Chapter 5: Little Spark
In which the first blood offspring of two Paladins of Voltron comes into being…

August 10th, 2329

"I think that went well," Katie chuckled as she leaned back against the edge of the couch and put up her feet. "Though I'm not sure whose response was better, your mom or my dad."

"My mom, hands down," Hunk assured her as he adjusted the pillows until she was comfortable, then handed her a dinner plate. "I don't think we would have needed intergalactic communications to hear her squealing with delight on Earth."

"That's true." Katie took the plate, heaped full of Hunk's latest Earth masterpiece in space – fried chicken and mashed potatoes. He had made good so far on his promise to make literally anything for which she had a definite craving, and for that alone, it was almost worth being pregnant.

Today, the last day of her first trimester, with everything still going well, they had finally called their parents to let them know about the impending grandchild. After a few weeks of keeping it mostly to themselves, Katie had felt ready to let the rest of the world in on their little secret. Telling their friends over dinner had been just as satisfying, even though a few professed to have been suspicious. The fact that they had let them have it to themselves that long meant a lot.

Hunk had been so deliriously happy, weeks ago, when he had awakened—still hungover—to her decision that she was keeping the baby. That she wanted to see what he or she would become. Together, they could make everything work. He had been everything she could have wanted, and more. Not that Hunk had ever been anything but attentive, but he seemed absolutely determined that she would not regret her choice, or suffer overmuch.

Once the choice had been made, Katie had felt a little silly at how agonizing it had been, only because she felt so much better having come to a decision. It had been fear of losing a life she couldn't really lose that had made choosing so hard. In other circumstances, she would probably have chosen differently. Yes, life would change, but it was always changing. No one was going to make her give up her passions. Eventually, she and Hunk would have someone new to share them with.

Not that the last three weeks had been fun. Full-blown nausea had hit within a couple of days of deciding she was keeping their son or daughter, whom she still found herself addressing as Little Spark even though she had not tried to spiritually connect with it again. With that nausea, ironically, came a near constant hunger that rarely seemed sated, swollen, sensitive breasts, and her stomach had started to round out just a little. She had been assured things would even out a bit in the second trimester, but she would believe that when it happened.

The first bite of potatoes melted on her tongue. "Wow, that's good."

"Must be, if you're talking with your mouth full," Hunk teased, though he grinned with obvious pleasure. "I'd tell you to save room for dessert, but somehow I don't think I will be a problem."

Katie swallowed another few bites of food before speaking. "If I ever try to insinuate that your self-control is weak, smack me."

Hunk leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "Well, at least you have the excuse of feeding two people, one of which you're growing from scratch."

"I look forward to the day I can eat a single plate of food and feel full again."
"From what we've been reading, it looks like that will be sometime after weaning."

"Yeah, I know." Hunk had certainly dived into the pre-parental reading with enthusiasm. Of course, the more they both knew, the less terrifying things would be when they had a living, screaming, eating baby in the outside world. As uncomfortable as Katie was right now, it was a lot harder to do this early part of mom things wrong. Eat, sleep, hydrate, get easy regular exercise.

Hunk shrugged. "In the meantime, enjoy it. I wish a physician would tell me to eat however much I wanted."

Katie laughed. Frustrating as it was to be told she wasn't putting on enough weight, she supposed from Hunk's perspective it was a pretty sweet deal. "Well, I'm doing my part. It would be nice if I felt like I was getting any energy out of eating this much, but I still feel run down all the time."

"I'm sorry." Hunk gave her shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. "I wish there was something else I could do to make this easier on you."

Katie knew he meant it, but she'd already told him a dozen times it wasn't his fault. It wasn't anyone's fault, just a function of biology and poor timing. Though she was determined to stop thinking about it that way. "I could use a refill," she suggested, nodding at the empty glass of lemon-peppermint water, his latest invention to help soothe nausea.

"I'm on it."

September 7th, 2329

A string of Altean curse words was not how Hunk had expected to be awakened that morning. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes, and looked across the room at Katie, who had her back to him. "What's wrong?"

His wife of one year turned around, scowling, but looking resigned. "It's time to give up on the uniforms." She gestured at the uniform jacket, the green paladin one, which she had valiantly tried to close but the issues were immediately obvious. It was simply not going to close across her chest, even though it looked like-if she didn't mind wearing it snug-it might still fit across the stomach. The uniform pants, which Hunk knew full well to be very accommodating, still looked like they might give her a couple of weeks. For seventeen weeks she still didn't look all that pregnant, except if you knew what she normally looked like.

Hunk refrained from telling her she looked adorable. "You could borrow one of my jackets, but it would look like a tent."

Katie smirked. "Better a tent than stuffed in a casing."

Hunk got out of bed. "You do not look like a sausage," he assured her, pulling her into a very gentle hug. He had already learned tight hugs got him punched, as tender as her entire front seemed to be these days. A shame, because it made cuddling a touchy affair. "They've got all sorts of spare uniforms in storage. I'm sure they've got something you can wear."

"For now." Katie sighed, but leaned into him.

"I can guarantee you there's something that will accommodate growth." They had them sized to fit his girth, he would be stunned if they didn't have something that would work. "We can go down and find something. Where do you need to be right now?"

"I've got a briefing with Shiro and the bridge crew to give a status report." Katie stuck her tongue out. "I don't have time to go digging through the cargo bays."

"Then we'll just have to make do. No one's going to write you up for being out of regulation uniform on the Atlas. Even if it's just because it's you."

They tried not to take advantage of their rank, or the special leeway being a Paladin often got them, but there were times it was appropriate. This was definitely one of them.

"Without the jacket doesn't look much better," Katie complained.

It was true that the undershirt clung to every curve of her body… a fact Hunk generally appreciated, though he imagined she really didn't want to walk around with it emphasizing all the recent changes to her silhouette. Even Katie, who normally didn't care about clothes much at all, could be self-conscious. "Wear a looser fitting shirt." Hunk let her go long enough to dig through her wardrobe, coming up with another plain white t-shirt that looked almost like the shirts that made up the underlayer of the Garrison uniforms. "And don't tuck it in."

Looking a bit skeptical, she took the shirt and changed.

"Now, use your lab coat instead of the uniform jacket." Hunk slipped it over her shoulders. "There. Better?"

The lab coat, which she often wore open anyway, was designed to go over multiple layers of clothing, so it was already larger, and hunt straight down. It was also something she wore around all the time so it was much less likely to draw unwanted attention.

Katie looked in the mirror, and shrugged. "Yeah. I guess it'll have to do."

Hunk kissed the top of her head and hugged her from behind. "You won't be able to hide it forever, and everyone probably knows. No one's going to be staring at you. Well, except me, but that's because you're incredibly attractive." When she didn't struggle against the hug, he let his hands rest ever so lightly over the growing bump that was the only evidence he got to see of their growing child.

"So, no one else finds me attractive?"

For a moment, he thought he'd insulted her, but the smile reflecting in the mirror told him otherwise. Hunk shook his head. "You know what I mean."

September 28th, 2329

Hunk listened attentively as he, and the rest of the Atlas' senior staff, sat around the table in Shiro's briefing room, listening to updates and giving their own reports, as they did on a weekly basis.

Beside him sat Katie, her attention riveted on Commander Nakon's engineering report. She had already discussed the results of the most recent experiments in the lab, and completion of production of several parts that were being delivered to the next system.

Hunk tried to pay attention to the report, but it was almost identical to the previous week's report, and he had already given his own on the status of the kitchens, review of the recent diplomatic dinners, and the upcoming plans for the next stop. So, there wasn't much reason to pay attention.

Besides which, Katie was distracting him. Not on purpose, but he couldn't help notice her hand resting, unmoving and likely unnoticed by the rest of the officers, on her belly. Twenty weeks; half way there. This morning, Katie had told him that she was sure she was feeling actual baby movement now. Much as he tried, it was too early to feel any of it from outside, which was disappointing and made him impatient for the day those little wiggles would be strong enough for him to feel them when he put his hand there.

He couldn't wait. So far, the second trimester was far more enjoyable than the first… for him at least. While Hunk was certain it was entirely a hormone-based instinctive response, he found the changes in his wife's body extremely attractive. It didn't hurt that, now that she was no longer vomiting daily, she was much more affectionate. He knew that was entirely due to the daily increasing hormone quantities in her system, but Hunk wasn't about to complain. Medical officer Shelton had assured them that intimacy was absolutely safe at this stage, and Hunk had been more than happy to help Katie relieve some of the crazy her hormones were driving her.

"—extending our mission to include the Talforian and Carzin sectors."

Hunk jerked his attention back to the briefing, and off of his wife. His eyes immediately went to Shiro. He had totally missed the end of the previous report, and who knew how much of Shiro's.

"Both have been speaking with several of our newly allied systems, and they're interested. Due to that, we will be continuing on to them before we return to Earth."

Hunk raised his hand. "How much longer is that going to take us?" he asked. They were supposed to be back on Earth in five weeks. Normally, a delay like this wouldn't have concerned him. More new aliens to win over with his cooking, more alliances, less war. But there were other considerations.

"The current estimate is another eight weeks to hit all of the different planets that have petitioned for entry."

Instead of getting home with several months to get their little garrison apartment ready for a baby, that would cut things much tighter. Seven weeks, if Katie went a full forty. If the baby ran as large as most in Hunk's family, that was unlikely.

The meeting wrapped up quickly after that. When they were dismissed, Hunk turned to follow Katie out the door. He was stopped by Shiro's hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Hunk," Shiro smiled reassuringly. "We'll get you all home in time."

"I'm holding you to that."

Katie was waiting for him outside the door. She gave him a knowing look as he fell into step with her. "Are you being overprotective again?"

"What? No. Well, not much." Hunk shrugged. "I don't like cutting it that close getting home."

"It will be fine." Apparently, Katie was unfazed by the proposition. "If it looks like we'll be too late, we can just call home and ask your mom and mine to get everything set up for us. You know they would love to put together a nursery, and rearrange and organize our entire apartment."

"Are you being practical, or abusing the good wills of our mothers?" Hunk was actually impressed at the lengths Katie would go to in order to avoid cleaning.

"I like to think of it as giving them an opportunity to make an impact on their grandchild."

Hunk shook his head. "You are something else."

October 12th, 2329

Hunk was starting to get used to always being the first one awake, even on the mornings he did not have to be in the kitchen. These days, almost any time he caught Katie not in her lab—and sometimes even in her lab—when she didn't absolutely have to be working on something or in a meeting, she was napping. She fell asleep early, and slept late. She probably would have slept right through meals if he hadn't woken her. Or perhaps not, given she would come awake whenever her stomach reminded her it was also starving.

Despite what others might think, Hunk worked out in the Atlas' gym regularly. It was just generally at atypical hours given his work schedule overlapped everyone else's meals. Early mornings on days he did not have breakfast shift or a late-night banquet were exceptional times, since he didn't have to wait for equipment. It was also a wiser option for stress relief than spending more time unsupervised in the kitchens.

This morning had been fairly typical. He left Katie sound asleep, and headed down to the gym. He tried to mix up the routine, and this morning was bench day which, he had to admit, was one of his favorites. His upper body had always been stronger and easier to develop, and it was nice that it was also very visible.

After warming up, stretching, and starting with some lighter lifts, he worked his way up to his current maximum, which was actually more than he had been able to lift back in his Paladin days.

He was so focused on form and technique that he didn't even realize someone else had joined him until a junior officer who he recognized as one of the recent Garrison graduates, appeared in his field of view, pop-eyed. "Wow! Are you… are you benching three-fifty?!... Uhh… sir." He seemed to realize belatedly who he was talking to.

Hunk finished, and set the weights back on the bar and sat up before answering. "I was," he nodded. "That's my max. I don't recommend it." Looking at the kid, he couldn't weigh in at more than one-eighty.

"N-no, sir." He shook his head. "I'm not anywhere near that. I've never seen anyone bench that much."

Hunk shrugged, smiling in a way he hoped might relax the younger man. This was hardly a formal situation. "Surprised?"

"I ah… maybe a little," he admitted, then looked embarrassed. "Not that I thought you were… I mean…"

"It's fine," Hunk replied, to cut off the stammering. "Somehow no one seems to think you need to be able to lift if you work in the kitchens. But those hundred-pound crates of produce don't move themselves."

"Ah… I guess that makes sense."

"What's your name?"

"Junior Officer Max Vernon."

"Relax, Max. Down here, we're just two guys in a gym. Besides, I'm not your direct superior."

"Okay." That seemed like it worked. "Do you really bench like this just to lift crates?"

Hunk chuckled. "Not really. I could do that without all this." He gestured at the equipment. "I love my job, and I really love food. If I didn't put in this much effort, I'd be in terrible shape."

He could tell the kid was confused. That was okay.

"Have you considered trying to lose the rest of it?"

Hunk might have been offended, except that it was a natural question from someone who obviously wanted to know. "I suppose you have a suggestion I haven't tried?"

"No offense…I just mean… you work out this hard already."

"You have no idea how much self-control it takes to maintain this level. When I was younger, I used to snack constantly. Especially when I get stressed out. It's easier these days, and I'm good just being me."

"Cooking for major diplomatic talks isn't stressful?"

"Not compared to being a Paladin of Voltron, where half the universe is trying to kill you every other day. I'm not a big fan of death. The engineering and tech side of exploring the universe, and discovering new food on alien planets…that stuff I enjoyed, and I still do. But I don't eat nearly as much as I used to. Well, usually." Hunk shrugged. "No matter what I do, I'm fighting genetics. I can take advantage of it, or fight it."

"Okay. I get it. I think." Max sat down across from him. "I mean, everyone in my family's practically a bean pole. I spend hours in here and no matter what I do, I'm never going to have much bulk. I didn't think anyone was down here this early."

"It's the best time for me to fit it in." Hunk reached for his water bottle, and took a long swig. "Pidge is still asleep and I don't have a shift right now."

"That's right. Lt. Commander Garrett—I mean the other one—you're married."

Hunk nodded. "That's her. I take it you've met?"

"If you mean she barks orders and I do what she tells me, then yes, we've met." Max grinned a little more bravely. "She's a little scary sometimes, but she's brilliant."

That sounded like a good summary of Katie in work mode. "Scary brilliant, that about covers it."

There was a moment's quiet. "Are you nervous?"

"About my wife's brilliance?"

"I meant… she's pregnant. I can't imagine what I'd do out here, months from Earth, if it was Jennie."

"You married?" The kid was young, but he'd heard of crazier.

"Not yet. I've got the ring though."

Hunk grinned. "Well, good luck. And yeah, I'm a little nervous. I mean, I'm really looking forward to being a father, but it's a lot of responsibility, and right now, I'm not a lot of help."

"Must be tough."

"Have you ever talked to Pidge before her morning coffee?"

"Umm…No, and given your expression, I don't think I want to."

"Let's just say limited caffeine consumption and Pidge don't mix well."

Max nodded. "I'll remember that."

Later that evening, as they snuggled on the couch, with Katie leaning up against him, her back against his side, Hunk related the events to Katie.

His wife smiled. "Don't worry about it. You're in great shape. Your core is practically steel."

Hunk kissed the top of her head. "You know that, and I know that."

"Does it bother you that others don't?"

"To be honest, it's been a long time since I cared much what anyone thought. Well, except you." Hunk looked down at her.

Katie chuckled as she stretched and shifted, trying to find the most comfortable position. "I don't recall you ever caring about my opinion when we were teenagers."

"Oh I did. I loved your opinion of me back then."

"You never even asked."

"Exactly. I didn't have to. You never said a word about it."

That got a chuckle. "Do I get to have an opinion now?"

"You married me, so I guess so."

"I like you exactly as you are: tall, and strong, and sweet, and cuddly."

"Cuddly."

"Oh, yes. You make the most amazing heated backrest."

"The truth. You like me for my heat and my ability to reach things you can't."

Katie shrugged. "That is a reasonably accurate summary. Also, your incredibly sexy brain."

"Nice to know that something about me is attractive."

"More like everything." Katie's smile turned to an exasperated sigh. "If anyone's getting soft around here, it's me. I swear, if I sit still, I can almost see my stomach expanding."

Hunk did not say he could too. This was the time to be the reassuring guy. "But in your case, it's supposed to do that. You're engaging in the complex development of an entirely new human being. If I expand, it means too much late-night snacking."

"Only late nights?"

"Are you implying I have no self-control?" He tried to pretend offense, but they both knew better.

"Well, why else would you be putting in extra workouts in the gym?"

November, 17th, 2329

"You're sure you don't want to go?" Hunk asked, looking concerned. "I can stay home if you want me to."

"No, you should go," Katie insisted, smiling. "How often you get a night off planet-side? Go, hang out, relax. Enjoy your night off."

"They invited you too," Hunk pointed out.

"I know." Katie nodded. Of course, their friends had included her in the invitation. They would never have considered leaving her off, no matter what the plan was. "But I really just want to stay here tonight and relax. I mean it. Now get in that pod before they leave without you."

"All right. But if you need anything, you call me." Hunk still didn't look convinced, but he gave her a quick kiss and got on the ship, where their FME pilot friends, Romelle, Shiro, and Curtis, were waiting.

Katie left the hanger, heading towards her lab before planning to go back to her quarters. She absolutely planned to relax tonight, her way.

"You didn't want to go with them?"

Katie hadn't heard anyone approaching. She turned to see one of the MFE mechanics she knew standing by a craft, tools in hand. The younger woman sometimes helped out in Katie's lab. Trina Parovsky, she remembered. She shrugged. "Do I look like I'd have any fun in a bar right now? I get a night all to myself to lay around, read in peace, and sleep without guilt. Besides, he needs to get out and blow off a little steam and relax while there's still time to do it. In a couple of months, we're not going to remember what sleep or relaxation mean. He's been taking care of me night and day on top of his duties. He deserves a break…and I deserve a break."

Trina smiled. "Little overprotective huh?"

"Soooo overprotective."

Katie retrieved her project with the plan of tinkering on it in the comfort of her own quarters. Then she took a quick swing past the mess to grab dinner to take with her as well. Tonight, she was going to just relax and do whatever she wanted. Hopefully, their friends could get Hunk to loosen up a little and relax. As late as they were running getting back to Earth, Hunk seemed to wind a little tighter with each passing day. While Katie was a little concerned about getting home with time to prepare for the baby, being too worried was a waste of limited energy she would rather spend on her work.

It was, as she had planned, an incredibly relaxing evening. After dinner, she tinkered for a bit while watching reruns of one of her favorite shows, then took an indulgently long shower, and curled up on the couch, reading until she passed out.

November 18th, 2329

Hunk grunted as he rolled over, stopped just at the edge of the bed.

"Good afternoon, sleeping beauty."

Opening his eyes, Hunk blinked up at the shape above him, that resolved into Katie, leaning over him, the ceiling light backlighting her head. "Ugh. What time is it?"

"Lunch." Katie held up the bowl of cereal in her hand as evidence. "I saved you some."

"Thanks. Maybe later."
"What's wrong? Not hungry." Now she looked amused, like she didn't believe him.

Hunk shook his head. "Not at the moment. I think I'm still full from last night." Despite the hour, his stomach still felt surprisingly full.

Katie shook her head. "Must have been some night out."

"It was… I think." He clearly remembered flying down to the planet's surface, and everyone going out to eat, but it got fuzzy from there. He had a feeling it involved drinks, and apparently a very large meal. His head was throbbing dully, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

"If you don't remember it, it really was some night out."

"Very funny." Hunk lay back again, one arm over his eyes. "I am too old for this."

"You're not even thirty."

"I meant old enough to know better."

"You were always old enough to know better." Katie leaned over just enough to kiss a small exposed piece of forehead. "The whole point was to relax and let off a little steam and forget about responsibilities for a few hours."

"Well I definitely feel irresponsible."

"But do you feel better?" She sat down precariously on the edge of the bed. "You were getting really wound up."

"I'm too hungover to worry about anything. Does that count?"

"It's a start."

Hunk uncovered his face enough to look up at her. "How was your evening?"

Katie shrugged, smiling. "Incredibly relaxing. I ate dinner, took a shower, then lay on the couch, caught up on a show, read for a while, and then fell asleep."

"You mean you didn't spend your whole evening tinkering on a project?"

"I started there, but I just felt like vegging." Katie shrugged. "But, it was a really great night of sleep."

"Good. You sound more awake than you have been in ages."

"I feel more awake than I have in ages. Now, I'm going to finish lunch before I head back to my lab. Are you sure you don't want anything?"

Hunk's stomach twinged. How much had he had to eat last night? "Yeah… I'm sure."

December 21st, 2329

"We were supposed to be home right now!" Hunk griped as he lay on his back in engineering assisting with repairs that would normally have been someone else's job. Or it would have been, if the Atlas hadn't been randomly attacked by an unexpected fleet of space pirates. They had driven them off, of course, but there had been substantial damage to several ships systems due to the unusual energy weapons they had been using. Even officers who weren't generally assigned to repairs were working extra shifts.

"There's no use complaining about it," Katie said from somewhere out of sight above his head, where she stood at the console. He could hear her fingers flying across the system controls. "If we don't get things back up and running at full efficiency, we'll be on a very slow boat to Earth."

All Hunk could see of her were swollen ankles and her pair of fuzzy green lion slippers. At thirty-two weeks, she should have been relaxing in their quarters, not pulling a ten-hour repair shift. At least, that was Hunk's opinion. He finished reconnecting the wiring. "All right, I'm done. Give it another try."

Another flurry of commands, and suddenly the computers above him hummed to life. Finally. Hunk slid out from under the console and sat up, nearly bumping his head on its underside as he did so.

"Nice work." Katie grinned down at him. From this angle, Hunk could barely see her face past her belly. He decided not to mention this to her. "Now we just need to get the secondary generator backups in order and we can stop for the day."

"Or, we could take a break now," Hunk suggested as he hauled himself to his feet. "It's been ten hours, and you're not supposed to on your feet all the time. Doctor's orders, remember?"

Katie rolled her eyes. "When the medical officers can diagnose and repair the Atlas' systems they can come complain about me doing my job."

Standing, Hunk gentle took her arms in his hands. "Yes, but your ankles look like yalmor sausages and it's been almost five hours since I had to make you take your last break for food. Sit down for a bit, have a bite, hydrate, and rest. Otherwise, I'll go to Shiro and have him order you off duty if I have to."

"You wouldn't!" Katie exclaimed, with the horrified face that said she knew he would do it. Though she doubted if Shiro would make the order. "Do they really?"

"Do what?"

"My ankles… are they that swollen? I can't really see them when I'm standing anymore."

"Another good reason why you need to sit down and get off of them." Hunk kissed her forehead.

"Fine. Let's go get something to eat. We could use a snack."

"We?" Hunk grinned.

"As hard as she's wiggling, I'm pretty sure she's hungry too."

January 13th, 2330

It was not where Hunk had thought he would be spending his birthday, but being surrounded by friends, still being on the Atlas heading for Earth was good enough. It had taken much longer than anticipated to fix the repairs to the Atlas, and even though they had gotten moving again quickly, chasing down every single node and circuit and bit of programming scrambled by the odd energy pulses had meant that they hadn't been moving at full speed. They had put into dock on Olkarion and spent nearly two weeks there, doing a major overhaul. It just couldn't wait until they got back to Earth.

Now, there were only a few days out, which as good, because at just over thirty-seven weeks, Katie looked like she might go into labor at any moment, even though she still had a couple of weeks left, and Rebecca Shelton said that based on all readings, she wasn't in any imminent danger of going into labor.

Hunk and Katie had given in weeks ago and contacted their moms about the apartment preparation plan. There was no way they would have time to handle everything themselves. As it was, he knew Katie had picked up a few things on Olkarion just in case their little girl came early.

Today, Hunk was pretending not to be suspicious about the fact that Shiro had asked him to spend the entire afternoon down in the refrigerated cargo-bay where extra kitchen supplies were kept, going over inventory. He was highly suspicious that there were plans for some kind of birthday surprise after dinner. He knew it wouldn't be dinner itself because he did know the entire inventory of the ship fairly well, and there wasn't enough of anything left after months of feeding diplomats and the crew to throw a party and feed everyone. Probably Katie or someone had snuck items on board from Olkarion.

He decided to be cooperative and took his time, not worrying about rushing back to the kitchens when he didn't have a shift this evening. The more time they had to plan whatever they were planning the better. Though he did show up back at their quarters at the usual time, knowing that Katie would expect him. On a normal evening, they would be eating dinner together there, instead of him making her walk all the way to the mess and back. She still insisted on working in her lab every day, even though he had tried more than once to talk her into going ahead and taking leave. As long as she was still on the Atlas, she refused.

Katie was waiting for him. "Ready for dinner?" she asked, standing at the door.

Hunk nodded. "You look like you're ready to go somewhere," he commented, playing along. "Don't want to eat in tonight?"

"Nope. I'm tired of staring at the same walls," Katie replied. Together, they started towards the kitchen. Hunk wondered if Katie knew that he was expecting something. It was very hard to surprise Hunk with anything out of his own kitchens.

What did surprise him was Romelle was waiting for them at the door. "Reservation for two?" she smiled, and gestured in the direction of the captain's private dining room. "Your table awaits."

So, they weren't waiting until after dinner. That, at least, Hunk had not anticipated.

The lights came on as they entered the room. "Surprise! Happy Birthday!"

Hunk grinned as he took in the crowd of friends crammed into the room. Shiro, Curtis, James, Ina, Nadia, and Ryan… Katie beside him, and Romelle coming in right behind.

The table was groaning with a variety of things that all smelled delicious, and a huge cake. It wasn't as fancy as the ones he made, but he was hardly a snob. "Awww…thanks, you guys. This looks incredible!"

"You deserve it," Shiro assured him. "Now sit down and enjoy it!"

As it turned out, everything was as delicious as it looked, and the best surprise was discovering that the cake was actually his mother's banana cake, just covered in cream cheese frosting and fresh rollaberries, which were similar to strawberries, but grew fresh on Olkarion. "It's perfect."

"Oh good," Romelle looked relieved. "I'm glad I got the recipe right. Though I thought it was probably close enough. Pidge was my taste tester."

Hunk looked at Katie, who grinned and shrugged. He had a feeling she had very much enjoyed taste-testing for this meal. Though he noted she wasn't eating too much this evening, which he found a little odd, since lately she had been almost constantly hungry, which was to be expected.

They all sat around and chatted and ate until it got late, and then slowly folks drifted away to get to bed for tomorrow's shifts, or other obligations, or just because it was getting late. Eventually it was just Hunk, Katie, Shiro, and Curtis.

"We should get going," Shiro finally said regretfully, standing. "Don't worry about cleaning up. It's covered."

Hunk wondered who had volunteered—or been volunteered—to clean up. He should find out and thank them later.

"Are you alright?" he asked Katie as he helped her up from her chair. "You seem a little distracted."

Katie nodded, leaning against him slightly as she straightened and got her balance. "I didn't want to say anything with everyone here but, I've been having contractions since this morning."

Hunk stopped dead. "What?"

"They were fairly far apart, but consistent," Katie clarified with far calmer than Hunk suddenly felt. "I've just been keeping track of them. Do you mind if we swing by the medical bay before we go home?"

"Mind? I think I'd have to insist." If there was any possibility Katie was actually in labor, Hunk would much rather she be there. "You know, I'd have taken something much simpler for my birthday."

"Ha ha. Trust me, this was not planned."

They went straight to the medical bay. Rebecca was not on duty, but the moment they arrived, the lieutenant on duty called for her.

"You just had to prove me wrong, didn't you?" Rebecca teased gently as she examined Katie.

"So, is this it?" Katie asked from the table.

"You're in labor," Rebecca confirmed. "Contractions are about six minutes apart, and if you've been having them all day she's not in a hurry yet. You're at three centimeters dilated. It will probably be several hours. At this point, I'd recommend you try and get some sleep if you can, and come back when they get down to about four or five minutes apart, or if things speed up. Though if you'd feel better about it, we can just set you up in here now. Fortunately, I don't have any other patients tonight, so at least you'd have privacy unless someone does something incredibly foolish."

Hunk looked at his wife, trying to keep his voice calmer than his insides felt. "It's your call."

"I think I don't feel like making that walk again," Katie admitted, then she looked at Hunk. "Would you mind going home and getting my bag, and maybe a couple of extra pillows?"

Hunk kissed her cheek. "I'm on it. Love you."

He hurried back to their room. Leave it to Katie to already have a bag packed, though Hunk had no idea what all she had put in there. For all he knew it included computer circuits to tinker with as a distraction. He grabbed the bag, and a couple of pillows off the bed. As he was turning go it occurred to him that he should probably tell Shiro, since neither of them would be available for their shifts tomorrow.

Hunk backtracked to the console and sent Shiro a quick video message, then hurried out the door.

"Did I miss anything?" he asked, half-joking as he returned half an hour after he had left.

Katie was pacing the floor. "A lot of wiggling, and my back hurts, but none of that's new."

Hunk set everything down on an empty bed. "How can I help? Back rub?"

"Please." Katie turned her back to him, one hand going around to try and point at her lower back. "Here."

Hunk was very glad he had taken the time to read all the books with Katie on what to expect, and anything else he could get his hands on. In this case, the best advice had come from his own Dad, and reading up on massage techniques for labor. He knew just how to apply pressure there to help relieve some of the back pain. He had been practicing a lot of the other more general techniques on Katie for months.

"Oh… yeah. That helps." There was audible relief in Katie's voice. "Keep pressing like that."

"For as long as you need."

January 14th, 2330

"You sure took your sweet time, didn't you?" Katie chuckled softly as she cradled her daughter in her arms. She had never been so utterly exhausted, but it was already worth it. Swaddled in a white blanket, the baby's face stood out; darker that Katie already by a fair margin, but lighter than Hunk, at least for now. Katie suspected their daughter would not fall prey to the Holt curse of sunburning. The damp fluff on her head was definitely some shade of dark brown, though the exact shade was hard to tell with fine newborn hair.

"Twenty hours…" Beside her, Hunk looked both shell-shocked, and enamored, his eyes riveted on their baby girl. One of his hands lay on Katie's shoulder, just above her head.

"It's a miracle your hands didn't fall off," Katie teased him gently. A large portion of that time had been spent pacing, pausing during contractions for Hunk to work his magic by applying pressure. Back labor, she had discovered, made lying down an incredibly unpleasant proposition.

"I'll live," Hunk promised. "I'm still trying to figure out how you got a baby that big out of you…and I just watched it happen. That's the real miracle."

"It is." She almost hadn't gotten her out on her own, big as she was, even coming early. Katie didn't want to think how big she would have been if they had made it to forty weeks. As it was, Katie felt like a wrung out, deflated balloon, and she hurt in all sorts of fascinating places, but she was too tired to catalog them. After two full days awake, all she really wanted was sleep.

"Are we ready for visitors?" A familiar voice came from behind the privacy curtains the medical staff had hung around the corner bed of the back patient room, in which Katie and family were huddled.

"You can come in," Katie replied.

Shiro poked his head in, looking surprisingly eager.

"How did you get them to let you in?" Hunk asked curiously. "They've blocked everyone else who's tried to come back here."

Shiro grinned. "Captain's privilege." He bent down to get a better look at the baby. "She's absolutely beautiful. Does she have a name yet?"

Katie nodded. "Caitlin, after my grandmother, and… Allura for her middle name." Which, she thought, required no explanation.

"Caitlin Allura… perfect."

"She is that," Hunk agreed proudly. "She already takes after Pidge."

"I think she looks more like Hunk," Katie disagreed, though there was no energy behind it. "But I'm sure that will change as she grows up. She's already bigger than any baby in my family…ever. She's almost eight pounds. Matt was bigger than me, and Mom said he barely hit seven."

"Well, for my side she's a delicate flower," Hunk chuckled. "My niece is the smallest on our side, and she was eight and four. My Mom said I was an even ten."

Katie grimaced. "Your poor mother."

"Whom I need to call soon, or she's never going to forgive me. Your folks' too. They'll be disappointed they missed this."

"I hope you don't mind," Shiro cut in, "But I sent a message to Earth earlier this afternoon, to both of your families. I thought they'd want to know."

From anyone else, Katie might have found it invasive, but Shiro was family too. "Thank you," she replied. "I was pretty sure they'd understand I didn't really have a say in when Caitlin decided to make her appearance. Though my mother will probably pout about it for a few minutes anyway."

"I'll make sure they bring in a portable communications system so you can call from here," Shiro offered. "Then they can see the baby and you don't have to move."

"Not moving is definitely on the agenda, but there's a few other things I'd like to do before we are flooded with well-meaning friends and family."

"Sleep, food, and a shower," Hunk hazarded three very accurate guesses. "Tell me which order you'd like them in, and I'll handle everything else."

Most amazing man in the universe. Of course, Katie already knew that. "As much as I'd like to pass out right here, shower…so the bedding can be changed… then food." She had nibbled a bit early on in the delivery, but she hadn't ingested anything solid since breakfast, and here it was after dinner.

"I should get out of your way," Shiro straightened up. "But I had to come down here and see her for myself, and check on both of you, too. Congratulations. If you need anything, be sure to let me know."

"We will," Hunk nodded vigorously.

"Thanks, Shiro."

January 15th, 2330

It was the next morning before Hunk let anyone else in to see Katie and Caitlin. By then, she had gotten her much desired shower, clean bedding, eaten a light dinner, slept like a rock, gotten up to use the restroom, cuddled Caitlin and tried her first feeding session, slept some more, eaten a much heartier breakfast, and then given Caitlin another feeding.

Hunk felt much more useful with Caitlin outside of her mother. While Katie showered, he had called Romelle—whom he had left temporarily in charge—to request food for both of them, and held Caitlin while the medical staff cleaned up the room, helped Katie in the shower if needed, and changed the sheets. He held the baby when Katie slept, and he had already gotten a good bit of practice in at walking, burping, and changing his daughter by the time it was well and truly morning.

He treasured the time he could spend bonding with his daughter, even if she did sleep most of the time, and didn't understand a word he said. She seemed soothed by the deep rumbling of his voice and chest, so he hummed as he rocked and walked her. In his arms she looked positively tiny.

Shiro was as good as his word, and a portable computer that was actually connected to the Atlas' communications array was brought down so they could call Katie's family, and then Hunk's without having to disturb Katie, who was still quite happy to be snuggled up in bed.

It was enjoyable to listen to Katie's parents—especially her mother—gush over their first grandchild.

"Her name is perfect," Colleen beamed. "Your grandmother will be honored. I'll call her this afternoon."

"How are you doing, Katie?" Sam asked.

"I'm fine," she assured him, grinning. "Nothing I couldn't handle."

Sam chuckled. "That's my girl."

They chatted for a few more minutes, and then Matt got on, just as eager to see his niece. "You know she's going to have both your brains," he teased. "Imagine the trouble she'll get into."

"What makes you think she'll get into trouble?" Katie asked. "Just because you and I did."

"She'll come up with even more creative ways," Matt assured her. "With your luck, she'll not only take things apart, she'll be reprogramming them before she's out of diapers."

"I'm sure we can handle it," Katie retorted. "You should just be grateful that now Mom has someone to dote on. Has she stopped pestering you about N-7?"

"For the most part." For a moment, Matt's expression sobered. "Not that we could have had kids anyway, but I think she would have been just as happy if we'd gotten married and adopted a bunch."

Which Hunk knew had not been in their immediate plans in any case. Not that Matt talked about it much.

"Well, she can just put all that affection on Caitlin," Katie nodded. "It's not your fault N-7 broke up with you."

"And for a toaster no less!" Matt snorted.

Katie rolled her eyes. "Okay, he wasn't a toaster."

"Who did she dump you for?" Hunk asked, dying of curiosity. It was something Matt had never volunteered in conversation, and Hunk hadn't wanted to ask before. It had been over a year though, now.

"Korvik, one of the Blades," Katie informed him, surprising Hunk. "He's not a toaster. He does have some interesting implants though, kind of like Shiro's arm."

"Her loss." Matt shrugged, and his smile returned. "But this isn't about me. You two take care. I can't wait to meet my adorable niece in person!"

The call to Hunk's family was similarly full of gushing. Hunk's mother had grandkids, of course, but his niece and nephew were basically grown. It had been a while since there had been a baby in the family. She gushed over Caitlin, and congratulated Katie, and asked a million questions about the labor and delivery that Katie was happy to answer. Hunk learned things about his own birth he had never known before… and could have gone the rest of his life without knowing.

Hunk's father was much calmer, and looked a little smug. "I see the turtle worked."

"Dad!" Hunk was grateful that with his dark completion, his blushes weren't nearly as obvious as Katie's.

Katie laughed.

After both calls, Katie fed Caitlin, ate a snack, and fell asleep again.

Hunk, despite having not slept yet himself, snuggled into a chair and cuddled his daughter some more. He knew he could put her down in the bassinet that had been fabricated sometime in the past couple of weeks, though he had no idea who on the ship had pulled the schematics for a baby bed to keep on the Atlas.

In his arms, Caitlin blinked her sleepy eyes, and yawned, before passing out. Hunk felt emotions welling up inside him again. She was just so adorable, and perfect, and his heart just might burst. He knew she was going to wrap him around her little fingers forever, and he didn't care. He would do anything to protect this beautiful little life he and Katie had made. The two of them had made a lot of great things over the years… Caitlin was definitely their greatest work.

February 1st, 2330

Katie and Hunk had been prepared for their mothers to have set up baby necessities in their little garrison apartment by the time they got back to Earth. What they had not expected, was that not only had the second bedroom been cleared out as the spare-items dumping ground, it had been converted into an entire nursery: crib, changing table, a smell-proof diaper disposal receptacle, a padded rocking chair, and a dresser that already held a bunch of baby clothes in multiple sizes. There were diapers, baby blankets, a handful of physical children's books, as well as a data pad full of children's stories and programmed with multiple albums of children's music. Katie was impressed at the list. "I remember some of these."

"You should, your father and I read them to you all the time, at your insistence." Her mother beamed.

"The others, you'll know," Hunk's mother grinned at her son.

"This is really incredible." Hunk looked a bit awed by all the work as he looked around, Caitlin cuddled in his arms.

"If you think this is incredible, wait until you see how many pre-prepped homemade meals are in your freezer." Colleen smiled. "Everything just needs to pop in and heat. I know you're an excellent chef, but even a chef needs a break sometimes."

"More free hands, which I have a feeling I'm going to need." Hunk looked down at the baby he held. "Definitely."

"Thank you, both," Katie gushed, something she rarely did when it came to anything house related. "We would never have gotten this done."

"Oh, you would have," Hunk's mother assured her, but accepted the hug Katie gave her after her own mom, with a big crunching mom-hug of her own. "But it's much easier this way, and it gives us a chance to be helpful and spoil our kids, and our granddaughter, a little. But don't thank us too much yet." She winked, gesturing back out into the living room. "There's more."

Puzzled, Katie followed her back into the living area, with Hunk behind her.

Somehow, during the time they had been distracted in the back, her father and Matt had snuck an entire party into her living room. Lance, Veronica, Keith, Acxa, Shiro, Curtis, Romelle, Coran, Hunk's father, had taken up temporary residence around the room. The kitchen counter had sprouted snack foods, and there was a pile of gifts on the coffee table in front of the couch.

Lance grinned. "You didn't think we'd let you miss out on a proper baby shower, did you?"

"Any excuse for a party." Katie smiled, and accepted the swarm of hugs and congratulations as they made it from the door to the couch, where they were immediately enthroned, and offered food and drinks. Both of which, Katie took advantage of. Keeping Caitlin fed meant she was just as hungry now, two weeks after delivery, as she had been while pregnant.

Then it was a parade of the most thoughtful, and sometimes unique, gifts. Lance and Veronica had found an adorable mobile for the crib that had all five lions of Voltron. Romelle had brought several Altean baby toys that were prime for stimulating development in infants through the toddler years. Coran had bought a plush yalmor. From Shiro and Curtis there was a baby quilt that looked to be in Olkari designs. Perhaps the most adorable gift, however, came from Keith and Acxa. It was a tiny baby outfit designed to look like a Paladin suit, only the detail markings were a violet color. "We couldn't pick between green or yellow," he grinned.

"She'll look great in it," Katie assured them both. "Thank you, everyone!"

Once they were done with the presents, everyone had the opportunity devour the food, and pass around the baby a bit. Caitlin, for her part, cooperated beautifully. Not that it involved much more on her part than being awake and not screaming. She looked at everyone with her big, curious eyes, and let them hold her. When she started to get fussy, their friends began to make their polite exits.

As Katie fed Caitlin, the only people left besides Hunk were the mothers, fathers, Lance, Shiro, and Curtis; no one Katie minded watching her feed. Not that she would have minded any of her friends watching, but it was nice to not have a huge audience. When she was done, Hunk took his usual role of burp-and-diaper duty.

"She really is adorable," Shiro smiled.

"You could always get one of your own," Katie teased him and Curtis with a chuckle. "Caitlin's going to need friends to play with."

"Actually, we're thinking about it," Curtis said, surprising her. His comment got the immediate attention of everyone in the room, except Caitlin.

"That's a wonderful idea," Sam grinned.

Shiro nodded. "Since I'm partially retiring from active service, I'm just going to be serving here at the Garrison as an instructor. Curtis is being assigned here ground-side for the time being as well. That way, the new captain of the Atlas won't have anyone underfoot or feel like they have to do things my way, and the crew will look to him or her without question. Which means, we can foster kids, or adopt, if the situation is right. There are lots of children and teens who need a stable home."

"I didn't realize you were retiring," Katie looked at Shiro, trying not to sound accusing.

"You've been a little preoccupied."

Well, that was true. "I'm sure you'll find someone who needs you. You're pretty good with kids… especially teenagers."

"Stubborn teenagers," Sam added in. "You've certainly got the experience for it."

Katie yawned, big and long enough she heard her jaw crack.

"Now that seems like a signal to get out of your hair and let you have some peace." Shiro stood up. "Take care. I know we'll see you again soon."

"You know, if you two would like to take a nap, we can stay and watch Caitlin for a little while?" Colleen offered with a hopeful glint in her eyes.

Katie didn't even need to look at Hunk to know her answer.

"Yes!" they both said in unison.

It was the best three-hour nap of Katie's life. She and Hunk hadn't managed to snuggle up and just sleep together since Caitlin's birth. Not the deep sleep that came with not half-listening for a baby the whole time. Still, she was not surprised to find that, even exhausted, she was awake after only three hours. Of course, the uncomfortable fullness in her chest might have awakened her no matter what. She hoped her daughter was hungry.

She left Hunk still passed out, snoring lightly, and returned to the living room, where her mother, and Hunk's mother, were sitting and chatting quietly. Caitlin was awake, but content to sit in Hunk's mother's lap until the moment she saw her mother. Then she began squirming.

"Sleep well?" Colleen asked as Katie reached for her daughter, and Hunk's mother handed her right over.

"Did I ever." Katie took Caitlin to the couch, and settled in, cradling her daughter up to her breast. Fortunately, if there was one thing she had picked up on quickly, it was latching on and sucking… hard. Katie winced. "That's a good girl."

"She's so much better behaved than you were at this age," her own mother teased gently.

"I'm pretty sure you can't hold anything I did at two weeks old against me. I wasn't capable of making conscious decisions." Then Katie grinned. "You obviously haven't heard her hungry scream yet, and you don't want to."

"You've already got her on a schedule?" Her mother looked impressed.

"More like she has me on one," Katie admitted. "She's fine for up to three hours, but three hours and five minutes? You'd think someone was beating a Yalmor. No, Miss Caitlin demands her meals right on time."

"She gets that from you," Colleen chuckled.

"I have to agree," Hunk's mother nodded. "Hunk was always hungry. He didn't scream much, but he'd eat anything that was offered…anytime it was offered."

Katie resisted the urge to comment that nothing had changed. It would have been unkind, and untrue, at least most of the time. Also, Hunk was still unconscious and not there to defend himself. "Well so far Caitlin doesn't seem to mind the selection. Though we'll see how she feels the first time she gets a taste of milk that's got Hunk's five-alarm chili in it. Did everyone else go home?" The house felt otherwise empty.

"Mostly," her mother nodded. "After the party you were out of milk, so Lance volunteered to run to the store and get some for us. He should be back before long."

"That's nice of him." That was good. She and Hunk had something they wanted to discuss with him too.

By the time Hunk woke up, Katie had finished feeding Caitlin, and their mothers were getting ready to leave. After lots of hugs, and promises that they could and would visit often, they left. "So, what do you want to do?" Hunk asked once they were alone.

Katie gave him a slightly guilty look. "Would it be terrible if I ran over to my lab for just a little bit? I promise I won't start anything," she added. "I just want to make sure everything I was working on while we were on the Atlas has been properly moved back to my lab here. I'm not sure I trust Matt to have everything the way I want it."

Given she hadn't been able to touch any of her work in two weeks, Hunk could imagine that she was pretty antsy about it. "Sure. Just don't be gone too long," he insisted. "Caitlin and I can manage until you get back."

"Thank you!" Katie kissed his cheek, and handed over the baby. "I promise I will be back in less than an hour."

"I'm holding you to that."

Hunk was half-way through most of the songs he remembered from his childhood when Lance arrived, with milk. "Looks like the party died without me," he teased as he went to the kitchen.

Hunk chuckled. "Nah, the life of the party is right here." He nodded at his daughter, who was drowsing on his shoulder. "Pidge just had to go make sure Matt didn't mess up putting all her work back in the lab. She promised she would be back soon."

"Do we believe her?" Lance asked as he put away the milk.

Hunk shrugged. "I think she meant it, but I wouldn't be surprised if she gets completely distracted. But Caitlin ate right before she left, so we can handle ourselves for a little while. In fact," he sniffed. "It's time for a little of that now."

He walked into Caitlin's new room, and set her down on the changing table. One hand lightly on her to keep her in place, he pulled out a diaper, and in fairly short order had her clean and changed.

Lance grinned at him from the doorway. "You know, you're a real natural at this dad thing."

"That's just because Caitlin's amazing and makes it look easy," Hunk chuckled. "When I was a kid, babies terrified me. I was afraid I'd break them, and I could never figure out what my niece and nephew wanted when they started crying. But this is entirely different."

"Yeah, for one thing, you're not twelve."

"There are also a lot of books out there on understanding infants that I hadn't read before. And, you know, she's half me and half Pidge. There's a deeper connection with her; she's my daughter. Also, it turns out there's really only like, four things crying usually actually means, and it only takes a couple of minutes and paying attention to body language to figure out if it's any of them. That, and there's usually an order. First, she's hungry. Then, gassy, then messy, then sleepy. Sometimes the last two swap."

"What if she's more than one at a time?"

"We both learn that it's okay to be uncomfortable for more than a few seconds." Hunk chuckled. "You want to hold her?"

"Absolutely. If that's all right."

"Of course. Caitlin needs to spend time with her Uncle Lance, doesn't she?" Hunk handed the baby over, transferring her easily into Lance's arms. Caitlin looked up at him owlishly, but seemed fine with it.

Lance took her with practiced hands, which didn't surprise Hunk. Lance had more practice with his nieces and nephews than Hunk ever had. Lance's expression melted into one of peace and joy as he held her.

Hunk noticed what looked like tears in the corners of Lance's eyes. "Hey, man. You okay?"

"What?" Lance looked up. "Oh. Yeah. I'm fine. I was just thinking how much Allura would have loved this. Meeting Caitlin… having a baby named after her. She'd have insisted it wasn't necessary, but I know she'd have been honored to know what she meant to everyone."

"Did you two ever talk about kids?"

Lance shook his head. "No. I wish we had, but we thought there was more time… that there would be a future to plan, when it was all over. We barely talked about things like getting married. I think she was afraid if we made too many plans, it might jinx things. It was hard. I mean, I think we all knew there was the possibility some of us might not make it in the end. I'm just glad we had the time together we did."

"For what it's worth, I know you'd have been great parents."

"Thanks, Hunk. That means a lot. I know Allura would have been a wonderful mom."

The mood had definitely taken a melancholy turn. "She would," Hunk agreed. "I have no doubt you'd have been amazing. That's why… Pidge and I want you to be Caitlin's godfather." He hoped Katie would forgive him for springing the surprise without her.

For just a moment, Lance looked stunned. "Me? Really?"

"Absolutely. You're our best friend. Who better? No wait, don't answer that."

Lance chuckled. "Don't worry, I have no intention of turning you down. I'm honored. I'd love to be her godfather. If she doesn't mind of course." He looked back down at the baby, blinking sleepily up at him, and gurgling. "She doesn't seem to mind."

"Nope, looks official to me. Though if it comes up again later, you might need to pretend to be surprised. Pidge wanted us to tell you together."

"I can do that."