The paladins were sitting in the lounge and chilling as Keith entered the doors. " Hey, man what's up?" Shiro asked the red paladin as he walked towards him. " I did not sleep well at all last night..." Keith yawned. Keith who normally sleeps decently hadn't slept well and there was only one reason for it all. Today all the paladins had to get an injection because they had breathed in the same air on the last planet they landed on. That air was toxic and because Coran didn't know if it was safe for humans, everyone had to get an injection just to be on the safe side. " All right everyone, today as you know it, is injection day and I'm going to start with the bravest paladin in here." Everyone was looking at Shiro, who just smiled and stood up. After some time Shiro came back with a small band-aid on his arm. " It didn't hurt at all, so you guys should not worry too much..." Shiro responded as he noticed Keith's facial expression. " So you guys want to do some training while we wait for lunch?" Shiro asked, to break the silence. Everyone nodded and headed to the hangars to suit up. " Guys we don't need the armor for today's training." Shiro quickly responded and all the paladins look confused. Shiro had planned out a different kind of training for today, that didn't require armor or weapons. The only things they needed were themselves and some bravery.
The paladins were sitting in a ring in the training room and waiting for instructions as Coran was fixing something for them. It looked like a pulse monitor clip that each paladin had placed on one finger. " So today's training is for everyone to tell their fears..." Shiro finally said as Coran was done. None of the paladins expected Shiro to be this cruel and they all started arguing with each other. " Guys! Stop arguing with each other and just do what you have to do! What's the point of arguing with each other anyway?" Shiro said as he was very frustrated that the paladins hadn't taken this exercise as he wanted it to happen. " Guys just focus and tell us what you are afraid of, it's not supposed to that hard and also because this is a bonding exercise..." Shiro said when the other paladins had calmed down. He thought to himself if he should start or let someone else start, but he then figured that it was best if he started. " Ok guys, to make this easier for you I will start with my fear..." Shiro said, his voice trembling. " As you know I got captured by the Galra, and there Haggar did lots of different experiments on me as well as take my right arm..." Shiro continued as his whole body now was trembling lightly. " So I would have to say my fear has to do with medical-related things such as labs, hospitals and so on..." Shiro said, taking deep breaths. He had gotten everyone's attention when Hunk suddenly attacked him with a hug. " I hate everything the Galra did to you and the day they all die, the better!" Hunk said, squeezing the air out of Shiro. When he finally let him go, Shiro was heaving for air and Hunk was apologizing a lot.
Next up was Lance who was blushing because he thought his fear was embarrassing. " My fear is really weird in my opinion but it's simple. M-My fear is about being judged for who I am..." Lance said as he was now almost crying. He had always thought the others were judging his every move so he always tried being confident but inside he was very insecure.
" Lance... Don't ever think bad about yourself!" Shiro started to say stuff to him but he wasn't listening because he was occupied by Hunks warm hugs, which he always found had helped. " I'm sorry guys, I know you are always here to cheer me up, but you can always have a bad day, am I right?" Lance said, laughing a little which made everyone seem a bit more cheered up. Next up it was Hunks turn to tell, where he was looking very uncomfortable. "I fear that there will be no more food left in the whole world... Or at least in this castle..." Hunk said rubbing his stomach. Hunk was always hungry and by the looks of it, he was hungry right at this moment. " I think Coran always checks so there is enough food for everyone Hunk. You shouldn't worry about such a thing if there isn't a crisis where the castle breaks down and the food goo machine doesn't work anymore..." Lance said. Hunk already had nightmares from when the food goo machine had broken down once before and he didn't want to experience that again...
Pidge was next to tell her fear. She was lying down with her head on Lance's lap when she suddenly sat up awkwardly. " I have fear of insects..." Pidge said looking awkwardly at her shoes. She knew that many people have fear of insects but when it came to Pidge, she hated them so much she would rather die than see a bug. " Pidge, being afraid of something the usually is smaller than you is very interesting and it's really easy to conquer the fear if you are up to it?" Shiro said as he stretched his legs over the whole ring. Pidge could do that but she would want to do it on earth where she knew the bugs were not huge and mutated because in space everything could exist just one hundred times worse. " Thank you Pidge for telling us. Keith, you're up next!" Shiro said. As soon as Keith heard his name his heart started beating faster, knowing it was his turn. " I don't have a fear of anything and if I did I wouldn't tell you guys...!" Keith said, looking away so he wouldn't have to see their faces. There was a loud beep from the speaker and all the paladins except for Keith and Shiro, jolted up and looked terrified. " Guys sit down again, Keith isn't finished," Shiro said, motioning for the rest of the paladins to sit down again.
" As you know you have the pulse reader on your finger and because Keith was lying, his pulse went over the limit and therefore there was a beep," Shiro said as he looked to see if Keith was ok. " Keith, you can't lie to us! All of us told what we are afraid of so why don't you do it?!" Lance started to argue but Shiro cut him off and didn't let him finish. Keith sat curled up to a ball and his eyes were looking all over the place. Shiro placed a comforting hand on his shoulder to tell him that they all were there for him. " Fine! I lied... I'm afraid of needles and not just afraid, I'm terrified!" Keith said as he stood up and crossed his arms, looking away. " Haha, you? Afraid of a tiny needle? I must be dreaming..." Lance said, wheezing between his laugh attacks. Lance would never have thought Keith would be afraid of something like that. " Oh yeah Keith, we have the vaccinations today... that's good for you!" Lance added as he started laughing again.
Keith who now was scared of needles didn't move or say anything. " Guys, I'm not that scared..." Keith said. He didn't want everyone to think he was an especially because Lance was sitting and teasing him, didn't make things better. The training was over and everyone headed to lunch which, by the way, was delicious. After lunch, Coran gave the vaccine to Hunk, Pidge, and Lance and they were all fine even though Lance was scared at first. Now it was only Keith, Allura and Coran left. Coran and the princess did it sometime after the three paladins and they told Keith that it was fully ok and that it didn't hurt at all. " Well, you have no idea how scared I am!" Keith thought as he stormed out of the kitchen and ran off to the basement to be alone. He knew the rest of his friends would go looking for him sooner or later but they probably would give up, since Keith was hiding somewhere where the paladins had never been before so he thought he was well hidden. " Where did Keith go!" Shiro asked as he wasn't even surprised that Keith had ran off. " Great now just because Keith is afraid of needles we have to chase him down the whole castle!" Lance groaned quietly. All the paladins had gathered in the lounge to look for Keith and wait for further instructions. " So we all know Keith hates needles so you understand this is hard for him. That is why we have to find him and try to help him." Shiro said, and everyone including Allura and Coran was going to help look for him. " Well when one of you find him, take him to the infirmary and keep him there," Shiro added as he started walking out of the lounge to look for the red paladin.
One hour later and the paladins were still looking for Keith. " Paladins! Come quickly to the basement!" Allura said over the intercoms. Everyone exchanged looks and ran down to the basement where Allura was. " So you found him I guess..." Shiro said. Allura had gone to the control room and scanned the castle to look for Keith, and because she was the only one who knew there even existed a basement she had called the paladins for help. " So how are we going to do this?" Lance asked. He knew that they couldn't just storm in and grab Keith so they needed a plan A and a plan B, you know just in case. " I say we go in here and corner him until he either gives up or we could grab him by the arms and drag him to the infirmary!" Pidge said excitedly. " Guys, we are going to be nice to him, but not so nice that he just can escape. I want Lance and Allura to go in there while me, Hunk and Pidge stay out here in case he escapes." Shiro said as he moved towards the outside of the door. Lance and Allura went over to the door and as quiet as possible, opened it. " Knock him out if you have to Lance. I will take the responsibility if he starts yelling at you later..." Shiro said, just as the two of them were going to enter the room. " Keith! We know you are in here, so come on out!" Lance yelled into the room. Keith who was sitting behind lots of boxes, flinched as he noticed Lance and the others had found him. He quietly tried to see if he could escape but, noticed that Allura was pretty much blocking the door so he had no chance of escaping. " Keith, come on now! Don't be such a baby and get the vaccine!" Lance shouted as he went further into the room. Keith could finally feel how close Lance was and his heart started beating harder and harder. His foot started hurting a bit and by instinct he moved it. As he did this the box that was hiding him moved a bit and gave out a sound. Lance had heard this and approached him at lightning speed, and Keith jumped up and started to run outside but got greeted by Shiro and Hunk, who took both arms and held them tight. " Come on guys, that's not fair!" Keith groaned.
On the way to the infirmary, Shiro and Hunk still held Keith's arms so he wouldn't escape. " Guys I can walk on my own..." Keith groaned as he was trying to loosen his grip from the two who held him. " Ok Keith, but promise that you won't run off..." Shiro said with a worried voice. Hunk and Shiro let Keith go, and they went on with silence in between them. As they were soon at the infirmary Keith's heart was beating like crazy, as he was very stressed about the whole situation, the only thing he could think of was to run away again. Just as the infirmary was in Keith's sight he ran off with lightning speed. Though Keith had earned Shiros and Hunks trust on the way to the infirmary, Shiro still grabbed Keith and knocked him to the ground. " Sorry man but you have to get this vaccine. It's for your own good..." Shiro said with a soft voice as Keith was under him, grunting and struggling to get away from him. " I'm fine! I don't need the vaccine and I don't want it either. Now let me go!" Keith was screaming and struggling under Shiro's weight and he was soon so tired of it, that he gave up. " Man, that was awful..." Hunk said. He had seen the whole thing happen and didn't like it at all. " Keith, are you calm enough to walk into the infirmary and take the vaccination now?" Shiro asked Keith. Keith nodded and Shiro helped the red paladin up from the floor. Together the three of them walked into the infirmary, and not many seconds after that the rest of the paladins came too.
" Keith... Hop up on the medical table over there." Coran said, pointing at a table at the edge of the room. Keith went in and hopped onto the table with difficulties at all, but he couldn't sit still. " Keith... You have to sit still, or else Coran might poke you somewhere else and it might hurt..." Shiro said, placing a comforting hand on Keith's shoulder. Keith did feel very stressed but having Shiro there helped a lot. " Ok Keith, you are going to feel a slight pinch now..." Coran said as he took Keith's arm and vaccinated him. It hurt like hell but Keith couldn't move at all because he was so scared. " Keith? Coran was done a long time ago..." Shiro said. Keith had been almost paralyzed of fear and therefore he hadn't realized that Coran already was done. He hopped off the table and slowly walked to the doors of the infirmary, and then went to his room. " Shiro, I have to go take a nap..." Keith had told him as he got out of the infirmary. Shiro understood why and they separated from each other, as Keith was going to his room and Shiro went to the lounge to tell the others to know what happened. Keith was very tired at this moment and flopped down on his bed with a flop. Keith fell asleep safe and sound and nothing would be able to distract him from his sleep except for the alarm or food.
2 hours later Keith woke up from his nap and went to the kitchen to drink water. He was very dehydrated from running around so much within the past hours and he was still very tired. When he entered the kitchen there was no one there which he thought was weird, because all their free time Hunk was usually always in the kitchen. Keith took a glass of water and went to the lounge, but as he entered he noticed no one was there either. " Where is everyone?" Keith thought to himself as he angrily went to the control room to see if they were there. Of course, they were there and when Keith entered he was greeted with smiles and applauded. " Good job Keith... I'm very proud of you for taking that vaccination in the end!" Hunk said as he gave Keith a big Hunk hug. " Good to know that everyone cares about me but I don't like needles and you have to understand why I acted like this because I didn't want the vaccination..." Keith said and went over to Shiro. Keith felt that Shiro was the only person he could trust right now and that because Keith and Shiro were "brothers". Lance was standing on the opposite of Keith, and was facing him as he said, " Keith you were being such a baby before! Why did we have to chase you have to make everyone chase you around the castle?". Keith completely ignored the fact that Lance was talking to him as he didn't want to answer him. "It's not even his problem, so why is he making such a big deal out of it?" Keith thought to himself. Just as they were talking, the castle started beeping and informed all the paladins that the Galra was attacking. " Guys get to your lions, fast!" Shiro commanded as they were running to the hangars to get ready for the fight. Soon they were all outside, ready to protect the castle and fight the Galra.
" Keith!" All the paladins screamed over the intercoms as Keith got hit with a blaster from behind. The red lion was hit and was now not moving at all. The rest of the paladins had to finish the fight quickly before anyone else got hurt. " Lance! Use your lion's powers to take down the fleet over there!" Shiro told Lance as he was fighting with a fleet on his own. Lance headed over to the fleet and destroyed it with one blow, and the other paladins were taking down the smaller fleet just as easy as Lance had done. " We have to check that Keith is ok!" Shiro shouted in the intercom, as his lion was pulling Red back to the castle hangars. Once they were inside, Shiro ran over to Red to see if Keith was ok. Shiro entered the Red-lion to see Keith, bruised and unconscious and to the looks of it, he probably had a broken leg as Shiro saw it was turning blue. " Guys, someone has to tell Coran to fix a pod for Keith!" Shiro said as he picked up the unconscious red paladin and started walking to the pods. When they got to the pods, Coran was there together with Allura but they both looked miserable. " I'm sorry Shiro, but the pods won't help Keith in this case. Bring him to the infirmary and let me check on him there!" Coran said and they went to the infirmary instead. When they were there Shiro placed down Keith on one of the infirmary beds and Coran looked over Keith with a few scanners and looked surprised but very worried. " He only has a broken leg and a few bruises. Then to the fact he is unconscious is probably because he hit his head during the hit..." Coran told Shiro. Coran went over to grab a heart monitor and an IV which he placed on Keiths hands. " What are we going to do Coran?" Shiro asked the altean worryingly as he looked at Keith. Shiro was very worried that Keith, would get worse or something like that. " Don't worry Shiro, I only have to bandage up his leg and then keep an eye on him until he wakes up. Go tell the others that he will be fine, and then I will tell you when he wakes up." Coran told Shiro, and as Shiro was very responsible he did what he was told and left Coran to do his job. As Shiro was leaving the infirmary he had to look at Keith on more time before he left. Shiro was very worried about Keith but he also knew that Coran would do a good job to care for him.
" Where am I?" Keith said as he looked around to his surroundings. He was in the infirmary and Keith didn't remember anything that happened and why he was here. As Keith was waking up he noticed a beeping sound to the left of him and looked to see what it was. He noticed the heart monitor was reading his pulse and the line was looking rather normal, so he decided to take it off. As he did this the machine started flat-lining and gave out a horrid sound that Keith could not stand so he put the clip on again. There was no one in the room and Keith was worried, but he felt safe in the infirmary so he didn't move. " Sooner or later someone will come to check on me, so I guess I can talk to them then..." Keith thought to himself and he inspected the infirmary a bit more closely. He didn't find anything more special until he felt a slight pinch in his hand. Keith looked down as he saw the IV drip in his hand, and he wasn't so sure that he wanted to stay in the infirmary anymore. " I was only unconscious, why give me an IV?" Keith thought angrily to himself. He had to get out of the infirmary... He took off the blanket only to find a cast on his leg. " Great, how am I supposed to train with a broken leg?!" Keith whispered under his breath. He was mad at himself for failing the mission and even more mad that he was hurt and wasn't able to walk. Just as Keith was about to get out of bed on his own, Shiro and Coran came into the infirmary.
Shiro came directly to Keith and gently pushed him back to bed. " Hey! I don't want to be in the infirmary longer than I need to!" Keith said and he sat on the edge of the bed, looking up at Shiro. " Keith, you have to stay here until your leg has healed which might take at least 5 weeks or more..." Shiro said. Keith couldn't believe it. He was stuck with this cast for 5 weeks or more! And what's worse is that he wasn't allowed to leave the infirmary unless he had to go to the bathroom or eat food. " Keith I'm sorry that this happened, but you have to stay in here until your leg has healed. If I see you anywhere else than in here I will seriously restrain you the bed. Got that?" Shiro said. Keith understood and quietly laid down in the bed so he wouldn't need to talk to Shiro or Coran anymore. " Coran?" How long do I need the IV for...?" Keith asked before he left him together with Shiro. " About that...!" Coran said as he walked back to Keith with quick steps. Keith wondered if he was going to let him free from the IV already but Coran had other plans... " I just have to make sure that it's sitting right. I know its uncomfortable but you need it for your safety..." Coran said. Keith hated needles and Coran knew that, so why doesn't he just let Keith be free from it!
Coran fixed a bit with the IV and then he and Shiro left him alone in the infirmary. " Well, what do I do now?" Keith thought. Now that Keith was alone with nobody to talk to he had no idea what to do. He finally decided he would find a way to get out of the infirmary because he didn't want to stay there at all. Keith sat up and shifted to the edge of the bed, as he looked around the room to find anything that would help him walk. As Keith scanned the room he saw two sticks looking things on the other side of the infirmary, and they looked almost like crutches. Keith hopped on one leg to reach the crutches and then tried to get used to them before he went to his room. " At least I will be able to move around now..." Keith thought happily to himself. Keith went to his room and sat down on his bed, as he put the crutches on the side of the bed. He laid down and fell asleep fast, knowing Shiro and Coran would come for him later. Shiro had told Keith that he would restrain him to the infirmary bed but he didn't think that he was serious...
When Keith woke up again, he found himself in the infirmary bed as he suspected he would be but he also noticed that Shiro had been serious about the restraint as he found that his arms were restrained to the side of the bed. "Shiro?" Keith said with an annoyed voice. Keith had a new IV drip and Shiro and Coran were standing on the edge of the bed looking down at him. Keith groaned as he knew he now couldn't escape again and he was stuck in the infirmary for real this time. " I told you not to leave the infirmary and I also was serious about the restraints so don't you say anything!" Shiro said as he went a few steps closer to Keith. Shiro was telling him things he already knew so he wasn't listing. Instead, he was trying to see what Coran was doing, but he couldn't see anything because he had his back turned to Keith. " That's why I think you need a sedative to help you sleep Keith," Shiro said as Keith now was listening to Shiro again. " What! No way... I can sleep without a sedative! Why don't you trust me that I can fall asleep on my own?" Keith said. Keith didn't want another needle in his arm and he started to move around, trying to get loose from the restraints. " Shiro, please! I don't need it, plus you are supposed to trust me! I know you can trust me!" Keith shouted at Shiro from where he was standing. Shiro went over to Coran and took the injection from him, as he went back to Keith with a face of non-trust. Shiro injected Keith with the sedative and waited for him to fall asleep until he went to tell the others some things about Keith. " So listen up everyone! As you all know Keith is in the infirmary recovering and I don't want any of you to go in there until he is ready to get out of there, is that understood?" Shiro asked all the paladins. " Why can't we see him?" Lance asked suddenly. He had no idea what had happened and was questioning why Shiro wasn't letting them meet Keith. " Its because he is going to ask you to let him go and he isn't allowed to leave the infirmary again." Shiro answer all the confused paladins. None of them asked what Shiro meant with " again " because they already had guessed that Keith had tried to escape the infirmary once. The following weeks Keith was in the infirmary, the paladins were doing regular training and no Galra had been spotted for a long time. Keith was finally allowed to get out of the infirmary today and he was sick and tired of staying there so he was very happy when Shiro and Coran came after training.
" Are you here to let me get out of the infirmary?" Keith asked as he was jerking the restraints a bit to show he was ready to leave. " If you would sit still so I can take out the IV that would be a starter, Keith..." Coran said as he was taking out the IV with no hesitation. " Ow..." Keith groaned as the needle left the surface of his hand. Keith was now officially free from the only thing that had annoyed him for the past few weeks and he was so relieved. " Ok Keith, now I have to take off the cast and clean off your leg from the plaster." Coran said as he got out a mechanical saw. Keith saw how Coran cut the cast off within minutes and as soon as it was done, the first thing Keith did was itch his leg. Both Coran and Shiro thought it was funny and they started laughing at him. Keith didn't understand what was so funny about it but he didn't care so much, because it was itching so much. " Ok, be still new so I can clean your leg off for leftover plaster," Coran said, and Keith patiently waited. Once it was done Keith stood up and tried walking which felt a bit odd for him at first because he hasn't used his legs for so long but as soon as he got used to it he thanked Coran and Shiro for the help and then he left to go meet the others. When Keith entered the lounge all eyes were on him for a long time before everyone noticed it was Keith who was standing there, on his legs... " KEITH!" Lance was so happy to finally see his fellow teammate again after so long, that he ran up to him and hugged him. " I'm as happy to see you guys too!" Keith said when Lance had finally let go of him. All his friends were them for him and he was very grateful for it, even though some people like Shiro could be very mean to him, he still loved all of them like a family. " So how are you feeling now Keith?" Pidge asked. Keith felt ok at this moment and therefore told them exactly that. " Pidge, I feel very good right now because I'm finally free from the infirmary, the restraint, and the IV." Keth said, just as he realized what he had said. He looked at everyone only to find them shocked and he probably would have to explain now what happened and how he got into that situation. " Oh my god, Keith! What did Shiro and Coran do to you?" Lance abruptly said as Keith saw that he was tense with wide looking eyes. " Well, I didn't want to be in the infirmary anymore so I took a pair of crutches and left. I went to my room to sleep and when I woke up again I was back in the infirmary, restrained to the bed just like Shiro told me I would be if I tried to escape..." Keith explained.
A few minutes later Shiro and Coran came to the lounge, where all the paladins were sitting. As soon as they entered everyone started yelling at them for treating Keith like a prisoner, but none of them looked the least worried. " I did it for Keith's own safety so you guys shouldn't have to be worried that I was treating him like a prisoner or anything. He was allowed to go you the bathroom and I brought food for him." Shiro just said. Keith was pissed that Shiro didn't get the least mad at them for yelling at him but he thought it was alright as he noticed everyone calmed down after a bit. " I'm going to bed because this has been a long day for me..." Keith said as he got up from the sofa. Keith got into bed but couldn't fall asleep at all when he suddenly heard a knock on his door.
" Come in," Keith said as the door opened and Lance entered.
" Shiro told me to come here and see if you needed help to fall asleep..." Lance said as he sat down on the chair next to Keith's bed. " What are you supposed to do to help me fall asleep?" Keith questioned Lance as he noticed that Lance looked very nervous. " Well spit it out, Lance!" Keith ordered. Lance took out an injection from his pocket and placed it on the bed for Keith to see it. " Shiro wondered if you needed help to sleep, and he recommended that someone would come in here and sedate you... So I offered to do it if that's ok?" Lance said, trying not to look at Keith's face. Had Lance just asked him if he needed the sedation? " Ok..." Keith said. Keith knew that he needed to sleep and he couldn't fall asleep before Lance had come in so why not just do it? " Wait what? You want me to give it to you?" Lance said, looking very surprised. " Yes Lance, I had a hard time falling asleep before you came in so why not?" Keith said. Keith knew it was a needle but with having Lance here he didn't even think about it. " If you are sure about it..." Lance whispered, as he took the injection from the bed and took the cap off. He looked at Keith one last time to, make sure he was aware that he was sure what he was doing. As Keith nodded his head, Lance injected the sedative into Keith's arm and waited a few seconds before taking the needle out. " Goodnight Keith..." Lance said, helping Keith lie down in the bed. As Keith was slowly falling asleep, Lance waited until he was fully asleep until he joined the others in the lounge again. " So how did it go?" Shiro asked when Lance came to sit down. " He wanted it, which surprised me..." Lance answered as he sat down. " Well, maybe he was more comfortable with you giving him the injection?" Shiro said. Lance wondered if it was because Keith was tired or maybe it was something else but he now knew that Keith was sleeping safely in his bed and that he wouldn't have to escape when he woke up again. " Lance, next time we have to get vaccines you will be in charge of giving it to Keith. Is that ok with you?" Shiro asked Lance. Lance thought about it for a while and got to the conclusion that it was, as long as Keith always was safe when it happened. " Yes, it's ok for me. I can be in charge of giving Keith the injection next time he needs it so you don't have to worry Shiro..." Lance said. With that said, everyone went to bed and slept well the whole night. That includes Keith who didn't have a choice at the moment because he was sedated so he wouldn't wake up until everyone were already up for breakfast the next morning.
THE END