a quiet, slightly bashful thanks. With no idea how to create small talk- or no will to, for that matter, the Green Paladin decides to simply stare at her feet as they walked through the dimly lit hallways. The eerie silence, save for the duo's soft footsteps, was almost deafening. Thankfully, before anything became too awkward once again, multiple faint clicks emanated from the walls while an artificial buzz indicated that is was officially morning, Castle-wise. The sleek panels on the sides of the halls shifted from a gentle light blue to a welcoming yellow-white, and a few hisses of air continued to linger afterwards. Watching with fascination, Pidge hardly realized that they'd practically arrived to the kitchen up until a voice and a loud laugh rang through her ears. Snapping back to the moment at hand. The smallest Paladin's shoulders slumped slightly as the doorway to the kitchen whirred open. Apparently, everyone was already awake.

Well, almost everyone.

Allura was leaning against a wall, looking slightly annoyed but also as if she were trying to hold down a laugh. Her arms were nearly folded over her chest, and her hair was tied up in an effortless bun.

Lance was seated comfortably on a smooth marble-like counter, clearly recovering from some comment he made. He wheezed slightly and wiped his eyes, appearing to be unable to speak.

"Dude, you're really close to making me dump this on your head," Hunk warned, raising a curious-looking spatula and pointing it at Lance. In front of the Yellow Paladin lay a few cooking appliances, multiple containers, and a sheet of cooking instructions, apparently written in Altean. Coran was peering over it with great interest, eyes narrowed with thought.

"That would actually be a terrible idea, Hunk. See, until you add some of this-" he held up a bag holding what seemed to be a wriggling dead vine, "-the mix in this bowl, of spilled or otherwise thrown, will actually attach itself to a live host in an attempt to claim a body for itself! Mainly for nutritional purposes, of course."

The room fell silent.

"Okay, Coran, you are officially banned from reading cooking instructions out loud," Hunk stated, his face seeming a bit pale.

"I second that," Lance agreed, running his hand through his hair.

Allura only smiled.

"I can read a little bit of Altean, if that helps at all. Promise I won't follow the recipes that closely." Pidge offered, unable to keep a hint of laughter out of her voice. She very nearly regretted speaking when all eyes turned to her. After a beat of existentially painful staring, Hunk dropped his spatula.

"Pidge!" He greeted, his voice gleeful as he rushed over and pulled her into a gentle bear hug. Well, as gentle as one could be. The small Paladin responded in kind and wrapped her arms around his waist as far as they could go.

Lance swiftly hopped off the counter at the same moment Allura stepped forwards, both of them trotting over with delighted expressions.

"Hey, Pidgeykins! How are you feeling?" The Blue Paladin asked, welcoming himself into the two-turned-group hug.

"A lot better, though still a little dizzy." She responded, beginning to feel a bit crushed as both the Princess and Shiro joined in.

After a few vaguely breathless seconds, they all pulled away. Pidge felt an odd urge to ask where Keith was, but already knew the answer in the back of her mind. Instead, the Paladin only stole Lance's seat on the counter, earning a disgruntled huff of air and a whisper of "this is how you repay me for my quite welcoming hello" underneath his breath. He sat down next to her, though had to be careful as to not hit his head on a questioningly low hanging cupboard.

The usual chatter and bickering between Coran and Hunk resumed, and Pidge took the window of time to stealthily take the sheet of cooking instructions and squint at it. Unfortunately, she only recognized multiple words here and there.

Her mind briefly wandered to their one missing- yet hopefully resting- team member, and the Paladin couldn't help but release a small, worried internal sigh.

She'd do anything to assure him it wasn't his fault.

Having guilt that didn't belong to you weigh on your shoulders wasn't a good thing to bear.

Especially not alone.

Pidge knew.