Author's Note:

Hello and welcome to another chapter. This one has actually sat nearly completed for months, and I've only just scraped enough motivation to finish it, so apologies for the long wait. This one is all about the aftermath of the big battle to liberate Earth. I hope you all enjoy the chapter.

I own nothing.

Chapter 16

Iverson gripped the door of the vehicle, staring at the rapidly approaching form of the Red Lion.

It had been a whirlwind of an intense few hours, filled with endless combat, constant stacking of the odds against them, and adrenaline fuelled near misses.

Some far more personal to him than others.

When Lance's line went dead at the start of the fight, his blood had run cold, warmed only by the relief at hearing his son's voice finally confirming the arrival of his lion. It ran cold again when the lions were captured, only years of military training converting his panic into focused work. From then on, it was the world's worst rollercoaster of highs and lows as they overcame one foe, only to have another one appear to do battle.

But nothing compared to the helplessness of watching the Red Lion, his son inside, tumbling from space to crash in the desert.

The moment the Atlas regained functionality, Shiro had her land properly and sent vehicles out to the crash sites without delay, fully stocked with available medical supplies. It went without saying that Iverson was on the one headed for the Red Lion.

The lion lay in the crater it had caused, unmoving and silent, smoke and dust still swirling around it and the vehicle pulled right alongside. As if waiting for them, the Lion got its head upright, and opened its mouth, allowing Iverson to rush inside to the cockpit.

Inside he found his son as still and unmoving as the Lion, and he wasted no time looking for a pulse, there was a terrifying moment when he couldn't find it, but then, there it was, weak but steady.

The med-team had followed him in, and he moved aside as they got to work.

It took days, days that were even harder than the few hours of intense fighting.

It was mostly waiting, waiting for the medics to finish, then waiting at Lance's bedside. There were times he had to be elsewhere, he was still a commander and battle clear-up had to be done, but all his spare moments were spent with his son. Thankfully, through the skilful work of their medics, all the Paladins were going to make a full recovery, but there was always doubt, doubt that wouldn't disappear until Lance was awake.

So, Iverson waited, basically living in his son's room so that he was always there, and he wasn't the only one.

All the Paladins had friends and family waiting with them, the Holts remained with Katie, Kolivan and Krolia (who'd arrived with many others after the battle) stayed with Keith, Hunk had his recently liberated family with him and Coran and Romelle remained with Allura. Shiro, when not leading the survivors in clean-up and making a start on rebuilding their home, moved between all of them, spending most time with Keith and Lance, and Coran also moved between them all. Even the MFE pilots visited when they could, seeming to have some respect for the Paladins.

He continued to wait.

It was night outside, and Iverson was seated, as always, beside Lance's bed.

They'd finally managed to move the Lions from their crash sites, though the Lions themselves had done most of the work. Coran hoped that the fact they were moving meant that the Paladins would soon be waking up as well, the Lions repairing as their pilots healed. They'd moved them to behind the memorial that Shiro had set up on the ruins of the Garrison base, and Shiro himself was planning to address everyone tomorrow in a service of remembrance. He'd informed them that they didn't have to leave the Paladins to attend, and Iverson eagerly took the option to stay.

The door opened, but the commander didn't look up, knowing it was Coran doing his evening rounds of the Paladins.

The Altean entered in silence, and stood beside him, looking down at the sleeping Lance.

"Any change?"

Iverson sighed, "No, not yet, but the doctors are certain he'll wake up soon."

"That's good."

They lapsed into silence once more, remaining that way as Lance breathed softly, then Coran spoke quietly, "He was really happy to discover that you were his father you know."

The commander raised an eyebrow, "He was?"

The Altean nodded, "Yes, once he got over the shock, he was happy and excited." He smiled, "He'd started to understand what a family was supposed to be, so I believe he had started yearning for a father in his life." Coran chuckled, "I must confess, I'm a little jealous of you."

Iverson frowned at the man's admission, and he wondered if Coran had once actually had children.

"Were you a father once?"

Coran shook his head, "No, I was always dedicated to the Royal Family, I suppose being a surrogate uncle to the Princess was enough for me, but then Lance turned up and I guess I saw myself as something of a father figure to him."

Iverson smiled, "Well, you can still be an uncle."

Coran looked at him in surprise, and the commander shrugged, "Let's face it, he's already built himself a crazy family, a surrogate uncle is hardly going to shake things up."

At that, they both chuckled and as they finished, Coran spoke, "Well, you're certainly proving to be a good father, so I'll take being an uncle."

Iverson nodded, "Thank you."

They fell into a comfortable silence.

Shiro's address was playing quietly in the background when Lance finally stirred.

It took a moment of the boy blinking before he sat up in bed, focused on the tv at the foot of the bed, taking in the end of Shiro's speech. He looked sideways and smiled upon seeing his father, a smile Iverson returned.

"Welcome back."

His son gestured tiredly, and the commander nodded, "Yes, you've been out for some time, but the doctors say you and the others will all make a full recovery."

Lance nodded, relief clear on his face, and Iverson waited only a moment, before pulling the boy into a gentle hug, holding the embrace and speaking quietly, "You don't know, how glad I am to see you awake and well."

His son's grip tightened briefly in acknowledgement.

Shiro clearly had left right after his address since he arrived in Lance's room not long after the broadcast finished.

Iverson was in the middle of telling Lance what had happened during his recovery, and the former paladin smiled upon seeing the interaction between the two, "Glad to see someone's feeling better."

At his words, Lance looked round and grinned at Shiro, before gesturing something that made the man raise an eyebrow, "Yes, I did pre-write my speech."

Iverson gasped in mock horror, "You mean you didn't produce it on the spot? Shiro, you're losing your touch, I thought you had the impromptu, noble leader speeches nailed."

The younger man gave him mock glare, "Hey, I thought it would be better if I put some effort into this one, rather then making it up as I went alone. It was nice to pre-prepare something rather than flying by the seat of my pants for once."

"For what its worth, you do a good job in pant seat flying."

"Thank you, Commander Iverson." Shiro responded sarcastically, "Your skills of encouragement are as cultured as ever."

Throughout this whole exchange, Lance had been smirking and shaking with silent laughter, and Shiro turned his attention back to him, "By the way, Coran has been telling me, very enthusiastically, that he's claimed position of surrogate uncle."

Lance casually shrugged and nodded, causing Shiro to fold his arms.

"So, what am I, chopped liver? I thought I'd get the uncle position?"

Iverson raised an eyebrow himself, "There can be more than one uncle you know."

Lance glanced at him, then back to Shiro before gesturing something.

"Wait, I've been demoted from 'Space Dad'!?"

The former paladin looked aghast, and Iverson burst out laughing as Lance nodded firmly, the boy then proceeded to gesture some more, and Shiro blinked.

"So, I've been demoted from 'Space Dad' to 'big brother'?"

Lance nodded, and Shiro went to say something, then stopped and looked thoughtful for a moment, before finally answering.

"Fair enough, I think I actually prefer that, I'm too young to be considered a dad."

Iverson glared, "And what's that supposed to mean?"

Shiro gulped, "Anyway, I should go and check on the others, if you're awake, then they likely are as well."

The captain of the Atlas beat a hasty retreat out the door.

PS-So Shiro has now been demoted to 'big brother', and Coran is confirmed as a surrogate uncle. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.