Disclaimer - WEP owns everything except the voices in my head.
Darkness, pain, burning… These are the only sensations in Keith's world. Breathing is difficult and he prays for the torture to end. Please just make the agony go away. Just when he thinks he can take no more, an image flashes before him. He sees a beautiful face surrounded by golden blonde hair and dominated by sparkling blue eyes lean over him. He watches as the sparkle dims and is replaced by sorrow and tears. His own pain is forgotten, all he can think of is easing her hurt. Reaching up, he caresses her cheek then meets her lips in a gentle kiss…
It seems like only seconds later that he's alone again, grateful that the unbearable pain has receded. Sighing, a smile crosses his face before oblivion sets in once more. Time has no meaning in this place. How long has been here? How long since he dreamed of kissing her? Has it been a minute, an hour, a day? He wonders but has no way to know. He says a thankful prayer that even though the pain has increased again, it is still nowhere near the intensity he experienced earlier.
Once more he dreams of her lips on his. The distraction dulls the pain, forcing it away until all that is left is a dull ache. Her lips start to withdraw but he doesn't want it to end. He never wants it to end. He tries to hold her mouth with his, to no avail. A soft voice filters through the fog surrounding him. Could it really be her? He can't make out the words, but grows more convinced that it is her voice that he hears. Her lips touch his again, but it is fleeting and they are gone as quickly as they arrived. He wants more. He *needs* more…
Dark eyes try to open, but the room is too bright and they quickly close again. Another attempt - this time they manage to remain half lidded, unfocused. As the injured captain waits for his vision to clear, he takes a mental survey of his body. He encounters a feeling of discomfort and constriction across his chest. His eyes finally win the battle and remain open. When the clouds finally disperse, the eyes he dreamed about are revealed. Beautiful blue eyes dance in joy and he can't help but smile back at her.
"..'lura?" His voice is a broken whisper allowing only the second half of her name to escape his lips. She smiles, liking the idea of him using that nickname for her. Keith struggles to sit up, emitting a gasp and hiss as pain erupts through his battered body. He wonders what on Arus happened to him. Did he lose a bet and let Hunk use him as a punching bag? There are more aches than he would have ever thought possible – his midsection is on fire. Blinking, he barely holds back the tears that spring unbidden to his onyx orbs. Breaking eye contact with the princess, he looks around the room and tries to get his bearings. The hospital wing? What is he doing here? "Wha' happened?" he finally manages to utter.
Allura bends over and gently strokes his cheek, relief evident in her features. Keith leans into her soothing touch and looks up into her eyes again. There is concern etched onto her countenance as she searches his face for something. "What's the last thing you remember Keith?"
Eyes closed, he tries to remember. Images form in his head, flashes of things without order or meaning. Lotor, Haggar's blue cat, Allura's eyes clouded with fear, phantom kisses… he tries to make sense of it all. "Not much. I chased you into the forest only to find Lotor harassing you. I think I ordered you back to the castle though you refused to go." He raises an eyebrow and frowns at her. She blushes and drops her gaze. "I thought I heard you scream and turned to look for you. The next thing I remember is pulling myself to my feet and trying to find you. I shot at the cat, there was a sense of falling, then blackness. After that there is nothing but feelings and images. Probably just dreams. How long was I out anyway?"
She hesitates, not wanting to answer him. "What kind of dreams?" She avoids answering his question by asking one of her own.
"Allura, how long?" He insists in the most commanding voice he can muster. He struggles to catch her gaze, trying not to grimace at the pain the movement causes.
"Three days", she whispers. "Now, you answer my question. What kind of dreams?" Three days!? His mind screams at him in disbelief. Just how badly was he hurt and why is she so interested in his dreams? Could he have said something in his sleep?
"Nothing substantial, mostly just sensations. Feelings of intense pain and burning that I thought would never end." He tries to gauge her expression before continuing. She looks at him encouragingly and he decides to continue. "And then when I didn't think I could take it anymore, you were there with a soothing touch to ease the pain."
"What kind of touch?" It's like she's expecting something, what *did* he say in his sleep?
A black eyebrow is raised and her question countered with one of his. "Did I do or say something while I was unconscious that I should be apologizing for?"
Her face turns bright pink and he wonders if there was more to the visions than just dreams. "I was worried that I was going to lose you… The injury was pretty bad…" her voice trails off as she wrings her hands. He waits for her to continue but she doesn't. She's holding back tears and he wants nothing more than to comfort her. What on Arus happened while he was out?
"Is it that important for me to tell you about the rest of the dream sensations?" She nods wordlessly and swallows. He takes a deep breath and immediately regrets it is as waves of pain course through his body again. At his grimace, the tears fall from her eyes. "Hey… I'm OK, just didn't realize I couldn't take a deep breath." He can't bear seeing that look on her face. As he gets himself back under control, she strokes his cheek once more. "Fine, in my dream…" He swallows and tries to find the words to describe the sensations. "Well… I felt…" He grits his teeth and sighs, "Please don't laugh or take this the wrong way, Princess… I know this is going to sound a little strange. But I could have sworn it felt like you kissed me and it relieved some of my pain." His head turns away, no longer able to meet her gaze.
"A... a... a kiss? Like this?" Her voice takes on a husky whisper and she gently turns his head back to her before brushing a feather light kiss across his lips.
This time the captain is the one who turns pink. "Y-y-yes." He manages to stammer out. A slow smile spreads across her face.
"And it helped reduce the pain?" At his nod her smile grows. "Did it work this time, now that you are awake?" He just blinks at her, not comprehending exactly what she is asking.
"Are you telling me that I didn't dream those kisses? That they really happened?" His sable gaze searches her eyes and tries to read the answer there. She nods and blushes. All he can think is that he finally got to kiss her and he wasn't even really there…
"You didn't say whether it worked now or not…" She moves closer and he's trapped in those eyes. Weakly he lifts an arm and pulls her head the rest of the way down to his waiting lips. As their mouths meet, there is nothing else. All thoughts of pain disappear until they break apart and she leans her head on his bandaged chest. A hiss escapes from his clenched teeth before it can be stopped and she jerks up with a look of panic on her face. "I'm so sorry…"
His heart breaks to see her in such pain. "It's ok, I'm fine." He gives her a lopsided grin that looks like it belongs on the face of the Red Lion's pilot. She smiles back suppressing a giggle.
Before either of them can say another word, there is a soft knock at the door and Lance comes strolling in with a tray of food. "Alright Princess, food delivery. You know the rules." He makes his way over near the bed.
He hasn't realized that Keith is awake yet, so the captain smirks and with a wink to the princess states, "It's about time. I'm starving!" Lance almost drops the tray at the sound of Keith's voice, just barely able to control himself.
"Keith! It's so good to see you back in the land of the living! I was worried that we were going to have to move the Princess's room in here with you." Allura blushes and Keith looks from one to the other of them questioningly. Lance, obviously sensing some confusion snickers. "She hasn't left your side since the doctor let her in here. It was all we could do to pry her off you long enough for the med staff to patch you up."
Keith looks back to her but she avoids his eyes. "I wanted to be the first person you saw when you woke up. I was afraid that you would think that you failed to protect me otherwise." Her voice drops to a soft whisper, "And I was worried about you…" She picks at imaginary lint on his blanket as her eyes flicker to his for a fraction of a second before she looks away again.
Keith doesn't know how to react to this. He can't quite reconcile the fact that this woman who haunts his dreams might have feelings for him as well. His brain still feels muddled and he finds himself fighting to stay awake. Meanwhile, his body reacts to the smells from Lance's tray, as his stomach growls to rival Black Lion. At the same time a yawn escapes him. His visitors start laughing and he can't help but join in, until the pain it generates convinces him otherwise.
As he waits for the agony to recede and for his breathing to return to normal, Lance goes to get the doctor. Allura holds his hand gently stroking it. He concentrates on the feel of her fingers, letting it distract and calm him. He smiles up at her and reaches up with his other hand to stroke her cheek.
Doctor Gorma precedes Lance into the room and stops before the bed. A feeling of deja vu takes hold of the doctor as he realizes that for the third time in as many days he's going to have to work on one of these two while the other clings on for dear life. He sighs and resigns himself to the task ahead, a small smile trying to curve his lips. "Keith, good to see you awake again young man. How are you feeling?"
"Sore, tired, hungry… wishing I could move or take a deep breath without bringing tears to my eyes. But happy to be here." He doesn't look away from Allura as he answers the doctor.
"Good, that's how you should feel right about now. Let me take a look at your wound and then I'll get you some pain killers. You should have just enough time to eat some of the fruit that Lance brought before they kick in fully."
The doctor manages to scoot Allura off the bed and she goes to stand next to Lance while Keith is examined. Lance drapes his arm across her shoulders and whispers softly to her, "See I told you he'd be OK. He would never leave you."
She turns and hugs him. Pulling back she looks up and smiles at him. "Thank you, Lance. For everything. For the trays of food, the encouragement, I really appreciate all of it. You're the finest best friend either of us could have ever asked for. I don't know what I would have done without you to help me through the last few days."
Lance blushes and then playfully swipes his fist against her chin. "Anything for you, kiddo." He winks at her and twirls her around to face the bed before giving her a gentle shove towards Keith. "Go on. Feed him some fruit before he falls asleep. I'll go spread the good word around the castle… Speaking of news… You might want to think about how you are going to break this to Nanny and Coran…"