Taking A Chance

Fighting For Family

In the med bay, Keith lay on one bed, and Kosmo on the other. Jorge and Maria stood close by as Coran pulled the knife from Keith's side causing him to groan and wake up.
Keith started to struggle against them.
‘You need to stay still, baby,’ Lance muttered.
‘No,’ groaned Keith, ‘leave me alone.’ He tried to push their hands away.
‘Keith, my boy,' said Coran, ‘No-one is trying to hurt you anymore.'
Lance took Keith's face in his hands. ‘Baby, look at me,’ he said. Keith focused on him. ‘Let us help you.’
Keith closed his eyes and nodded. 'Kosmo?' he asked.
‘Kolivan and Pidge are looking after him,’ said Lance. ‘He's going to be fine.'
Coran pulled up the side of Keith's t-shirt and pressed a dressing over the wound, and Keith hissed in pain.
‘Let's get him in the pod,’ Coran said.
Lance picked up Keith and took him to the pod and placed him in. Their eyes met as Lance closed the door. Moments later Keith’s eyes closed as he fell into a cryosleep.
Closing his own eyes, Lance lent his forehead on the pod door.
Someone gently rubbed his back, and he looked over her shoulder to see his mother.
‘How long does he need to be in there?' she asked.
‘4 to 5 hours,’ said Lance, ‘but it always seems like a lifetime.’
It broke his heart to see Keith in there again, and it was made worse by the knowledge his father had done this to him. He loved his father and could never imagine him doing that to him or any of his siblings. What sort of life had Keith had? He knew he'd been abused, but witnessing it was different to hearing about it.
On the other side of Keith, they placed Kosmo into the other pod, as the humm of the Castle's engines died away, signalling they were back on Earth.
Minutes later, Allura and Alfor hurried into the med bay.
‘How's Keith?' asked Allura.
‘In the pod,' Coran said. For once he sounded detached and flat, not his normal, cheery self.
'Lance, I'm sorry...’ she began.
‘I don't want to hear it, Allura,' said Lance. He looked over his shoulder at her. ‘I'm not the one you need to apologise to.’ Switching his gaze to Alfor and turned to him. ‘If you'd listened to Shiro he wouldn't be in the pod. He saved your life, and this is how you repay him.’
'I'm trying to save a world full of people,’ said Alfor. 'Doing the right thing is not always a popular choice. He has the ability to unite our people, to bring them hope, isn't that something worth doing? He just need to provide heirs to the throne, there's nothing to say you can't pleasure him as well.’
‘Get out,’ Lance growled.
Shiro moved away from his spot by the door and pulled Alfor out of the med bay.
Allura, Coran and Kolivan followed them out and the doors close.
'Wow,' muttered Pidge, ‘that just happened.’
‘The way Allura spoke about her father he seemed like some sort of saint,’ said Hunk. ‘The real thing doesn't live up to expectations.’
Overhead the lights flickered then went out and the pods hissed and opened. A strip of blue auxilary lights around the ceiling emitted a soft glow. Lance sprang forward and caught Keith as he slipped out. Hunk managed to stop Kosmo from crashing to the floor.
Lance sank to the floor with Keith in his arms.
‘What happened?' groaned Keith.
‘The Castle's lost power,’ said Lance. ‘Pidge, any idea what’s going on.‘
She pulled out her datapad and frowned down at it.
‘It's only the med bay that's off line,' she said.
Lance got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, and from the look on their faces, so did Hunk and Pidge as they looked around wildly.
‘There's nowhere to hide in here,’ Pidge said.
‘Mama, papa, get between the two pods,’ said Lance. ‘Hunk, get Kosmo in there.’
The two pods sat a couple of metres apart, and near the left side of the med bay. Between them was the only cover in the room.
Lance lifted Keith into his arms and followed his parents. They sat on the floor with their backs against the wall. Maria held her arms out and motioned for Lance to give Keith to her.
Lance lay Keith in her arms, and Jorge helped support him, with one arm around Maria and the other wound Keith. Kosmo lay unconcious on the floor on the other side of Maria.
‘We don't have any weapons,’ Pidge said, as she texted Shiro from her datapad. No doubt the others would have been distracted by something and were no longer outside the door, and probably not aware they were in trouble.
‘The message didn't go through,' Pidge said.
‘Not good,’ Hunk said.
She tried to call but go no signal. 'Shit,’ she muttered.
‘There's only one way in,’ said Lance. ‘We need to take him down when the doors open.'
‘Shiro's right,’ said Hunk. ‘There needs to be weapons stashed around the ship.'
Pigre ran to the shelves that held all the medicine and came back with a vial and three syringes.
‘One of us need to inject him with this,' she said, filling the syringes and handing them to Lance and Hunk. ‘It's a sedative, and should act quickly once injected.’
‘Hunk, you take the left side of the door,' said Lance, ‘and I'll take the right side.'
‘Don't make a move when the doors first open,’ said Pidge, ‘wait until you see him enter. I'm going to hide with the others…just in case.'
‘No,’ groaned Keith. ‘It's no worth it.'
‘Keith, I don't want to hear that,’ snapped Pidge, as she took up her position. ‘Your life is important, and don't you ever think otherwise. I love you as much as I love all my family because that's what you are, family.’ Her voice was thick with emotion.
Maria felt Keith shaking in her arms. She wiped away his silent tears and kissed his forehead. ‘You're okay my son,' she muttered.
A noise outside the door made everyone freeze.
Lance looked across at Hunk and they pressed themselves as flat as they could against the wall.
He doors opened, and a volley of blaster fire filled the room.
‘Where are you, you little shit,’ growled Franklin. ‘I'm going to finish what I started and put you out of your misery like the animal you are.'
Franklin came through the door, arms extended in front of him gripping a blaster.
Lance watch Hunk get ready, the syringe in his hand.
Hunk lunged forward. Franklin swung his right hand with the blaster in it and slammed the butt of the blaster in thinks face, knocking him to the ground. Franklin brought the blaster up when Lance grabbed him from behind.
Franklin threw his head back, making hard contact with Lance's face, and the syringe fell from his grasp. Franklin swung the blaster towards Lance, who gripped Franklin’ s wrist and push up. The shot hit the ceiling, and Franklin threw Lance to the floor.
‘I'LL KILL YOU,’ Franklin yelled, as the advanced on Lance.
Springing to his feet Lance ran to the bed, pulled it over and leapt to the other side as Franklin let off another volley of shots towards him.
When the blaster fire stopped, he pulled his knees up to his chest and put is feet against the bed and waited. He saw the tip of the blaster appear above him and kicked the bed into Franklin's legs, causing the other man to tumble over the bed and hit the floor.
Lance lunged for the blaster that fell to the floor and grasped it at the same time as Franklin. They wrestled for the blaster, desparately trying to get the upper hand. As they lurched to their feet and the sound of the blaster filled the room and the two men froze.
‘No, Lance,' Keith cried.
Lance stepped back, and Franklin fell to the floor dead. The blaster fell from Lance's hand and clattered on the floor, as Allura, Alfor and Shiro ran in.
‘Is everyone okay, where's Keith?’ asked Shiro.
‘He's here,' Pidge said, standing.
Shiro hurried forward to find Keith cradled in Maria's and Jorge's arms.