"All right team, we're only a few days out from the location Ulaz gave us." Shiro stood at the front of the bridge, focused on Coran's screens. The entire crew had gathered by his side to go over today's plan, and they were steadily progressing forward now that they had gotten Zarkon off their tail. Making progress was always good, but he had to wonder if the members of the Blade of Marmora would be as eager to help as they had been inclined to believe.
"There are multiple small settlements on the way that have released distress signals." Allura put up a handful of small, blinking red planets on the screen between their ship and the supposed location of the Blade of Marmora. "As the Paladin's of Voltron, it is your duty to help those planets whenever we possibly can."
"Ugh." Lance groaned at that, swinging his head back in a moan. "We finally just got Zarkon to quit following us around. Can't we have a break for a minute to relax?"
"These planets are small, it won't take long to help them out." Shiro understood what Lance was saying. They were all tired from Zarkon's game of cat and mouse, but this was their duty. "Besides, wh-"
Cough, cough, cough.
Shiro was a little distracted by the rattling cough from one of the Paladins but chose to ignore it. "When we agreed to pilot the lions, we agreed to help those-"
Cough….cough, cough, cough.
"-in need. Zarkon rules almost all of the-" Cough "-known universe. It's going to take time and dedication-" Cough, cough. "-To return the freedom to those he's-" Cough, cough, cough.
Shiro tapered off. No one was paying attention to what he was saying. Everyone was staring at Pidge, who was sitting slumped in her chair, coughing into her sleeve. It was one of those hard, hacking coughs that refused to be stifled. It wasn't intentionally rude, and she was doing her best to keep it quiet by covering her mouth with her sleeve. Her hair was unkempt from the previous night's sleep and she had dark shadows under glazed over eyes.
"Pidge, are you okay?" Hunk asked a little tentatively, leaning over his armrest towards her.
She gave a nod and let out a few more coughs into her sleeve. "I'm fine -cough- I'm fine really. I'm just -cough- I'm just not feeling very good today."
"You're sick?" A look of concern came over Shiro's face, as did everyone else's.
"Wait, you're sick?!" Lance exclaimed. "With what? What if it's some weird alien disease?"
"What kind of alien disease?" Hunk knit his brows together. "Maybe you caught it on Taujeer. Or no, maybe the space mall. Is it common courtesy for aliens to wash their hands after going to the bathroom? Oh man, what if it's a really bad alien disease?"
"Maybe she'll turn into some crazy alien sludge monster. Or maybe instead of sweating a lot like Coran did, she'll drool a lot or something crazy like that." Lance's imagination was already going far off the deep end.
"You guys." Pidge tried to interject, but her coughing was making it difficult to get many words out.
"It could be a case of vicious gerd." Coran peered at Pidge, getting close to her face and looking her up and down. "Her skin tone does seem a little pale, and are you shivering?"
"Where could she have contracted that, Coran? We haven't been anywhere near the eighth tangent." Allura was looking at her now with concern. She noticed right away that Pidge did seem to be shivering slightly. "Oh no. Coran, if she's gotten vicious gerd, what are we going to do? Even some of Altea's best medicine couldn't cure that."
"Guys…" Pidge was feeling a lot like some kind of zoo animal with all these people in her face, and she covered her mouth with her sleeve so she wouldn't cough on them. Lance was still going on about growing pointy teeth and horns or multiple eyes.
"What?!" Hunk jumped out of his seat and ran to Pidge's side. "What's vicious gerd? Are you saying she's going to die?! Pidge is going to die?!"
"You guys." Keith's voice cut through the noise as he got up from his seat across the room. "She's not going to die. You're letting your imagination run wild again just like always."
"Besides, if she was going to die, you all would be contaminated already, since you're all up in her face." Lance pointed out, which made the others jump away from her like she was some kind of rabid beast.
"Everyone relax." Shiro stepped in with an authoritative voice. "If Pidge did contract some weird alien disease, we can handle it. We'll find a cure for her."
"You guys need to stop freaking out." Pidge was finally able to get a word in. "I'm pretty sure it's just a regular, human cold. I'm fine, I just need to rest a little."
"But you're in space." Lance sounded almost disappointed that she wasn't growing a third arm. "It could be anything."
"Well, it's not. It's just a cold." She sneezed into her elbow.
"A cold?" Coran and Allura shared questioning looks at each other.
"In that case, you need to rest." Shiro set a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We still have time before we reach the Blade of Marmora's location. We can handle it in the meantime while you get some sleep."
"Are you sure?" Pidge looked up at him and he could easily see how under the weather she was from her pale face and clammy looking skin.
He nodded. "The planets are small. There shouldn't be too many enemies. We can handle it."
"Okay." She took his offer and slid off her chair, wrapping her arms around herself as she made her way out of the bridge. She gave one last look back at everyone. "I'm not dying okay? I'm just going to go sleep it off."
That didn't seem to reassure anyone much and she headed out the door to hopefully spend the rest of the day in bed. Within minutes, she had donned her pajamas and wound herself up in her blankets.
She drifted in and out of sleep, usually due to being wracked with a coughing fit or from being too hot or too cold. Every time she would finally start to feel comfortable enough her body would decide otherwise. She groaned a little. Being sick sucked.
She tossed and turned enough to finally wear herself out and fall into an uneasy sleep, but not too long after she did, she started to feel heavy, like a weight was on her chest. She tried to ignore it and chalk it up to congestion, but it kept getting heavier and heavier and hot. It was becoming so intolerably hot…
Sweat started to bead on her forehead and she couldn't ignore it anymore. She flung her body to kick off the blanket, but found that it had become unbearably heavy. She cracked open her eyes a little in hopes of finding some relief for the heat and nearly jumped out of her skin when the first thing she saw was Coran's face.
"Hello." He greeted her cheerfully. He was sitting right beside her bed with a heated fan, blowing as hot as it could go on her face. "We're here to help get rid of your cold. You just rest now."
"We…?" Pidge looked around the room and spotted Allura, who had a mountain of blankets beside her. She was laying them one by one on top of Pidge, who had a good heap of blankets pinning her down to the bed already. Pidge groaned and let her head fall back to her pillow. "What are you two doing…?"
"You said you had a cold, so we're making sure you stay warm." Allura flashed a smile from the foot of the bed. "We Alteans don't get the cold, so this is the best method of curing we could come up with."
"We wouldn't want you to freeze to death here after all." Coran held the heater so close that she could almost feel her eyeballs drying up. She let out an exhausted sigh.
"You guys, it's not like that. I'm not freezing to death. My body temperature is actually already higher than it should be. It's just called a cold." Pidge started to pull the blankets off of her, but there were so many that it was just tiring her out. Her legs were already feeling sticky with sweat and she just wanted to sleep. She sat up and grabbed the pile and shoved them all into a heap on the floor.
"Why do they call it a cold then?" Coran stepped back as she pushed the heater away from her.
"I…I don't know. I don't care. I just need to sleep. I'll figure it out later and let you know." She made sure there were no blankets on her except a thin sheet and wrapped up, lying back down and facing away from them. They lingered for a minute, likely baffled by the oddity of human illnesses, before she heard a click of the door as they left. Thank goodness…maybe she could get to sleep now.
After a few rounds of coughing, she started to drift again. Her eyelids felt heavy and her body was tired and she began to fall into the sweetness of sleep…
"Hey Pidge?" Lance's voice wrenched her back as he peeked in the doorway. "Do you need anything? Any extra pillows? Some water?"
"No…" she mumbled, hoping that that would be the end of it and he would go away, but she could still hear him lingering.
"You sure…? I can get you some tea or something." He glanced around the room. "Do you want me to put those blankets back up on the bed?"
"No, Lance. I'm fine. I just want to sleep." Her words came out pretty sharp both from irritation and exhaustion and he stepped back a little.
"Okay…." He closed the door quietly and she sighed in relief, but it only lasted a few seconds before he was back.
"I can let you borrow my plush shark if you want. He makes for a pretty good snuggle buddy when you're sleeping." He was poking the shark in the doorway, as if it was talking for him. "Everyone needs a snuggle buddy when they're sick."
"Lance." She spat his name, and shot a nasty glare in his direction. "I. Want. To. Sleep."
"So…is that a no…?" He gave a pout and hugged his shark. "He always made me feel better…"
"No, Lance." Pidge wrapped the sheet around her head, as if it would create a barrier between her and anyone that entered the door. She desperately wished it would.
He was quiet, but he hadn't closed the door yet, so she knew he wasn't gone. "So…no to the water too?"
"Lance. Go away!" The yell caused a coughing fit and he stared until she gave him the most horrifying death glare he'd ever received in his life. He yelped at that and hastily shut the door.
She groaned and lay on her back, trying to get her coughing in check so she could try to sleep again. Boy, if she ever thought being sick sucked when she was a kid, this was way worse. At least when she was a kid, her mom was there with medicine and soup, and Matt would always stay by her side…
She didn't have a chance to reminisce for too long before she heard the door pop open again, and she sneered. "Lance!"
"Not Lance, its Hunk." There was a blur of yellow at the door as he pushed it open with his back. In his hands he had a steaming bowl of what smelled like soup, which he sat at her bedside table. "Are you hungry? I made you some soup. It's chicken noodle….well…the space version of chicken noodle. But it tastes the same, I promise."
She looked up at him for a minute, debating whether to yell at him to leave, or just deny the offer before she decided that either option was just too much work. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Sure…"
"Great. It took a few tries to get it right. I tried a lot of different ingredients since it's not easy to find chicken broth in space. Or chickens." Hunk scooped out a spoonful of soup before blowing on it and holding it out to her.
She stared at him with a raised eyebrow. "I don't need you to feed me. I'm not that sick."
"Oh, right, sorry." He grabbed the bowl and handed it to her. She took a few bites, and she had to admit…it was really good. Usually when you're sick everything tastes bland, but he'd found a way to make it taste…well…like home. Just like her mom's homemade chicken noodle soup. It was really refreshing.
"Is it good? My mom always made me soup when I was sick." Hunk watched her as she ate a few spoonfuls. "I always thought that it was what made me feel better, so I thought I would give it a try."
"It's great." She flashed him a smile, but her lack of sleep and weary body were quickly catching up to her. She could only eat a few bites before her eyelids were threatening to close on her. She struggled to stay awake and eat more, because it really was delicious, but it became a losing battle.
Hunk watched her bob a few times before he took the bowl away from her and helped her lay down. He pulled the blanket to her chin and made sure she was comfortable. "If you want any more later just let me know."
"Okay…" She was already halfway to dreamland, so Hunk gathered the dishes and made his way out. He passed Lance in the hall with an armful of stuffed toys, and Keith wasn't too far behind him heading in the same direction.
"Oh, you guys, she's asleep." Hunk alerted them, which made Lance frown.
"What? I had the perfect one for her." He held out a little owl plush. "Pidge loves owls. It's perfect."
"Is this what people do when they're sick…?" Keith inquired, looking inquisitively between Hunk's dishes and the owl plush. "Get toys and eat soup…?"
"Well…yeah." Lance answered as if it was obvious. "Whenever I get sick my niece and nephew will always bring me their favorite toy. I used to do the same thing for my siblings. It's like a get well soon good luck charm."
"Yeah, and my mom always makes chicken noodle soup. I thought that was pretty normal. Is it not?" Hunk looked a little perturbed at the idea that his tradition might be strange.
"Have you never gotten sick before?" Lance raised an eyebrow at Keith.
"Of course I've gotten sick before." Keith defended himself and crossed his arms, but averted his eyes. "Whenever I got sick I just…slept. You guys are just doing all this stuff that seems like it's more annoying than helpful."
"It's not annoying!" Lance frowned and stepped up to him defiantly. "You're just jealous because no one would make you soup or give you their toys if you were sick."
"I'm not jealous." Keith challenged Lance's stance. "I wouldn't want people to do that anyway, because then I wouldn't get any sleep."
"You guys." Hunk sighed. There was no point in trying to stop this, so he continued on his way to the kitchen. "Just keep it down so you don't wake up Pidge."
Luckily, their bickering fell on deaf ears. Pidge had been so exhausted that now that she was asleep, even her coughing couldn't wake her. Hunk's soup kept her belly warm and comfortable and she entered a dream world where the fever and weakness couldn't reach.
In her dreams, she was a kid again, probably around eight years old. She was in her bed, coughing little pathetic coughs into her hands. Her mother stood at the bedside, and she could remember the cold, comforting touch of her hand on her forehead.
Matt sat crisscross on the foot on the bed, watching over her. He was always there when she got sick. She couldn't remember a time when she'd gotten a cold and he hadn't stayed by her side the entire time. Every time she awoke from a feverish sleep, he had been there to see if she needed anything. When she was awake, he would tell stories, and make her laugh, so that she would forget about being sick at all.
When she had the flu or stomach bug, her mom would make chicken noodle soup. But when she was only a little sick, she would make tomato soup and grilled cheese for her and Matt. It always made her feel warm inside and ready to fall asleep and the next day she would always feel better.
It felt so lonely without them here. The foot of her bed felt empty and cold. When she woke up, Matt wouldn't be there to ask her what she needed or to make her laugh. Her mother wouldn't have warm grilled cheese or soup at the bedside table. The thought made a knot form in her throat and tears bud in the corners of her eyes.
Would she ever see Matt again? Every lead she'd found so far ended up in a dead end. She kept digging up new ways to try to track him down only to lead to nothing. And if she did find him…would they ever be able to return to Earth and see Mom again? Mom was all alone now. Alone with no answers as to where or what happened to her family. She had to get back somehow, and she had to bring Matt and Dad back with her. She missed her family. She missed home.
Something cold and wet touched her forehead, and it was enough to draw her out of her sleep. She opened her eyes just a sliver and brought her hand to her head, feeling a damp washcloth that someone had put there to help her fever. The bedside lamp was on too.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" Shiro stood at the side of her bed, looking like he was about to leave, and he gave her an apologetic smile. "If you're feeling up to it, I brought you some water and cold medicine."
"Medicine?" She mumbled and looked at the red liquid in the cup beside her. "Where did you get this…?"
"Hunk made it. It's not going to work as well as the stuff you would get at a pharmacy on Earth, but he did a lot of research into using alien herbs that should help a little. He said it may not taste great though." Shiro helped her sit up and handed her a glass of water.
Pidge obediently took her medicine and made a disgusted face at the taste, eagerly taking the water. "Geez, he wasn't kidding."
Shiro laughed and took her emptied glass. "It should at least help bring your fever down."
"What time is it…?" She got settled back down in her blankets and coughed a few times, but it didn't lead to a fit, thankfully.
"About 7 o'clock at night." Shiro turned her bedside clock so she could see it.
"Wow. Everyone left me alone for that long…?" She closed her eyes. Amazing. They had been coming in an out constantly at the beginning there.
"I think I know why that is." Shiro laughed again, but didn't elaborate. He clicked off her light to let her rest again. "If you need anything at all, just let us know."
"Okay…Thanks…" She mumbled, half asleep again already. He took that as his cue to go, and shut the door quietly behind him.
The next time she woke up, the clock read 3:14 am and she had to pee. She forced herself to sit up and fumbled around on her nightstand until she found her glasses. She sat for a moment and coughed a few times, but she did admit that she was feeling a little bit better. Hunk's medicine had done wonders for the fever, so hopefully a little more rest would get her back on her feet.
Once she was awake enough to stand up she made her way to the door with a yawn, but she nearly jumped out of her skin when she opened the door and saw a dark figure hunched beside it. The hallway was pitch black, so she couldn't make out who or what it was, but her terrified yelp made it stir.
"Pidge…?" Keith's tired voice made her relax a bit, knowing that it wasn't some alien monster trying to get into her room. He was sitting beside her door with his knees to his chest and his arms crossed over them, and she could only assume he had fallen asleep there for…some reason.
"What are you doing…?" She watched as he stretched and stood up, making his silhouette much more recognizable. She assumed he had unintentionally fallen asleep, since it was hard to imagine she would want him to think he was some creep who slept outside her door.
"Nothing. I just…everyone kept coming in and out, and I figured you weren't getting any sleep, so I stayed out here to keep them away. I didn't mean to fall asleep." He seemed a little embarrassed about that part. "I'll go now. Feel better."
Pidge watched as he ventured down the hall and she raised an eyebrow. How long had he been there…? After Hunk had come the only other person to wake her up had been Shiro. If he had been referring to Keith when he mentioned knowing why no one had bothered her, then Keith had to have been there for hours.
After using the bathroom, she got herself back to her bed and wrapped herself up in her blankets. As she laid down, she noticed a little stuffed owl beside her pillow, and gave a soft laugh. Her smile lingered as she closed her eyes and began to drift. Everyone here was doing their best to help her feel better in the ways that they knew how. Maybe it wasn't her mom and Matt at her bedside, but really it wasn't so bad.