Archive of Our Own

An explosion erupted behind Lance. The resulting cacophony sent him tumbling to the ground, his bayard flew from his hand and he scrambled to catch hold of it in the mud.

Before his comlink cut out completely, orders to retreat echoed in his ears.  He spit out dirt, tried to respond, but found it was useless when he was just met with a buzzing noise.

The world was burning.

Lance's fingers found his bayard. He grasped it tightly as he activated his face shield. With a fresh supply of oxygen, he ran through unfamiliar terrain. Blinded by tree branches and smoke, he ran and ran and ran…

The sounds of explosions eventually faded behind him, but he still kept going. His lungs were aching and his legs burned from the exertion, but he still carried on.

All of the sounds of the battle drifted away and were replaced by the sounds of alien animals in the trees. Something inside Lance still screamed of danger and so he stumbled on until he couldn't stay on his feet any longer.

Leaning against a tree, he gasped for breath. He couldn’t go any further. He couldn’t do this anymore.

After a moment, he began looking around, taking in his surroundings. This wasn't any meet up point and this wasn't the location of his Lion either...

"I'm lost." Lance tapped the side of his helmet, hoping the com might kick in. "Shiro... Hunk.... Anyone?"

Lance straightened up. Raising up his face shield, he took slow deep breaths of the warm, humid air.

He only hesitated a moment more before he walked forward, limping as he felt a muscle strain in his right calf. He continued on, walking forward, trying to sort out a plan in his head.

His head began to hurt and it seemed to swim.

Well... If he just kept walking... Someone would probably find him.

Right?

Looking up, he saw that the trees had thinned out a lot. He was much more exposed here then he wanted to be. The Galra had overwhelmed them, overwhelmed them and then attempted to blow them all to hell. They had needed to retreat, needed to get to the lions, form Voltron...

Lance wasn't safe. He needed to find some cover. He walked on, nervously glancing one way and then the other. This was too open. He should go back, but that meant being closer to the fighting. He had no teammates or Lion to back him up; he might as well surrender himself directly to the Galra.

Lance blinked as he tried to figure out what he was looking at in front of him. It wasn't a natural structure that had come into view; it was too rectangular. It was completely overgrown with vines and moss, but Lance could make out a few large bricks that were beginning to crumble with age.

The ruins seemed to be the only building in the vicinity, but they were covered so thoroughly in foliage that it might just be overlooked by a passing patrol. Lance decided it was the best cover he was going to find. He cautiously walked to the structure, surveying the area for any hostiles. Once he entered the ruins through the lopsided entranceway, he only found more vines and moss that coated the ground like a thick carpet. Light filtered down through a broken roof, allowing Lance to see to the back wall of the structure. Small pink and purple flowers dotted the floor and climbed up the walls. It was strangely beautiful.

As far as Lance knew, the beings that inhabited this planet had been killed or mostly removed by the Galra. He didn’t think this structure had been used in a long time. Lance sunk to his knees, glancing out the entrance to see if there was anyone following him. The forest was peaceful behind him. He was alone.

Lance took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Shiro?" Lance tried again, but he was only met with buzzing. "Hunk? Pidge? Keith?" More buzzing.

Lance slipped his helmet off and studied the outside. A piece of shrapnel had pierced through the side of the helmet and it sparked slightly when Lance attempted to dislodge it.

Lance ran his hand down one side of his head. The shrapnel hadn't broken through. He wasn't injured. Lance set the helmet down amongst the creeping vines.

He continued breathing, forcing himself to remain calm. He was just a little lost. Alone and a little lost. Tired, alone and a little lost...

Okay, maybe more than a little lost.

"Blue?" Lance whispered loudly. Not sure if their connection worked when he was so far away. "If you could come get me... that would be... uh... that'd be great."

Lance did feel something like acknowledgment form at the edge of his mind. It reminded him of when he would interrupt his mother when she was on the phone. She would hold her hand up, acknowledge his presence, but request his silence.

Maybe something was going on with Blue? Maybe she was helping in the fight without him? Could she do that?

Lance stood up on shaking legs. He needed to get back out there. It didn't matter if his adrenaline had crashed and his legs felt like they were made of lead. He needed to keep going. Lance turned around in a circle, willing his legs to cooperate. He was searching for a distraction to help calm himself down, when he decided to walk the length of the room. He was curious if he could see what this building was used for. Perhaps a home or a meeting room or...

There was a snap as Lance's foot broke through the vines and he fell forward. His body met with the overgrowth of moss for the briefest moment of resistance before he fell through. The floor apparently dropped off, but it had been impossible to tell with all of the plant life. His bayard flew from his hand again as he put out both arms to catch himself. He hit slanted ground and rolled and rolled until his body landed on what felt like a pile of sticks.

Lance groaned and spit blood. On his descent he had managed to bite his lip, breaking the skin and filling his mouth with the taste of copper. He greatly regretted setting his helmet down on the ground above. What a stupid thing to do.

Lance shook his head, trying to clear it. He wiped blood from his mouth and checked to be sure he hadn’t knocked out any teeth. Once he was sure it was just his lip, he tried to push himself into a sitting position. Something snapped under his weight.

Grave.

Through the bit of light that filtered down through the opening that Lance had made when he fell, he could see bones and cloth. Startled, Lance cried out. Frantically stumbling over himself, trying to disentangle his legs from a very ruined skeleton. He realized now that there was a strong smell of decay that hung in the air. His eyes adjusted to the dim light and he could see the bodies lined up, filling the whole chamber from wall to wall.

Catacombs.

Lance tripped and his hand went through something that was softer and not just dry bones.

Lance felt his mind go blank with horror and he launched himself up the steep hill, madly scrambling, holding back choked screams.

He gasped when he met fresh air again. He pulled himself out, ripping up the peaceful plant life that had been residing there. Lance was stumbling out the door before he realized he had left his bayard in the mass grave.

Nausea crept up his throat and he doubled over, gulping deep breaths, forcing it to pass. He needed to get ahold of himself.

"Okay. Okay. Okay," Lance repeated, swallowing the sick that had crept up his throat. He grabbed the helmet he had put to the side earlier and he put it on. Activating the full face shield, he took several more deep breaths. He was a Paladin of Voltron and these beings had already passed on. Nothing was going to actually hurt him.

He shakily walked to the edge of the incline and sat down heavily. From this point of view, he couldn't see anything. It was like sitting on the edge of a dark abyss. He took several deep breaths. Move. Just move. Lance sat frozen.

Paladin of Voltron.

Lance nodded. Gathering the courage he had left, he shut his eyes and  slid down into the dark. He took care not to tip over and roll. He couldn’t risk anymore injury. His feet met the bottom with a crunch and he mentally apologized over and over for his actions.

As carefully as he could in the dim light, Lance made his way to the shape that most looked like his bayard. He made a few unlucky grabs, but eventually was successful in his endeavor. He quickly retuned back to the slope and began his ascent when a noise gave him pause. He thought he had heard a voice. He tapped his helmet. Maybe it was working.

The voice sounded again, but maybe it sounded more like wind moving… or breathing?

"Hello?" Lance whispered. But only a static noise greeted him.

"Hello?" Came the whispered echo.

It wasn't the com.

Lance turned slowly. There in the dark, stood a short figure. A black shadow standing unmoving amongst dead corpses.

Lance screamed.

Blinded by fear, Lance tore up the incline and burst from the building. He went running through the forest, not paying attention to where he was going. He eventually tripped over a root and was sent sprawling to the ground again.

Lance clambered to the nearest tree and huddled there by the trunk, gasping for air. In his mind he recited a prayer that he had learned in his childhood, did that kind of thing even work on other planets? Against alien ghosts and demons?

Lance willed himself to breathe. Breathe and don't cry.

"Okay, okay, okay." Calm down. It’s fine. It’s fine.

"Lance?"

Lance jumped about a foot in the air as all of the oxygen left his lungs.

"Whoa, hey, it's me."

Lance stared up in shock at Hunk, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Hunk quickly knelt down to be at Lance's eye level.

"Hey, breathe. Just breathe."

Lance choked on blood.

"H-hunk?" He stammered out.

"Yeah, it's me. We've been trying to find you. Coran says there was a malfunction. He couldn't locate you. Keep breathing. You're alright. Deactivate your face shield. You've got blood all over your face."

Lance did as he was told and he spit blood in the dirt. He hadn’t realized how much had been accumulating in his mouth.

"Lance?" Hunk questioned. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I-I… scared. I got scared." Lance felt tears spring to his eyes and he was so humiliated, but he couldn't help it. This was his best friend, if he couldn't freak out in front of Hunk, then he wouldn't be able to do it with anyone. Lance took in great shuddering breaths that turned into unexpected sobs.

"Alright." Hunk wrapped an arm around Lance, pulling him into a hug, holding on lightly as Lance tried to regain control of his breathing.

"You're alright. We found you. We weren't going to leave you, alright? Blue isn't far. She was looking for you too. She's landed not far from here. She's waiting for you. Everyone is."

"Bomb blast took out my com," Lance explained, gasping.

"I figured, you're kind of sparking on that side."

'I saw an alien ghost' didn't seem like the right thing to say. Not when it had obviously been his mind playing tricks on him. He was losing it; he had probably knocked his head at some point.

"Yeah, I found him," Hunk suddenly answered his com. "He got hit with a blast. His com is out. His armor is all messed up." Lance glanced down at himself, yeah he supposed he did look roughed up. He hadn’t noticed the extent of it before.

There was a pause as Hunk listened.

"I'm not sure. He's spitting blood.... Maybe....Lance, how badly are you hurt? Do you feel pressure in your chest?"

"Bit my lip," Lance explained. "Maybe more than once..."

"We'll be there right now... He's just uh... we just need a minute."

After several minutes of breathing, Lance felt like he could stand again. Hunk supported his weight when one of his legs started to give out.

"Is your leg hurt?" Hunk asked.

"I might have pulled something. It's just sore." Everything was sore. Hunk had glanced down to study Lance's leg and he let out an odd humming noise.

"Here. Put your arm around me. Blue's not far."

With Hunk supporting Lance, the two boys made it through the forest fairly quickly. Hunk had been right, Blue was waiting for him in a clearing just ahead with the Yellow Lion as well.

"Galra tried to take her," Hunk explained. "We got them away from her and then she just flew off here. I followed her, figured you’d be close by."

"Thanks," Lance began to limp toward his Lion, smiling gently at her. However, Hunk caught his arm.

"Um... maybe you shouldn't pilot? You can ride with me in Yellow."

"I can pilot. I want to pilot Blue."

"Yeah, but... Okay I wasn't going to say it, but there is a piece of metal sticking out of your leg."

Lance looked down in surprise. There was indeed a small piece of shrapnel sticking out of the broken armor on his calf.

"Oh," Lance uttered. Now that he saw it, the pain in his leg increased. He could still manage it. He really wanted to be with Blue. He wanted to help fight.

"I can pilot," Lance said again.

"Lance..."

"The fight is still going on, right? We need Voltron. It's not deep, I don't see blood. I can pilot."

Hunk sighed.

"Okay," he finally agreed.

Hunk had let it go because his friend had that desperate look on his face. They did need Voltron. However, fighting a battle with one comlink down was a little unorganized. Lance had to rely on Blue and instinct to fall in place with the others. It was a testament to their team growth that they were able to pull it off successfully.

With the bulk of the Galra fleet defeated, they went back to the Castle of Lions. Shiro was saying something about meeting for a debriefing when Hunk interrupted.

"Lance needs to go to the infirmary."

There was a brief pause, while Shiro mentally shifted gears.

"I thought he just bit his lip?"

"Well, yeah. But... uh... he's got some shrapnel in his leg. Probably should look at it, probably get it taken out."

"Lance." Shiro sounded frustrated.

"He still can't hear you, Shiro."

"I know he can't," Shiro said in exasperation.

"It doesn't look too bad. He said he would be alright to pilot."

"Of course he did. Alright, it’s fine, let’s just get it taken care of."

Lance had multiple bruises and many small cuts from where his armor had become broken or dented from the bomb blast. He had asked Coran if he had a concussion or something, but besides a few bumps and bruises, there wasn't anything serious.

He was lying on his stomach while Coran stitched up his leg and Hunk was holding a cold pack on his shoulder. Shiro was talking to him, asking him a million questions.

"How close were you when the bomb went off?"

"I don't know. Close enough to be knocked off my feet."

Shiro frowned.

"Next time the comlink goes out, try not to go out too far. We couldn't get a reading on you."

"I couldn't stay there."

"I know, I just wish you had run towards us and not the other way."

"I got... turned around."

"Coran said he wasn't getting a reading on your vitals anymore. Everyone kind of panicked," Hunk added.

"Poor wording on my part," Coran admitted. "I knew you were still alive, though maybe injured. I got some readings before the sensor blipped out. I could tell the armor had just been damaged."

"Sorry," Lance muttered. Truthfully, he had been terrified down there alone, but he must have scared his teammates horribly when they couldn't find him and thought he might be dead.

"It's alright. We'll come up with a plan in case we ever get separated like that again," Shiro forced a calm smile and then he turned to look to see if Coran was nearly finished.

"Shiro?" Lance asked quietly. Shiro immediately turned, concerned over Lance’s tone. He suddenly sounded so much younger.

"What is it?" Shiro asked softly. Lance's eyes widened as if he hadn't realized he had said Shiro's name aloud.

"Lance?"

"Nothing. Sorry."

Because he couldn't tell Shiro how badly he had panicked during the fight. How he had completely lost his head for a minute and just run frantically into the woods. And he certainly couldn't tell him about what happened after. What a coward he was. Running in the middle of a battle, making his friends worry, leaving Blue alone to fight off the Galra with no paladin to help.

"I'm just tired," he explained. Shiro nodded.

"This was a bad one, wasn't it?" Shiro had lowered his voice and leaned in closer. Coran and Hunk suddenly became silent in their ministrations; they didn't even seem to be breathing.

Lance nodded slightly.

"I'm sorry that we couldn't find you right away. Sorry that you got turned around and that you got hurt."

"Not your fault."

"Still, you must have been scared."

Lance lowered his gaze.

“Maybe a little,” Lance admitted.  

"Yeah, I got a little scared too. Coran really should have worded it better."

Coran let out the breath he had been holding.

"My mistake," Coran smiled gently as he finished the last stitch. He began loosely wrapping the cut in a bandage.

Shiro smiled and Lance returned it. They were always so patient with him. He was lucky to have them.

As soon as Lance was patched up, Shiro went to go find Pidge and Keith. The two of them had opted out of watching Lance get stitched up. Shiro found them in one of the common areas, sitting on the couches and talking quietly with Allura.

"Are we having a debriefing?" Keith asked when he saw Shiro enter the room. Shiro studied his teammates, they looked worn out. Pidge was holding her arm too close to her middle, she must have been hurt.

"No, I think we're done for the day." Shiro sat down heavily on the couch beside Pidge, his own weariness catching up with him.

"Did Lance have to go into a pod?" Pidge asked quietly.

"No. He's got about ten stitches and some bruises, but he's going to heal on his own."

"He's alright?" Keith asked. The boy was staring at Pidge intently. Shiro knew Keith well enough that he could tell he was concerned for her. Keith's eyes lingered on the arm she was refusing to move.

"I was asking if they wanted to eat. They have assured me that they are not hungry," Allura reported. Shiro nodded.

"I think everyone should get a good night's sleep. No training early tomorrow."

There was a pause where they all nodded at him. Pidge wasn’t meeting his eyes though. Shiro sighed.

"Lance is already going back to his room. So why don't we go get your arm checked out?"

Pidge's head shot up.

"It's just a sprain."

"Well, let's just be sure."

Too tired to argue, Pidge slowly stood up and began to make her way out of the room.

"She's been upset about Lance. She thought he was dead," Keith said quietly once Pidge was out of earshot.

"I know," Shiro said as he stood up. "I'll talk to her." Shiro pointed at Keith. "No training early in the morning. Just rest." Shiro then turned and nodded at Allura. "Thank you for keeping an eye on them."

Allura smiled and nodded. Keith looked mildly offended at being spoken about as though he needed someone babysitting him.

He couldn't deny that it had been nice to have someone else there though, just sitting and trying to distract them. This really had been a horrible day. Keith was glad it was over.

"You're sure you're alright?" Hunk asked for the twelfth time. Lance nodded again. He had been set up in his room with his leg propped up on a pillow and drinks within his reach in case he got thirsty. He had his eye mask and the headphones ready. There really wasn't any reason for Hunk to stay.

And yet...

There was a pain in Lance's chest that had developed in the last few hours and it had not gone away even with pain relievers. His heart felt odd. It wasn't hammering away in his rib cage, it felt like it was skipping a few beats though or like it was just flopping around uselessly, not doing its job.

He still hadn't told anyone about the alien corpses or the… ghost? Would Hunk think it was funny? Or would he be grossed out? Either way, Lance didn't feel like he would understand how scary it had actually been. Even though he was safe aboard the ship, the fear still clung to his mind. The panic still bubbled beneath the surface.

If he asked, Hunk would bring his blankets and pillows and stay in the room with him. But Hunk looked so, so tired. It would be selfish to ask.

"I'm fine. Just tired."

"Okay, you can come wake me up if you need anything. Get some rest."

Lance awoke with a start. Unsurprisingly, he had been dreaming about explosions and darkness and the smell of decay, but as he removed his eye mask and rubbed at his eyes, he found that the details of the dream were already slipping away. His heart thudded unevenly in his chest. He coughed, tried to get it to stop feeling so weird. Something dry brushed his leg and he realized he must have knocked his bandage loose.

It had come unwound and was getting tangled with his other leg. All wrapped up on his ankle, squeezing, writhing, moving, hissing-

Lance let out a short gasp as he threw back his blankets and scrambled out of bed. He turned the lights on and brushed madly at his legs. They were fine. The bandage was intact. Shuddering, Lance looked at his mattress. His blankets and spare pillow had been tossed to the floor.

There was nothing there. Lance felt cold sweat drip down his back. Was it a dream? Had he still been dreaming? It had felt real. Like there had been a snake wrapping around his ankles.

Lance swallowed hard and very carefully lifted the blanket from the floor. There was nothing there either. He gingerly ducked down and looked under his bed. It was empty, except for the regular dust bunnies.

Dreaming, Lance decided. He sat down on the mattress, pulling his pillow to his chest. Why wouldn't it stop beating like that? Lance took a few deep breaths. Trying to calm down. He picked up the headphones that had been tossed aside while he slept. He could listen to music, it usually helped him to relax. As soon as Lance set the headphones on his ears, there was an undeniable hissing noise that resounded from the wall behind him.

He screamed and ran from the room.

Once Lance had made it all the way down the hallway, he slowed to a stop. This was stupid. It was just his tired mind playing tricks on him, again.

It had sounded real though.

Lance ignored the dull pain in his leg and began walking absently through the halls. He just needed to get a grip. There wasn't anything that could hurt him. There weren't any snakes on the castleship. It was irrational, ridiculous...

Lance tilted his head, hearing an odd noise coming from around the next corner. It sounded like... coins rattling together. Lance stopped and listened again. The noise continued, though it sounded distant, like it was moving away from him.

Slowly, Lance limped to the corner and stuck his head around the edge.

There at the other end of the hallway, was a dark figure with long grey hair facing away from him. Lance's breath caught in his throat. The figure stopped moving. As if sensing his presence, the personage began to turn. Lance could see wrinkled hands beginning to reach out and he stood paralyzed as the old woman began to move toward him.

"Lance..." Came the withered voice.

Lance turned and ran so hard that he was pretty sure he had popped the stitches in his leg, but he didn't care. In blind panic and fear he collided with Hunk's door, slapping his hands against it and shouting for his friend. The door opened and Lance stumbled in, wheezing. He launched himself at Hunk’s sleeping form and grabbed his shirt with shaking hands.

"Hunk, Hunk, Hunk, oh God, Hunk. She's a ghost. Shit. She's a ghost. It hurts and she's a damn ghost."

Hunk had startled awake as soon as his door had opened, but he hadn’t been prepared to suddenly have Lance clinging to him and jabbering nonsense and swearing.

"Lance! Lance, what? What happened? Whoa, you're all sweaty."

"I saw a ghost," Lance's chin shook as he spoke and he wasn't sure if he was about to cry or if he was shaking from fear. Maybe it was both.

"A ghost?"

"Yes! The old woman who used to live across the street from me."

"What?"

"She lived across the street. I used to mow her lawn and one day she died before she could pay me for the work. I was so mad about the money and now she's here and I heard her coin purse and I don't even want the money anymore!"

For many reasons, this didn't really sound possible. Hunk shifted into a more comfortable sitting position.

"Lance, that doesn't make sense. Why would your neighbor's ghost follow you to space?"

"It was her! I knew she was a witch, I knew it."

"Lance, are you sure you weren't dreaming?"

"I'm not dreaming! I saw her and-" Lance suddenly ran out of breath and he grabbed at his chest. Groaning, he doubled over and slipped off the bed. Hunk had made a grab for him, but Lance slipped through his grasp. He landed on the cold floor with a thump and slowly brought his knees to his chest.

"Lance?" Hunk questioned. He was really beginning to worry now.

"I feel weird,” Lance mumbled. A wave of nausea had overtaken him and he breathed hard hoping to get through it. Hunk set his hand on his friend's forehead. Lance didn't have a fever. Maybe he had just gotten himself too worked up over a nightmare? It had been a stressful day.

"Come on," Hunk pulled Lance off the floor and made him sit on the bed. He moved to sit beside his friend. He started rubbing his back, feeling his friend shaking hard. Lance suddenly choked on a sob. That was when Hunk decided that he didn't care if it sounded ridiculous. Lance was obviously scared and that's what mattered.

"It's alright. You're safe now."

"I fell into a graveyard," Lance choked out.

"What?" Hunk furrowed his brow in confusion. That didn't really make sense...

"Today. I fell today. There were all these bodies and bones and I dropped my bayard."

"Lance, I'm trying to understand, man. You fell into a graveyard today? When?"

"On the planet! Back on the planet. When I was lost. It was like a burial ground. I destroyed all these bones and I didn't mean to. It was an accident. And I thought I heard a voice and I was really freaked out. I was already scared and then that happened." Lance clenched his fists, trying to ground himself.

"Alright, yeah. I would have freaked out too." Well, that could explain the freaky nightmare about the ghost neighbor. Anyone would probably have had a nightmare after that.

"Can I stay here?" Lance asked as he wiped tears from his eyes. Lance thought of the times when he would have nightmares and he would go to his parent's room, even when he was much too old to seek out his mother's comfort. He would sleep on their floor with his pillow and blanket and when his mother woke up, she would shake her head at him, but she never told him to leave or to grow up.

"Yeah, yeah you can stay."

Once Lance's breathing evened out, and he was for sure not going to throw up, Hunk turned out the light and made room for his friend on the bed. There wasn't a whole lot of room, but they would make it work.

"Do you want to talk about it more?" Hunk asked in the dark. Lance was turned away from him, his eyes darting nervously around the room.

"No," Lance whispered.

"Try to sleep, okay?" Hunk said quietly. Lance grunted in response. Hunk could still feel him shivering and he wondered if either of them would be able to sleep like that.

Eventually, Lance stopped shaking and his breathing became more regular. Hunk sighed, staring up at the ceiling, contemplating the day's events. Soon he drifted off to sleep, wedged between the wall and his friend.

Hunk didn't think much time had gone by when he next awoke. He certainly felt like he hadn't been asleep long. He was startled to see Lance sitting up in the bed, muttering something under his breath.

"Lance?" Hunk asked. But Lance didn't respond. He leaned forward, trying to catch what Lance was saying.

"Spiders, spiders, spiders..."

"What?!" Hunk was out of the bed and had the lights on in an instant. Hunk glanced around the room and began inspecting the bed. Too late, Hunk realized that Lance didn't actually look aware or even really awake. Lance was clawing at his legs, murmuring spiders over and over. He was frantically scraping at his arms now, sounding more and more distraught.

Red.

There was red and it took Hunk too long to realize it was blood trailing down Lance's leg, soaking his pajama pants and the mattress.

Lance's hands went back to the injured leg and he scraped his nails along it, through the fabric, ushering out more blood. Hunk pushed Lance’s hands away. He lifted up Lance's pant leg and saw how the bandage had come undone, how Lance had ripped out nearly all of his stitches.

"Lance! Lance! Wake up! Wake up!"

Lance turned to Hunk and looked him right in the eyes.

"The spiders are always there," Lance said seriously and he started to scrape at his arms again. Hunk caught his hands. Hunk didn’t know if Lance was really awake or not, but it was terrifying either way.

"There are no spiders, you're hurting yourself." Again, Hunk felt for a fever. Lance did feel too warm now, but it wasn't that noticeable. What the hell was going on? Lance squirmed, trying to free his hands from Hunk’s grip.

"Lance, no. Come on. Look at what you're doing. Snap out of it."

Lance finally turned watery eyes to Hunk and there was a flash of lucidity there.

"Hunk," Lance rasped.

"Yeah, it's me. Were you dreaming right now?"

Lance shook his head, but stopped when the action sent a wave of nausea though him.

"I don't feel good."

"Okay, can you walk? We need to go back to the infirmary."

"Yeah," Lance said slowly. He began to move to stand, but stopped abruptly. "My leg hurts," Lance hissed. Hunk glanced down at the blood that had soaked through Lance's pajamas.

"We'll get it taken care of. It's going to be alright. I'll help you. We'll wake up Coran and Shiro. They'll know what to-"

Without warning, Lance leaned to the side and puked on the floor.

"Lance!" This situation had deteriorated so quickly. Lance had just gotten sick so fast. Hunk was well and truly afraid now. He had been trying to remain calm for Lance's sake, but this was scary and dangerous. As soon as Lance was done throwing up, Hunk picked him up and carried him from the room. Lance's head lolled and, if it wasn't for his open eyes, Hunk would have thought he wasn't conscious at all.

Hunk wasn't sure what he should do, wake Shiro? Wake Coran? Wake them both? Get Lance to the infirmary first?

Feeling Lance start to slip from his grip, he decided to get Shiro first. Shiro was closer and he would know what to do. Hunk had just turned the corner when Lance made an odd choking noise.

"Lance?"

But Lance didn't hear him, instead he started shaking again. Shaking uncontrollably. Lance's eyes rolled up back in his head and again Hunk was late to realize what was happening.

Lance seized hard.

Hunk had enough memory from his general first aid class to know not to try and hold him still, set him on the floor, make sure he didn't hit his head. But after that, he just watched and called his name over and over as his friend shook and frothed at the mouth. Why was this happening? His fever hadn't been that high. Lance had never had a seizure before. Hunk was sure his friend would have told him if something like that had ever happened to him.

Hunk started shouting in a panic. The seizure had gone on for too long. What if it didn't stop? What if Lance was dying?

"Someone help! I need help! Lance! Lance!"

Keith was a light sleeper. But when he was suddenly awakened in the middle of the night, it took him a minute to figure out what had disturbed his sleep.

Shouting. Someone was yelling. Calling for help.

He jumped out of bed, shoved his feet into his waiting boots and ran out the door. His heart was already pounding, preparing for danger, ready to fight. He was stopped in his tracks when he found his teammates practically on his doorstep. What the hell was going on? His mind shifted gears as he took in the scene. Hunk yelling, Lance shaking.

A seizure.

"How long?" Keith asked as he knelt on the floor.

"I-I don't know. A really long time."

“It probably hasn't been as long as you think."

As Keith spoke, lance's shaking slowed and then stopped. Keith checked his pulse. It wasn't right. It felt inconsistent.

"Lance?" Hunk asked. Lance's eyes fluttered open, his gaze drifted around the room.

"Lance, do you know where you are?" Keith asked. Lance's gaze had landed down the hallway, he looked curiously past them both.

"I don't know who they all are," Lance muttered. Keith and Hunk both turned and looked down the hallway. It was empty. There wasn't anything there.

"Who are they?" Lance's brow furrowed, distress crossed his face. "Who are they?" Lance repeated more urgently.

"Lance, nobody is there.” A different kind of fear had crept into Hunk’s voice.  

"I'm going to get Shiro." Keith was letting panic creep up on him. He had initially stayed calm because he had seen that Hunk was getting frantic, but now as the situation was settling in front of him, Keith didn't know what he was supposed to do. Lance was seeing things that weren't there. Brain damage. It must have damaged his brain.

Hunk nodded at Keith and continued to try and talk to Lance, distract him from whatever he was seeing. Keith took off down the hall, willing himself to stay calm. He wouldn't be able to help anyone if he fell apart too.

"Shiro!" Keith called, ignoring the way the word shook as it escaped his mouth. Shiro hadn't locked his door; he tended to leave rooms unlocked where he went. He always needed to be sure the door would open for him easily.

Keith now kept his distance, standing in the doorway, calling for Shiro, feeling childish in his sudden fear and uncertainty. He couldn’t risk getting closer to Shiro’s sleeping form. Shiro had once fallen asleep on a couch and when Keith had called for him, Shiro had lashed out. He had nearly broken Keith's arm and he had felt horrible guilt over it for days. There was a rule now that anyone waking Shiro from sleep, had to stand out of arm’s reach.

Luckily, Shiro woke with a start, but he didn't lash out at anything.

"Shiro, something's wrong with Lance. He's had a seizure."

Shiro was already out of bed before Keith had finished speaking. He shoved his feet into shoes and stumbled toward the door.

"Where?" Shiro cleared his throat, but the last remnants of sleep had slipped away. Shiro wasn't wasting time asking why or how, questions like that wouldn't solve the problem right now.

"Down the hallway," Keith directed as Shiro ran past him.

In a few moments, Shiro was soon at Lance's side, taking his pulse, checking for a fever. Lance watched him with bleary eyes, not seeming to recognize what was happening.

"His heart beat is irregular," Shiro noted. "What happened to his stitches?" Shiro asked when he noticed the blood dripping down Lance's foot and onto the floor.

"He pulled them out," Hunk said. "He said there were spiders and he just..."

"Shiro, I don’t think he knows where he is," Keith added.

"He seeing things that aren't there," Hunk's mouth was set in a grim line. "I thought he was just dreaming, but he's really seeing something."

"We'll go to the infirmary. Keith, go wake Coran. Tell him to meet us."

Keith nodded and ran off.

"I didn't know if I should move him. I almost dropped him when he started shaking so hard,” Hunk admitted.

"Alright, I got him," Shiro scooped Lance up easily and they were swiftly moving down the hallway.

"Shiro," Lance said suddenly.

"Yeah, buddy. It's me." Shiro smiled gently, keeping up a careful, calm exterior.

"Think I'm being punished," Lance whispered.

"Punished?" Shiro scowled. Why would Lance ever think something like that?

"I crushed up all the bones," Lance's eyes were wide, he looked truly scared.

"Bones?" Shiro questioned.

"He fell into a burial ground or something during the battle on the planet," Hunk quickly explained.

"Oh," Shiro shifted his grip on Lance. "Lance, don't worry about that right now."

"Being punished."

"You're not being punished, Lance. You're not. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I ran away."

"Lance, it's okay. You got somewhere safe. I want you to be safe."

Lance went silent after that and Shiro hoped that Lance understood. They soon made it to the infirmary and Shiro gently placed Lance on the exam cot.

"This isn't happening because of something wrong you did. Being sick isn't your fault, alright?" Shiro gently lifted up Lance's pant leg, studying the damage done to his stitches. The bleeding had slowed. Lance would need to be stitched up again.

Lance nodded slowly, but Shiro could tell that the boy didn't completely believe him.

"Quien siembra vientos, recoge tempestades," Lance said instead. Hunk leaned forward immediately.

"You didn't do anything bad, Lance," Hunk insisted while Shiro was still working on translating. "It’s kind of a saying about reaping what you sow,” Hunk provided quickly and then he turned back to Lance. “Okay, you desecrated a few graves, but you didn't mean to. You're not cursed or anything like that."

Lance wasn't listening, instead he was staring hard at the empty space on the other side of the room.

"They're dead," Lance suddenly said and Hunk felt fear creep up his spine. He turned and studied the empty space, expecting to see something there. He felt goosebumps spread up his arms.

"Shiro?" Hunk questioned in a wavering voice. Because with everything that they had seen, was it really that unbelievable that Lance could maybe be seeing ghosts?

"There's nothing there," Shiro said firmly. This was not ghosts. Lance was obviously incredibly sick. Shiro needed to stay calm and make sure the others did as well.

If they were going to help Lance, they were going to need to stay focused.

There was a flurry of activity when Keith showed up with Coran. Coran started an intravenous line, dosing Lance with fluids and a medicine that would hopefully keep him from having anymore seizures. He wrapped his leg in fresh bandages, but didn't stitch it up again. He then began to run scans and tests, trying to discern the cause of the problem. Throughout it all, Lance remained strangely compliant. In fact, he fell asleep after the IV was in his arm.

"It's most likely normal to be tired," Coran said. Apparently, Alteans were capable of having seizures, but Coran wasn't sure if human brains responded the same way that an Altean’s would. He had to hope they were similar because, as he looked at the worried expression of the paladins, he realized that they didn't have much medical knowledge in this area.

Coran continued his research and Shiro and Hunk both found chairs to sit in and wait by Lance's bedside. Keith had been shifting from one foot to the other anxiously the entire time. He made eye contact with Shiro who gave him a nod, acknowledging that Keith needed to step back. Keith had a lot of nervous energy and he never liked just sitting around waiting, not being able to do anything to help. He murmured that he'd be back later and he stepped out of the room.

"Was he feeling sick before the battle?" Coran asked.

"No, he was fine," Hunk said, shaking his head.

"It came on too fast. Something isn't right here," Coran muttered. Coran was hesitating to put him in a pod. Wanting to find out what exactly had happened to Lance to cause all of this. Was it an infection? Was it going to spread to the others?

“Did he say that he was feeling ill after he got his stitches?”

"Well, no, but the battle... it really freaked him out this time and he told me that he fell into this grave. I thought he was just having bad dreams after. I didn't know he was sick. He didn't even have a fever at first."

Coran continued asking questions, until Hunk felt like he was just repeating himself. They were all beginning to grow frustrated when Keith returned with Pidge in tow.

"You woke, Pidge," Shiro stated.

"I was awake," Pidge corrected.

"Met her in the hallway," Keith explained as he sat down on a nearby stool. Pidge studied Lance with large eyes. She had gone a bit pale at seeing him lying so still.

"You're supposed to be resting your arm," Shiro chided softly. Pidge held up her wrist that had been wrapped in a splint. "It's just sprained. I'm fine. I would rather be here." With some difficulty, Pidge climbed up and sat on the edge of the bed. She then just watched Lance's chest rise and fall.

Coran had been watching all of them, worrying for this young team when his computer beeped suddenly and he jumped at the noise. His scan had found something.

"Alkaloids..." Coran muttered. "Onayatoxin. He has onayatoxin in his system. Hunk! Did he say anything about flowers?"

Hunk jumped, startled that he was abruptly being addressed.

"Uh, flowers? No, he didn't."

"What is onayatoxin?" Shiro asked.

"It's a poison," Coran said after a moment. "It's from a benight flower."

"A benight flower?"

"That's their common name. They're small, usually purple. Their pollen on its own is poisonous when breathed in. He may not have even noticed them. But this is one of the most extreme reactions I've seen. It's almost as if it got directly into his blood stream, but... oh, his lip. He probably touched his lip. It got in his mouth and his bloodstream. It causes nausea, hallucinations, an irregular heartbeat, fever..." Coran rubbed at his chin and tugged his mustache in thought.

"Alright. Well, I will give him what I can, but it's going to take time to work its way out of his system."

"Should we put him in the pod?" Keith asked. Coran frowned and he tilted his head to one side and then the other.

"The pods aren't an antidote. Poisonings are tricky sometimes. I would want to try and combat the poison first."

"But if he's really sick, wouldn't the pod be for the best?" Hunk asked.

Coran shut his eyes briefly before he opened them again and gave Hunk a sad smile.

"There are some instances where the pod isn't enough. It's not precise enough, not fast enough... We should work the poison out of his system first. If we had Nittenel root, it would take care of it fairly quickly. Using what I have, it's going to be a slow process."

"Where is it?" Keith asked.

"It's far from here. Not on the friendliest planet. Lots of predators."

"I'll go.”

"Keith..." Shiro said.

"I'll go too." Pidge chimed in. She looked determined, even with a splint on one wrist.

"Me too," Hunk added.

"We can do it, Shiro," Keith insisted.

"I know you can. We’ll go together." Shiro looked to Coran. "How fast can we get there?"

"We can manage it in about six vargas, we'll need to make a wormhole jump."

Shiro nodded. "Alright. You three, get some rest. We'll meet up in about five hours."

"What about you?" Keith asked.

"I'll stay with Lance."

"I can stay," Hunk tried.

"No, go rest. I will wake you if anything happens."

Keith and Hunk both began to leave, but Pidge stayed rooted to her spot.

"He's going to be okay," Shiro said quietly.

"Keith said he had a seizure."

"Yes, but Coran gave him medicine for it. Hopefully, there won't be anymore."

"It's just not right. It’s not fair for him to be so sick." Pidge muttered. She then hopped down from her perch and followed Hunk out the door before Shiro could say anything in response. Shiro let out a long exhale and he turned to face Coran who was trying too hard to look busy.

"Coran?" Shiro asked, his voice steadier than he felt. Coran hummed in response. "How often do people die from this?"

"It depends on the level of exposure..."

"Someone with Lance's level of exposure. Just... please. Tell me."

"With treatment, his chances are very good. It's just going to take time."

Shiro nodded, accepting the answer. He hadn't missed the way Coran had looked at Lance when he realized it was poison. As though he was remembering something or someone. Shiro wondered if the person Coran was thinking about had lived.

It didn't seem like it.

"No guarantees," Shiro said under his breath and Coran gave a slight sigh.

The Altean sat a hand on Lance's forehead and felt the heat still building there.

"Guarantees are not our privilege," Coran muttered.Lance shifted in his sleep, let out a shuddering breath and then went still again.

Shiro settled in for a long wait.

Lance's head hurt.

His heartbeat felt like it had gotten heavier. Slow beats thudding against his ribcage. What was going on? Everything felt far away. He thought he could hear something. Voices. They were close by. Whispering, growling... Startled, Lance opened his eyes.

Shapes of dark figures stood around him. Shifting around constantly, blurring into one another. He could hear them saying his name. Clawing, reaching, shaking him…

Lance screamed.

He tried hard to push them off, to get away from them, but they were stronger than him, holding his arms, keeping him from moving. Lance shut his eyes tightly and begged them to let him go.

"Please, please stop. Please."

He struggled in vain. The never ending dark pressed in around him. He must have been dying, it felt like dying. Lance screamed again, letting his fear overtake him completely. He called out for his mother, even though something inside told him that she would never hear him. But in his desperation, it was what he wanted more than anything. She had always kept nightmares away before. If he was going to die, he just wanted to see her one more time.

Arms released him and he took heaving breaths, bringing his hands up in a defensive gesture. Then, out of the dark, he realized he recognized one of the voices.

Coran?

"My boy, you're safe. You're safe. Try to calm down. Nobody is trying to hurt you."

Coran was there.

"Coran, his IV..."

"I know. I will replace it. Just stay back, give him time."

He knew the other voice too. He knew them. After a long time of just listening and breathing, Lance opened his eyes and lowered his arms from his face.

Coran wasn’t touching him, but staying close, speaking to him quietly.

"There we are. You see? You're safe."

Lance's eyes darted around the room. Everything seemed out of focus, but he didn't see any more dark figures. Shiro was standing way back, close to the door as if he was trying to decide whether or not to leave.

"Coran?" Lance choked out and his voice was raspy from screaming. "What's going on?"

"You're sick. You're very sick, my boy. But it's going to be alright."

"I saw something, they're like ghosts."

"Lance, you have a toxin in your system and you are hallucinating. You are safe here. There is nothing there."

"I'm bleeding."

"You ripped out your IV. I will take care of it."

"Shiro?" Lance looked at the older boy. He was scared and Shiro was standing there like he didn't want to be close to him. Lance must have done something wrong. Shiro must have realized how pathetic he was...

"Lance, can I walk over there?" Shiro motioned towards Lance and the boy nodded. Shiro approached slowly while Coran began bandaging his arm. He would start a new line in Lance's other arm.

Lance was confused, was Shiro afraid of him? Was he contagious? Was Shiro worried about catching it?

"Shiro are you mad?" It sounded juvenile and Lance hadn't really meant to say it. Shiro stopped in his tracks and shook his head.

"No, of course not."

"Why? Why are you-?" Lance didn't know what he wanted to ask, Shiro looked like he wanted to avoid him, but he said he wasn't mad.

"You were screaming at him to get away," Coran provided as he finished bandaging Lance's arm. "I told him to step back. Nobody is angry with you, dear boy. Everyone is very worried."

"I'm sorry, Shiro. I don't know what's happening. I didn't mean to. I didn't see you. I didn't see-" Lance choked on a sob and Shiro was there, standing close, but worried about scaring Lance. Lance leaned forward and pressed his face into Shiro's shoulder as he began crying.

"I thought I was dying. And it was just darkness and I was so scared. I'm so sorry," Lance sobbed.

"You're not dying," Shiro carefully wrapped his arms around Lance. "I'm not mad. You don't need to be sorry about anything. You're going to be alright. You're going to be fine."

Shiro caught Coran's eye, he didn't miss the uncertainty that he saw there.

"You're going to be fine. I swear it."

It turned out that nittenel root grows in caves that are mainly occupied by what Hunk eventually came to refer to as bat-panthers.

They had been on the planet for several hours before Pidge was finally able to extract a large enough amount of the root to make an antidote. They had separated into pairs and they hadn’t had any trouble yet. Unfortunately, Pidge and Keith met opposition when they tried to leave the cave.

"Pidge, move!" Keith had shoved her to the ground just in time to avoid the claws of the bat-panther. She had been carrying the root in a case and she hadn't been fast enough when reaching for her bayard. Keith was knocked off his feet, but he sprung up quickly, sword swinging. Pidge quickly contacted Shiro and Hunk, calling for help. The two other boys were on their way, but they had been exploring a different part of the cave and it was going to take time.

The thing had backed Keith into a corner, it was ignoring her, she had an opening. As quickly as she could, Pidge darted closer and used her bayard to stun the beast long enough for Keith to deliver a fatal blow.

After the creature stopped moving, Keith looked up at Pidge.

"Are you hurt?" He asked between panting breaths. "Your arm? Is your arm okay?"

Pidge nodded. "I'm alright."

Keith let out a breath of relief and he slowly turned to begin walking back toward the cave's entrance. He was limping badly. Keith was hurt.

"Keith!" Pidge scrambled to catch up. She pushed her way under one of his arms and stood up as tall as she could. She then wrapped her arm around his middle, supporting him. Keith had tensed up at the contact, but after a moment, he relaxed into it.

"I'm alright," Keith assured her.

"Let me help." It didn't sound like a request. Pidge was going to help him no matter what.

Together, they walked back towards the light.

With the exception of Keith, they had all assembled in the infirmary to watch Coran as he prepared the antidote.

"How's your arm?" Shiro asked Pidge while they waited. Pidge had perched herself on the edge of Lance's bed again. Lance had begun to fidget restlessly in his sleep and she set her hand on top of his. Lance went still at the contact.

"I'm fine," Pidge said. Honestly, Shiro was the one who had been up for hours and hours. He looked terrible. There were circles under his eyes and he kept pressing his palms into his forehead as if he was fighting off a terrible headache.

"I think Keith might be hurt," Pidge admitted. Honestly, she had expected Keith to show up and get his leg checked out, so she was beginning to worry about him. Shiro nodded as if he had already known about it.

"I'll give him a few more minutes," Shiro stretched back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling for a moment before shutting his eyes.

"Shiro, you look kind of tired," Hunk said from the other side of Lance. Shiro hummed, but didn't respond.

"Finished," Coran said. Everyone sat up straight all at once.

"He has to wake up, he has to drink it. It's not something I can put in his IV."

"Pidge, hop down for a second," Shiro said as he stood up. Pidge did as she was told, though she was reluctant to leave Lance’s side.

"Hunk, shift back. Okay, go ahead Coran."

Shiro was keeping his distance as well. He didn't want to crowd Lance, didn't want him to be scared like before.

"Lance, Lance," Coran called gently. "Can you wake up for a little while?"

Lance fluttered his eyes open, they looked glazed over and he shut them again immediately.

"No, come on. Just for a little while. I need you to drink something."

"...hurts," Lance mumbled.

"I know, dear boy, but this is going to help."

Lance opened his eyes and peered up at Coran curiously.

"Coran?"

"Yes. It's me. Let's sit up a little bit." Coran cautiously maneuvered one of his arms under Lance's shoulders and pulled him into a sitting position. He waited to see if Lance would react badly, but the boy actually leaned into Coran, resting his head on his shoulder.

"Here, drink this."

Coran brought the cup to Lance's lips and he drank slowly. After a few sips, Lance wrinkled his nose.

"Tastes like burnt soap."

"Yes, well, that sounds about right." Coran smiled.

"Can I go over to Gabe's later?" Lance asked between sips. Coran glanced up at Hunk for explanation. Hunk tilted his head in thought.

"I think that's his cousin.”

"Alright. Yes, if you drink this. You can go," Coran lied.

"...okay." Lance continued drinking slowly until the cup was empty. It was at that point that Allura walked into the room with Keith trailing behind her.

"How is he?" Allura asked.

"He should improve shortly," Coran said as he maneuvered Lance so that he was lying down on the cot once more. Lance continued to reach his hand out to Coran, though he didn't seem particularly upset. Coran caught his fingers, but then transferred Lance's hand to Pidge, who grasped his hand tightly in her two smaller hands.

"He'll be alright," Coran whispered to her. He then turned to Allura with a smile.

"I have confidence he will feel better by tomorrow. We'll put him in a pod once the antidote has had a chance to work and that should take care of any lingering side effects."

"I'm glad to hear it. It seems our team has had a rough few days." Allura's eyes glanced back to Keith who was doing his best to blend into the background.

"Keith," Shiro turned and motioned toward the other boy's leg. "Let Coran check you over."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're favoring it. Sit down, let us look at it."

"It's nothing to worry about, just a sprain. It doesn't make me unfit to pilot, so it doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters!" Shiro snapped too loudly. The room went tensely silent. Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. He was beginning to lose it. He couldn’t yell at Keith. Keith didn’t do well with yelling. "Of course it matters, Keith," Shiro said more evenly. "I'm sorry, just please let us look."

Without a word, Keith walked to the nearest stool, his limp now becoming more noticeable. Keith sat without further complaint, but he wasn’t meeting anyone’s eyes. Coran walked over, scratching the top of his head.

"Keith," Coran said, "lift your leg straight up, hold it as long as you can."

After hesitating for a moment, Keith managed to lift his foot about three inches from the floor, before he set it back down. Embarrassed, he tried again, struggling hard to just lift his damn leg up.

"Alright. That's most likely something torn. I suggest you go into a pod."

"It's not that bad!" Keith protested. “You barely even looked at it.”

"I don't actually like working with injured knees. They are important and they always seem to heal wrong when left to heal on their own. If it heals wrong, there's a good chance it will go out later and we can't risk that in the middle of a battle. So I highly suggest you go into a pod."

“Keith…” Shiro started to speak.

"Fine," Keith said.

"Great. Don’t worry. You'll be out before Lance is. We will manage without the three of you for a little while."

"Three?" Shiro asked as he looked over his team, apparently counting the injured members. Pidge’s wrist wasn’t that bad. She was still capable of fighting and piloting.

"You need to sleep Shiro. Well, you and I both need to sleep, but I suggest you go now. We will wake you if anything else happens."

It was true Shiro was feeling the exhaustion pull at him, clouding his brain, making him lose his patience and become irritable. He looked around and saw Hunk, Pidge and Allura all giving him concerned looks.

"Alright, as long as Keith gets into a pod..."

"I already said I would."

"... And you need to wake me up if Lance gets worse."

"We will," Hunk chimed in. Shiro sighed. He had done everything he could do for now. And it was true, he needed to be more rested if they were attacked. They couldn't risk being down more paladins.

"They'll be fine," Allura insisted. Shiro nodded slowly.

Maybe by the time he woke up, Lance would be over the worst of it.

Coran slept in a spare cot in the infirmary. He told Hunk and Pidge to wake him if Lance woke up or if they had any questions. Hunk eventually dropped off to sleep with his head in his arms resting on the edge of Lance's bed. Pidge stayed awake, listening to the soft snores of the others. Coran shifted a lot in his sleep and she wondered if he had nightmares. She figured Hunk would have a neck ache later, but she knew he hadn't slept well last night, so she didn't wake him. She was left still holding Lance's hand, feeling a sort of quiet solitude settle over her. Even with everyone around, she still managed to feel alone.

She wondered if Lance felt like that too sometimes.

Lance shifted in his sleep and his brow furrowed. Maybe he was waking up? Pidge leaned in closer.

"It's alright," she whispered when Lance started fidgeting in his sleep.  Lance's eyes suddenly opened wide and he let out a loud gasp. "It's okay. Hey, it's okay," Pidge set her hand on his shoulder. That turned out to be a mistake.

Lance reacted. He struck out, catching Pidge in the side of her face. She stumbled backward away from the flailing fists. Tripping over her own feet, she fell to the ground and threw out her hands to catch herself. Her sprained wrist took a lot of the weight. She sucked her breath in sharply, refusing to cry out.

Hunk had been startled awake by the time Pidge had fallen and he grabbed Lance to keep him from throwing himself off the bed. Lance struggled hard and when he screamed, Coran awoke with a jolt.

"Lance! It's me!" Hunk shouted. Surprisingly, Lance abruptly stopped thrashing and stared at Hunk with wide eyes. Coran ran across the room, but he slowed down, taking his last few steps with caution. He slowly knelt to the floor and inspected Pidge's wrist and her face that now had a red mark on the cheek and would probably bruise...

"I'm alright," she insisted. She stood up on shaky legs and she cursed her knees as they knocked together, betraying her. She sat heavily on a nearby stool and focused on breathing.

"Hunk, my head hurts. It really hurts."

"I know, you're alright."

Lance swallowed hard and shut his eyes.

"Something's wrong. Everything's all dark."

"Hunk," Coran warned, but it was too late. Lance started convulsing suddenly and Hunk did his best to set him down gently and make sure he didn't fall off the bed and injure himself.

Pidge stood up, but didn't get closer. Hunk had already seen this once, but it didn't make it easier.

"Coran?" Hunk questioned. He looked up to find Coran just staring. He was counting under his breath. He was trying to time it. Hunk went silent so he wouldn’t disturb him.

30 ticks and Lance stopped shaking. He stared vacantly at the ceiling and Hunk wondered if he was aware of what was going on.

"Lance, do you know where you are?" Coran asked.

"Yes." Came the reply.

"Can you tell me?"

"Space," Lance said simply and he groaned as he tried to turn to bury his face into his slim mattress.

"He's not wrong,” Hunk said. Lance turned and peered up at Hunk. Though he looked worn out, Lance recognized his friend.

"What happened?" Lance struggled to sit up. "What’s going on?"

"You were having a nightmare and then you had a seizure again," Hunk explained. "Is the antidote not working? Should we wake Shiro?" Hunk looked to Coran as he tried to convince Lance to be still.

"It's working. It's just taking time. Though... I am not sure. Are humans more prone to seizures after they have a single one?" Coran looked from Hunk to Pidge.

"I'm not sure," Hunk said, shaking his head.

"I... I think it depends," Pidge spoke up. “But I think having two is worse, no matter what."

"Did I hurt you?" Lance spoke up again. He had been staring at Pidge's face intently, taking in the harsh red that contrasted with the rest of her skin. It started to look swollen. Lance could remember fear, fear and panic that made him thrash about. Everything was so fuzzy, but he could tell by the way the room went silent that he was right. He had hurt Pidge. He had hit her.

"I'm so sorry. Pidge, I'm so sorry."

"I'm okay, really. It was an accident."

"Coran,” Lance turned toward the man. “I want to go in a pod."

"Lance..."

"I need to go in a pod."

"Lance, you will, I just wanted to give you time for the antidote to work."

"I don't want to hurt anyone. I can't do that again. Please."

Coran shifted from one foot to another. Lance was able to catch his eye. The boy was too young to look so desperate.

"Coran..."

"Alright. We'll get you ready. You should be well in a few days."

"Thank you," Lance shut his eyes and leaned back into his bed. He exhaled deeply. "Hunk, can you make sure Pidge gets a cold pack?" Lance asked quietly.

"Yeah, I can do that. Just relax, okay?"

"I'm so tired..."

"Just sleep. It will be okay. We’ll take care of everything."

Coran silently watched Lance's still form in the pod. He was healing; the poison had mostly worked its way out of his system already. He would be fine.

And yet...

Coran could not leave him alone. The others had gone to sleep after they were sure Lance was safe. But Coran remained behind, checking the boy’s vitals over and over.

Eventually, he heard the door open and shut and the sound of footsteps as someone walked up to stand beside him. Shiro stood there quietly, observing Lance.

"Allura is worrying," Shiro said after a moment.

"It is a worrying situation."

"Are you alright, Coran?"

Coran looked... sad. Shiro had seen it before when this whole mess had started. It looked a lot like regret. Coran sighed deeply. Now was as good a time as any, he supposed.

"When I was... very young, someone I knew was poisoned. A friend. There wasn't an antidote that time. The poison was worse than anyone imagined. He was put into a pod, but... it wasn't enough in the end." Coran nodded at Lance. "I didn't want that to happen ever again. So I waited for Lance to improve. To make absolutely sure. But perhaps it was foolish. I caused him more pain."

"Lance won't blame you, Coran. He'll understand. You’re the one who figured out that it was poison. You knew where to find the antidote. You saved him."

Coran tilted his head to the side, but didn't say anything else.

"You should get some rest."

"Alteans don't need as much sleep."

Shiro had no idea if that was a lie or not, but he could see how exhausted Coran looked. As though he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"I'll keep watch."

Coran finally acquiesced. He told Shiro he would be back in a few vargas; in time for Keith to get out of the other pod. Shiro agreed to keep an eye on both of them.

When he was finally alone, Shiro studied Lance.

"You really scared us." Shiro smiled ruefully. "Don't ever do that again."

Oblivious to those who watched over him, Lance slept on.

When Lance woke up, the faces of his team swam before him. He started to lose his balance, but Shiro caught him. They were all asking him how he felt and if he wanted to sit down. Lance glanced around until he could focus.

Pidge was there.

The mark on her face wasn't swollen or even red anymore. You couldn't even see it unless you were looking for it.

"You alright?" Lance asked.

"I'm fine, really I'm fine."

"I'm so sorry-" Lance started.

"Lance, it's okay. I'm okay. You're the one who worried everyone."

"Sorry, guys."

Shiro suddenly pulled him into a hug.

"Don't apologize," Shiro said. Lance nodded into Shiro's shoulder. Soon Lance was victim from a round of hugs from all of his teammates.

"Did you twist your dainty ankle? Am I remembering that right?" Lance asked Keith as he pulled him into a hug. Keith bristled.

"It was my knee."

"Yeah? Is it okay now? You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm alright."

"Good." Lance grinned. Lance was then hugging Pidge as carefully as he could, but she threw her arms around him and attempted to crack his ribs. “You're sure you're okay?" Lance mumbled.

"Lance, if you ask me that one more time, I swear-"

"Okay, okay. Point taken."

"Lance," Shiro whispered. "Go see Coran."

Honestly, Lance would have hugged him sooner, but Coran was staying strangely distant. Lance disentangled himself from Pidge and walked as quickly as his rubbery legs would let him. Coran looked a bit startled, but he didn't stop the embrace.

"Thank you," Lance whispered. "Thank you, thank you. You saved me. Thank you."

Coran hugged him back fiercely. Too worried to speak and hear his voice break.

It was as though he had been waiting over ten thousand years to hear those words.

Lance actually remembered the flowers that poisoned him down on the planet. However, when Shiro asked about them, Lance shook his head. He didn't want to think about it.

"I remember thinking they were pretty." Lance pushed his food around in his bowl and said nothing else.

After Lance finished eating, they decided to have a sleepover in Pidge's room that first night. Lance made himself a blanket burrito on the floor. However, before climbing in, Lance had inspected every blanket and sheet carefully and when Hunk asked him about it, Lance shrugged.

"My older brother used to put toy plastic snakes and stuff like that in my bed to freak me out. He knows I hate them. I used to have to always check all my blankets and sheets for them. I guess I just feel like I need to check." Lance's eyes darted around as he waited for Hunk to tell him that he was being silly or overly paranoid, but Hunk just nodded.

"Do what you gotta do, man."

Hunk had constructed his own nest on the floor, close to Lance, while Pidge slept in her own bed.

Hunk wasn't actually surprised when Lance had a nightmare that night.

Lance had rested peacefully for about an hour before he started struggling and crying out in his sleep. Hunk actually pushed Pidge back at one point, not daring a repeat incident of what had happened in the infirmary. Luckily, Lance was quick to snap out of it. However, though he was no longer fighting back his friends, he still gasped desperately for breath.

"You're alright. It's alright." Hunk comforted as he sat beside his friend, close enough that their arms pressed together. “Just breathe.”

It took several minutes for Lance to calm down enough to speak.

"I know it was just a dream. I know, but I can't... I can't..."

"It's fine. It happens. Dreams can be the worst."

"It's so stupid."

"No, it's not."

"I'm not sick anymore. I shouldn't be like this."

"Like this?"

“Scared. I shouldn't be scared."

"Lance," Pidge piped in, shifting closer so that she sat in front of him on the floor. "Everyone has nightmares. I think they're normal now."

Lance took a deep breath and leaned into Hunk's side.

"Well, our normal kind of sucks," Lance mumbled. Pidge smiled and Hunk let out a laugh as he wrapped an arm around Lance's shoulders. "It's not all completely terrible," Hunk said. "But I know what you mean."

They ended up staying up most of the night talking. Lance talked until he felt the weight lift from his chest. And when Hunk made a joke, he laughed loudly. He teased Pidge and told stories and smiled so brightly that the nightmares couldn't reach him. If he just kept going, maybe he could outrun them this time.

In the morning, Shiro gave them all lectures for showing up to breakfast exhausted, but he didn't condemn the sleepovers, not as long as Lance was able to smile and laugh like that.

Shiro could see the delicate cracks that had started to form in the team; the feelings and memories that they all kept in the dark places of their hearts starting to wear on them.

Someday, he hoped they would find peace.

Shiro was interrupted from his musings, when Lance suddenly laughed loudly at one of his own jokes. Shiro couldn't help but smile.

As long as they kept going, they were going to be alright.