Title: Revisiting – Running III

**********

Lance smiled as he leaned back in the bench under the cherry tree, watching the sun slowly sink in the sky. Two months had passed since Keith's confession and Lance had never been happier. Practically everyday since then they have met at this spot after duties were over. Usually it was Lance waiting for Keith, but he didn't mind. Lance frowned as the creepy spidery feeling crawled over him again. He glanced nervously around him; for the past few days he kept getting the feeling that he and Keith were being watched. Lance snorted and shook his head. 'Quit being paranoid!'

A cold breeze blew through the trees as a black cloud passed over the sun. Every shadow seemed to have eyes, adding to Lance's paranoia of being watched. The sound of a snapping twig echoed like a gunshot to his left.

Lance jumped to his feet, instinctively dropping into a defensive stance as his eyes carefully scanned around him. 'Just relax boy. You are just jumpy today. There is nothing to be scared of for Pete's Sake!' However telling himself that and believing it were too different things as the chill factor jumped a notch.

He jumped as a very plump dark brown rabbit hopped out from behind a tree. It looked at Lance, twitching its nose as it decided if the man was a threat. Deciding that he didn't seem to pose much of a threat, the rabbit hopped over to sit by another tree and eat the clover it had came for.

Groaning, Lance plopped back down on the bench. 'SHIT! The mighty space explorer and Voltron pilot terrified of a bunny. Real smooth Lance!' He rubbed his eyes as he leaned back into the bench, forcing himself to relax. However the creepy feeling just wouldn't go away.

A hand closed around Lance's shoulder, followed by a deep unrecognizable voice. “Hello, Lance.”

Lance shot off the bench, again dropping into a defensive stance as he turned toward the voice. His eyes fell on a man in his mid to late twenties, dressed completely in black. The man looked very similar to Keith, except he had a larger, muscular build and black hair cut very short. Also there was no kindness or compassion in his features. His black eyes were ice cold, and he had a creepy smirk on his face. Lance glared. "Who the hell are you? What are you doing here?"

“You are just full of questions, aren't you?” The dark haired man smirked as he slowly approached Lance. “You'll find out all your answers in due time. You and I are going to get to know each other very well over the next couple of days.”

"I don't think so! And I suggest you stay right where you are!" Lance growled, his left hand reaching for his blaster.

The man leapt forward with lightening fast reflexes, grabbing Lance and twisting the man's left arm behind his back. “You're fast but…” He whispered in Lance's ear. “...I'm faster.” He twisted Lance's arm harder, forcing the pilot to drop the blaster.

"LET ME GO!" Lance yelled as he tried to twist out of his captor's grip, kicking his legs back in hopes of forcing him to let go.

Instead the man grabbed a handful of Lance's hair with his free hand, pulling his head back. “Listen you little twirp, if you keep struggling I'll gut you like a fish and leave you strung up in this here tree for Keith to find.” He growled through clenched teeth.

"Something tells me that is better than going anywhere with you!" Lance spat out as he struggled harder, swinging his free elbow back into the man's gut and kicking a shin at the same time. "NOW LET GO!"

The man grunted then slammed Lance backwards to the ground, knocking the wind out of his lungs. The man quickly straddled Lance's body and drew a hypodermic needle from the inside pocket of his jacket. He pulled the cover off the tip and tapped it to remove air bubbles before grabbing one of the pilot's wrists. “We'll play it that way then.” He grinned wickedly as he plunged the tip of the needle into a wrist vein, injecting the contents of the needle into the bloodstream. “Off to dream world you go, palie.”

"NO!" Lance struggled harder, fighting the weakness that was rapidly taking over. He tried to pull his hands free, but the creep had his wrists pinned to the ground on either side of his head. "SON OF A BITCH!"

The man continued to grin as his prisoner's struggles lessened and his rapid breathing slowed. “Nighty, night boy.” He laughed as Lance finally drifted off to sleep.

He stood up, pocketed the blaster, and set a small vid-cam recording on the small bench before turning back to look at Lance. Noticing a gold chain on Lance's neck, he bent down and ripped it off. Then he took his pocketknife and made a small cut on the back of Lance's hand, barely deep enough to draw blood. He quickly smeared the little bit of blood onto the gold chain and laid it with the vid-cam. Then he grabbed Lance and threw the unconscious man over his shoulder before quickly retreating back into the shadows.

**********

It was about five minutes later when Keith approached the bench, shivering slightly at the eerie silence that surrounded the area. He was more then slightly surprised that he didn't see Lance sitting on the bench; even though he was late he knew Lance would wait there for him. He was too afraid to speak out loud to call his boyfriend's name for fear of breaking the silence. When he reached the bench he saw the vid-cam and blood stained gold chain.

Stunned, Keith carefully picked up the gold chain, knowing instantly whom it belonged too. His heart raced in panic, forgetting how to even breathe for a moment. He stared nervously at the vid-cam, doubting that he wanted to see the message recorded on it. With a shaking hand he reached out and picked the vid-cam up, the chain held tightly in his other hand. Keith held his breath as he pushed the 'PLAY' button…

“Hello little brother, long time no see.” Francis grinned wickedly. “I bet you never thought you would see me again. But you are going to learn that you can't escape the past.”

Keith paled and his legs gave out from under him, dropping down to his knees. 'This can't be happening...' He thought as the message continued.

“You probably have figured out by now that I have your little friend. I'm going to have lots of fun getting to know him before giving him back to you. I'll be seeing you real soon.”

The message kicked out, leaving Keith staring with tear filled eyes at the blank screen of the vid-cam.

************************************************************************

Though the sun hadn't risen yet on the next day, Keith, Sven, Pidge, Hunk, and Allura were all still gathered around the table, waiting for some response from the kidnapper and trying to figure out what course of action to take with so little clues to go by. Over twelve hours had passed since Keith had found the vid-cam and gold chain. Earlier search attempts were fruitless after night had fallen.

Keith was obviously upset; he was sitting with his elbows on the table and hiding his face in his hands. The chain was still tightly clutched in one hand. Sven was leaned back with his feet on the table, contemplating while Allura and Pidge whispered quietly to each other. Hunk was pacing around the room.

Hunk growled as he paced. "Why is that fucking bastard doing this?"

“Because he's insane…. In case you haven't noticed that tends to be the trend in my family.” Keith mumbled.

Hunk paced faster. "That may be true, but even insane people have a reason to do something. They always have some crazy reason."

Pidge took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "At least you are sane Keith. I wouldn't want you for an enemy."

“I don't know exactly why he's doing this, but if I had to hazard a guess it would be because he's trying to get at me for some reason...I don't know.” Keith sighed.

Sven opened his eyes and looked at Keith. "Any ideas where your brother may have taken him yet?"

“If I knew I would be there already, now wouldn't I?” Keith questioned with a slight hint of agitation in his voice.

Sven said nothing; he just closed his eyes again. Pidge sighed as Hunk continued pacing. He knew that Hunk and Lance were very close, and this was driving Hunk nuts! Not as much as Keith, but still enough to nearly wear a hole through the cement floor! "Take it easy big boy. We will figure out something."

Hunk sighed and slowed down his walking. "I know. I just hope he is okay."

Suddenly Keith slammed a fist against the table. “FUCKING HELL!” He stood up quickly, knocking the chair backwards and sending it crashing to the floor. “What good is sitting around waiting for the fucking axe to fall to decide what we are going to do? I don't care if y'all want to sit around waiting to form some sort of plan. I am going out there to look for Lance!”

Allura, Pidge, and Hunk jumped at Keith's outburst. Sven just opened one eye. "How when you don't even know where to look?"

“It's better then sitting around doing nothing. Or would you rather wait for another bloody clue?” Keith questioned as he stepped over to Sven, leaning heavily on the man's out stretched legs.

Sven opened his other eye and snorted. "What clues? You haven't told us diddly squat about your brother. If we don't know him, then how on Arus can we even guess where he went?"

Keith's narrowed his eyes at Sven. Then without warning he shoved Sven backwards, sending chair and all crashing to floor.

Sven leapt up from the floor, his own eyes narrowed dangerously. Allura immediately stepped between the two men. "COOL IT! This is NOT helping any!"

Keith continued to glare at Sven. “You gonna let your girlfriend here fight your battles?”

Sven moved forward, but Allura stopped him. Crossing her arms, Allura glared hard at Keith. "I said COOL IT! We need to think with our heads if we want to get Lance back!" She paused to take a calming breath before continuing. "Now Keith, you said that your brother was put into an institute for the criminally insane. Perhaps we can figure out where he is from his past crimes."

Pidge perked up. "That's right! Criminals tend to have territory preferences!"

“It's crime...not crimes. And it wouldn't exactly help because this is a totally different scenario. Lance wasn't just in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Keith sighed.

"But what was the crime?" Allura asked. Before Keith could say anything, Coran stepped into the room.

Coran walked over to Allura and handed her a small brown package. "Princess, a guard found this by the castle door."

"Thank you Coran." Allura smiled as Coran walked out of the room. She frowned as she studied the package. "It is addressed to you, Keith."

Keith took the package from Allura and studied it for a moment. He slowly unwrapped the brown paper to reveal a small DVD box. There was no actual label on it, just a handed written note that read 'Play Me'. The DVD inside was also unlabelled; in fact the white top had no markings on it of any kind.

Hunk walked over to Keith. "What do you have there, Keith?"

“I don't know. It's just an unmarked DVD.” Keith replied. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know what was on the DVD or not.

"Well then play it! It might be a message from your brother!" Sven growled, backing off when Allura glared at him.

“Why would he send it on a DVD when the last was a vid-cam?” Keith questioned.

Pidge shrugged. "Maybe he likes using outdated techniques? Who knows! Who else could it be from?"

“I don't know.” Keith said. He was debating leaving the room to watch the DVD to find out what was on it.

“So put it in and play it.” Sven said.

“It wasn't addressed to you, so it's none of your business what's even on it.” Keith said.

“It concerns Lance's disappearance, so it concerns all of us.” Sven said firmly. “Right, Hunk?”

"Well..." Hunk didn't know what to say. His concern for his close friend made him want to agree with Sven...but Keith's brother was involved. This made it personal for Keith. Not only that, he knew about the relationship between Keith and Lance...the others didn't. That made it even more personal for Keith!

“Well, I think Sven is right. It's no doubt about Lance…and if we all watch it maybe we can figure out a clue.” Pidge reasoned.

Hunk frowned. "Maybe Keith should watch it alone first...or I can watch it with him since I have known Lance longer..."

“We're all concerned about Lance. We'll watch it together.” Sven stepped over and pulled the DVD out of Keith's hand before another objection could be muttered.

Allura yanked the DVD out of Sven's hand. "Wait a minute! I think everyone needs to calm down first!"

“Oh and sit around wasting time as Keith put it before? We need to see what is on that DVD to have a clue on where to even begin to look for Lance.” Sven said.

“FINE! Play the fucking disc! I don't give a shit.” Keith said crossly.

Hunk sighed. "Well if you are sure, Keith." He nodded at Allura's questioning look and she put the disc into the computer.

At first the picture was fuzzy and unfocused, the picture had an old quality as though the DVD itself had been made many years ago. It was obvious within the first couple minutes that it was not a disc concerning Lance. Keith quickly became a deathly shade of white, his whole body trembled and he looked as though he was going to sick.

Allura paled before quickly covering her eyes. His own face ghostly white, Hunk placed a shaking arm around Keith's shoulders. "I knew the abuse was bad, but I never dreamed it was that bad!"

Keith shrugged off Hunk's arm. “That bad? That is nothing.” Keith glared at Sven, his black eyes overly bright with unshed tears. “There, are you happy now? You saw the fucking disc…”

Sven closed his eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. I thought it was just a ransom demand or something...not this!" Pidge nodded in agreement, unable to say anything himself.

“Yeah…well…now you do know.” Keith mumbled, every instinct his body screaming for him to run from the room. He stared down at the floor as he tried to force back the hot tears that burned in his eyes, his breaths coming in short gasps. He couldn't believe that Francis even had one of those discs…and that he would send it. But he knew why Francis had done it...to humiliate Keith, causing a disruption amongst the team…and Francis had succeeded beautifully.

Hunk placed a comforting hand on Keith's shoulder. "It was NOT your fault Keith! Right now just hope that he doesn't plan on doing any of that to Lance!"

A shudder ran threw Keith at the thought of Francis doing any of what was on the DVD to Lance. Keith ran from the room to the nearest washroom where he threw up into the toilet, emptying his stomach of all its contents until all that was left was dry heaves.

After what seemed like an eternity, Keith pulled away from the toilet and leaned back against the wall. A few minutes later there was a soft knock on the door, followed by Sven's voice. "Keith?"

Keith just closed his eyes, refusing to respond in the hopes that Sven would just go away and leave him. He didn't feel up to facing anyone and he doubted Sven would bother to try…that any of them would bother to try after seeing that disc.

"Keith? Can I come in?"

Still Keith didn't bother to respond, inside he was torn between telling Sven to 'fuck off' and telling him to come in and admit that Keith actually needed someone right now.

There was sigh from the other end of the door. "Look. I'm sorry. I just hate feeling so helpless."

“If you really want to come in, then come in.” Keith said quietly, though his voice sounded doubtful.

The door opened and Sven quietly slid in. For a few minutes he just leaned against the wall near Keith. Finally he sat down next to him. "I know this probably means nothing, but I'm sorry. Hunk is right though...it wasn't your fault and there was nothing you could have done about it. We all know that."

Keith kept his eyes close in a futile attempt to hold back his tears, but the tears still slowly slipped from the corners of his eyes.

"Hey." Sven placed an arm around Keith's shoulders. "It'll be okay. Nothing has changed. And we will get Lance back." He sighed. "Sorry for being such a jerk though."

“You were just worried about Lance…and I wasn't helping matters by not saying about my brother…all that…that is why I didn't want to…didn't…didn't want everyone to know.”

"We understand Keith." Sven rubbed his eyes. "Hell! I wouldn't want anyone to know either."

Keith banged his head back against wall. “It's all my fault that Lance is in danger.” He said, banging his head against the wall again as though to punish himself.

"No it's not!" Sven growled. "How could you have known that Francis would escape and come here?"

“Because he selected Lance out because…because I am closer to Lance then anyone else on the team. I should've just left after my mother and stepfather were here. I should've known my past wouldn't leave me alone….”

A snort drew both Sven's and Keith's attention to the doorway. Hunk was leaning against the doorframe, glaring down at them. "And what...keep running? Are you going to run from this too?"

“I should've ran in the first place. Now I have no choice but to…save Lance…if I can.” Keith said quietly.

"Yeah right! Francis probably would have come here anyway...even if you had ran!" Hunk snorted before glaring harder at Keith. "What are you going to do after we get Lance back? Run? Because if you are, then don't even bother helping him. Lance has had enough instability in his life, and I'm not going to let you put him through that again!"

“I wouldn't do anything to hurt Lance. Lance is the only person that I have always been able to count on…and that is exactly why Francis went after him…he knew…”

Hunk rolled his eyes. "Screw the past! All we have is right now! And what I want to know is are you going to be there for him? Or are you going to run every single time the past rears its ugly little head?"

“Fuck you.” Keith grumbled. “You know nothing about my past. And you may think you know about me and Lance but you know jack shit about that too. I don't have to answer to you. Lance already knows those answers and that's all that matters to me.”

Hunk suddenly smiled. "Now THAT is what I wanted to hear! I just wanted to make sure that you knew that."

Keith just looked at Hunk and blinked. It took a moment for him to find his voice. “I'm just…the thought of what Francis might do to Lance…terrifies me.”

"Then lets get off our asses and stop dragging around! Pidge is trying to narrow down the search area from all the searching we did yesterday." Hunk grinned. "I for one am tired of pacing."

“We should just get out there and look…I mean there isn't exactly too many places he could be hiding left to search.”

Sven stood up, pulling Keith up with him. "That is what we are going to do now that we have enough daylight. Let's get moving!"

**********

Hunk, Pidge, Sven, and Keith each took a direction with the castle being the central point. Allura stayed behind to maintain contact with each pilot. Ten hours of intense searching past with no clue whatsoever of Lance or Francis. The fact that Lance had been missing for almost twenty-four hours didn't settle easy with any of his friends.

Keith picked up a stone from beside a pond and skipped it almost all the way across the glistening surface of the still water. “Where are you Lance?” He asked, hoping the wind would carry the answer to him.

But the wind provided no answer; it just gently blew his hair from his shoulders, like a lover's caress. Beams of light that escaped through the leaves of the forest canopy provided a sense of peace and tranquility. None of the things that Keith was feeling at that moment.

Keith rubbed his hands over his face, telling himself to wake up and get on with searching. The mocking tranquility was broken when his wrist communicator suddenly went off making Keith jump. 'Maybe someone found something.' He thought hopefully as he answered the communicator. “Keith here.”

"Guess who?" Came a sickening familiar voice.

Keith paled slightly as he replied. “A psychopath who should still be locked away.”

"Temper, temper little brother. Is that anyway to greet your big brother?"

“All things considered I think it's a very kind greeting.”

Cruel laughter came from the com. "Now, now. Don't make me take out any more of my anger on your boyfriend."

“WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE WITH LANCE YOU SICK SON OF A BITCH!”

"I just put him in his place. He's so feisty I had to rough him up a bit. I still haven't broken him...yet. But you know how much I love a challenge." Francis chuckled softly. "And you know how I love virgins."

“You fucking bastard…” Keith growled.

"How did you and your comrades enjoy the disc? Brought back wonderful memories, didn't it?"

“You're sick in the head. You're majorly fucked up.” Keith snapped. “You're nothing more then a sick demented FREAK!”

Francis growled. "I suggest you control that mouth of yours, or I will send him back to you one piece at a time!"

“Why are you doing this?” Keith asked quietly.

"BECAUSE!" Francis yelled. "YOU were always the favorite! Father always preferred you over me! And mom and that bastard practically always left you alone! Just locked you up in that stupid basement!"

“You really have lost if you have deluded yourself into thinking they left me alone. You know it's not true. You were there. You saw it all happen. You were the one who always promised that things would be okay and then…you turned into one of THEM!”

"DON'T FUCKING LIE TO ME! I AM BETTER THAN THEM, YOU, AND EVERYONE ELSE IN THIS GOD FORSAKING GALAXY!" Francis' rant was soon followed by the sounds of slapping. Weak, muffled cries could barely be heard over the communicator.

“STOP IT!” Keith yelled, his voice trembling slightly. He dropped to his knees as his legs gave out from under him. “Just please stop it.”

Francis sounded breathless. "Then don't ever LIE to me again!"

'Kinda hard when everything you call a lie is the truth.' Keith thought to himself. “Just please tell me where Lance is.”

"He is right here with me. Couldn't you hear him?" Francis' voice sneered over the com. "Do I need to hit him again so that you can figure it out?"

“NO!” Keith said. “Just…tell me where you are then.”

"Oh, I can see you just fine little brother." Francis laughed. "First though I suggest you get rid of all your weapons. Not to mention lose any of your pals if they are nearby."

Keith looked around wondering where Francis might be hiding. Not wanting to take any changes he stood up and pulled out his blaster, tossing it a few feet away. “There, I am unharmed and there is nobody else in this area. Now tell me where you are.”

"Good boy. Now just walk until you get to the other side of this pond. Once there, stop and I will tell you where to go next. No tricks boy cause I will be watching you the entire time."

Keith wanted to talk back at Francis but knew if he did that Francis would hurt Lance again. 'Please just hang on Lance. I am almost there...' He thought as he made his way around the pond.

**********

It took Keith almost thirty minutes to get around the pond due to the dense forest surrounding it and the fact that he was constantly looking around for an attack. He paused to take in his surroundings. The forest was denser and darker on this side, making it difficult to see through it. There was definitely no feeling of peace and tranquility here.

Keith shivered, though more from dread then being cold as he looked around for a clue to where Francis was hiding. "Okay…now where?" He asked through the com, trying hard to keep his anger out of the question.

"Patient. Your boyfriend isn't going anywhere. I've made sure of that!" Francis laughed bitterly. "Just walk straight into the forest. You will soon come to an ancient dead oak tree. I will tell you more then."

Keith cursed under his breath and headed along an overgrown path that led into the forest. The forest around seemed eerily silent...no birds sang, no crickets chirped. Only a small amount of sunlight filter through the dense foliage. It took him almost five minutes to reach the tree even though it wasn't too far away...the trail was so overgrown that it prevented him from moving quickly and he had almost tripped several times over large tree roots that poked through the ground. The tree itself was nightmarish, with long dead branches reaching out like bony fingers. The very essence of death clung to the air around the tree. "Where now?"

"Take a right. You will go uphill till you can just see the pond below through the trees. Just wander around and you will find a run down house. Don't wander too long...it is rude to keep us waiting."

Keith wanted to scream at Francis about just what was rude to do but knew it would be a waste of breath and, not only that, it would only anger Francis into hurting Lance more. Keith quickly made his way along the path and a couple minutes later the old house came into view. Keith wanted to run towards the house but knew he had to keep an eye out for any sign of a trap. He made his way cautious up to the house, the boards creaking under his weight. Keith kicked the door several times, finally knocking it open and stepping to one side incase the door was booby-trapped. When nothing happened he made his way into the house.

Amazingly the door didn't fall down as Keith opened it since it was attached to the house by only one hinge. Keith found himself in a dark, musky hallway. The only light came from the numerous holes in the roof, creating a fog like glaze in the air. The air was so thick with dust and mildew that Keith almost choked.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" Keith yelled out, not bothering with the com.

Sick laughter drifted through the semidarkness. "Keep going to the end of the hall. You are almost there."

Keith cautiously continued walking down the hall. He lost track of the number of times he nearly jumped out of his skin as a rat scurried in front of him or he tripped over debris. He could barely make out the entryways of four rooms...two on the right, one on the left, and one at the end of the hall. Only the room at the end of the hall still had a door on it. The others had decayed and fallen off.

Keith held his breath and reached out with a trembling hand to slowly open the door. The room was as bad as the hallway. It appeared to be an old dinning room, though most of the furniture was decayed and broken. The ceiling looked like it would collapse at any moment. There were wood and other debris on the floor. Cobwebs and dust covered everything, and the air was so dusty and dank that one could barely see through it. However a faint light from Keith's right broke through the 'fog'.

The eerie light was coming from an old fashion oil lamp. Francis was leaned back in a chair with his feet propped up on the table. A doorway leading to a kitchen was a few feet from him. He smiled wickedly at Keith. "Long time no see, little brother. How's it going?"

Keith just stared at Francis, talking to him over the com and seeing him face to face were two very different things. He swallowed nervously as he tried to find his voice, but still no words seemed to come.

Francis frowned as he jerked his feet off the table and onto the floor, creating a small cloud of dust. "Well...answer me!"

Keith flinched, taking a small step backwards. 'Get a grip, Keith. You can't help Lance if you turn tail and run from Francis.' He told himself. "Things were going great until you showed up."

"So I noticed." Francis smirked as he stood up and stretched. "You always did have it good. It was the same way with dad! He took you away but sent me to that freak show!" He glared menacingly at Keith. "Do you know what it's like being surrounded by freaks and sickos everyday? Of course you don't! Things have always been like roses for you!"

"You're delusional." Keith said, staring at Francis. "If you think a single word of that is true then you are beyond fucked in head. It was the court that sent you away because you killed a girl. If you hadn't lost it we both could have been saved from that hell."

Francis angrily walked to Keith, slapping him across the face with enough force to knock Keith to the ground. "YOU are the one delusional!" His burning eyes glared down at his brother. "You and dad sent me there! I know this because dad would come to see me. He said they were trying to help me. BULL SHIT!"

"You sent yourself there. You are a FUCKING PSYCOTIC!" Keith yelled. "You are not my brother! My brother died many years ago when he became you!"

Francis kicked Keith hard in the chest, causing the captain to double over gasping. "SHUT UP! Your loser of a boyfriend said the same thing when I showed him the discs. I had to really clean out his mouth for all the foul words he threw at me!"

Keith gasped to catch his breath as he slowly pulled himself to his feet. "Go to HELL!" Keith threw a hard right hook connecting solidly with Francis's jaw, knocking the taller man back a couple steps.

Francis growled at Keith before laughing. "I see that the baby is trying to act tough. A lot of good that will do you here."

Keith glared at Francis. "Just tell me where Lance is."

"He's close by." Francis smirked. "I was hoping to have some more fun with him. But it seems he had a violent allergic reaction to that drug I gave him. It was very entertaining to watch. Didn't last long enough in my opinion."

"YOU SICK SON OF A BITCH!" Keith yelled, hitting Francis in the jaw again. "You are far worse then our stepfather! I hate you more then I hate him! I hope you fucking burn in hell!"

Francis snarled as he was knocked back a few steps again. Rubbing his jaw with one hand, he grabbed Keith by the front of his shirt, practically throwing him into one of the few still standing chairs. He then slapped Keith across of the face, busting his lip and drawing blood. "You want to see him? Then I suggest you behave and watch your mouth! Understand?"

Keith flinched slightly at the pain, but ignored the blood that ran in a small stream from the corner of his mouth. "Can't handle the truth can you? You are worse then him, at least he was always a psycho abuser…not like you becoming one and a BETRAYER!"

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO LIE TO ME!" Francis screamed. "FINE! I know how to convince you to behave!" He slapped Keith again before storming off into the kitchen. Keith leaned back in the chair, gasping to catch his breath and get his emotions and anger under control.

Francis quickly returned, half dragging and half carrying a barely conscious Lance. He roughly shoved Lance into the chair Francis had been in earlier, about fifteen feet from Keith. Lance's hands were tied behind him and a gag securely covered his mouth. There were numerous cuts of various sizes in his shirt and jeans...the amount of blood staining around each cut varied with the deepness of the wound.

Lance's badly bruised face snapped to the side as Francis slapped him. "WAKE UP!" Francis yelled.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Keith yelled as he leapt out of his chair and rushed over to Lance. He roughly shoved Francis to one side as he knelt beside the chair. Keith placed a gentle hand tenderly against the side of Lance's face. "Oh…God…Lance…." Keith's voice trembled as he eyed the damage Francis had inflicted.

'Keith?' Lance thought he heard Keith's voice, but it wasn't possible. He couldn't possibly be there. Lance could barely open his eyes, his entire body hurt so much. His eyes jerked wide open though when he gazed into sad but warm black eyes. 'KEITH!' Relief quickly turned to fear as his hazel eyes moved to the side, seeing Francis smirking. Lance's eyes returned to Keith's face before his head motioned towards the door. 'Please Keith! Run! Get out of here!'

Keith knew what Lance was trying to say and gave him a look that clearly said 'not without you.' "I promise to get you out of here." Keith whispered to Lance, brushing a soft kiss across his boyfriend's forehead before standing up to face Francis, keeping himself between the two men.

Francis laughed at the tender exchange. "You are both weak. He's not worth the crap on the bottom of my boots. You are the crazy one to waste your time on him."

"There is nothing weak about love. Love is something you know nothing about and is something that you are not even capable of."

"Love! Ha!" Francis snorted. "I have seen love. The people who love you only desert you in the end! It's not there when you are hurting. Love is nothing!"

"That's not true. With love, the people you love and who love you are there for you. They don't desert you…or turn into just another part of your endless nightmare."

"BULL!" Francis roared as he rushed forward and shoved Keith almost across the room. "Dad said he loved us! And where the hell was he?"

"He didn't know…he would've helped if he knew." Keith said after he regained his balance. "It's not like you did anything despite your empty promises and meaningless words. YOU BECAME ONE OF THEM!"

"I AM BETTER THAN THEM!" Francis screamed, slamming his fist into Keith's chest. He then punched Keith again in the face, sending him crashing to the floor.

Lance had been working desperately at his ropes, trying to get loose. But the ropes were tied so tightly that they cut into his wrists, causing them to bleed and making the process sticky and difficult. He paled when he heard Keith hit the ground. The table and lantern stood between him and the fight, preventing Lance from seeing everything that was happening.

Keith struggled to get up, only managing to get into a half-sitting position. He looked up at Francis, tears of anger and pain wetted his cheeks. "Better at what? Causing pain?"

Francis paused for a moment, confused before anger took over. Growling, he reached down and grabbed Keith's shirt, pulling him up. "I...AM...NOT...THEM!" Francis snarled as he shook Keith violently with each word.

Keith moaned softly in pain. "As far as I am concerned you are one of them. You turned into one of them and left me alone…you promised you wouldn't and you did. You inflicted pain right along with them and you enjoyed doing it…that makes you one of them."

"YOU LIE!" Francis cried, tears rolling down his cheeks. "YOU LEFT ME ALONE! EVERYONE LEFT ME ALONE!" He quickly turned around, throwing Keith into the table. The impact sent the lantern flying into some of the piles of debris, almost instantly lighting them. With all the dry wood everywhere it didn't take long for the flames to spread.

Keith lifted his head slightly; a gash on his left temple was bleeding profusely. The world spun around and he promptly blacked out, dropping back to the floor as the flames heated his body.

'NO!' Lance's heart stopped when Keith stopped moving. Somehow he managed to jerk one hand free and yank the gag off. He half stumbled, half crawled to Keith, gently lifting Keith's head up and caressing his face. "C'mon Keith. Wake up." Lance could barely whisper, his throat dry from lack of water. He wasn't sure Keith could even hear him with Francis walking around wildly and screaming at the demons that only existed in his mind.

Keith's eyes moved rapidly behind the closed lids, but he showed no signs of waking up. The pain held his body trapped in a world of darkness that he couldn't break free from. The blood continued to flow from the gash on his forehead staining Lance's already bloody hands as he tried to stop the blood flow.

Ignoring the flames, Lance tied his gag around Keith's wound slowing the bleeding. By now, most of the room was in flames and parts of the burning roof were falling to the floor. Francis continued to be oblivious to everything, screaming and cursing at anything. The smoke was so thick Lance could hardly speak without coughing. "Please Keith. Wake up. I can't...get us out...of here without...your help."

Moaning softly, Keith slowly opened his eyes. "Lance…." Keith sat up quickly...too quickly and fell against Lance. He cursed under his breath and sat up to look at his best friend. "Lance, you have to get out of here while you can…I gotta…" He paused as he glanced through the flames and smoke at Francis. "I gotta help my brother."

"I'm not...leaving without...you!" Lance coughed before pushing Keith back down and covering him as more pieces of the roof fell nearby. He coughed harder. "I'm...staying with...you!"

Keith coughed and shook his head. "You have to get out...it's not safe in here…you're not safe…please go. I have to try to help Francis…I…he…"

Lance again covered Keith from more falling debris. Coughing, he glanced down and noticed a faint yellow glow through one of the cracks in the floor. Lance turned white. "The fire...has spread to...the basement! The floor will...go at...anytime now!"

Keith struggled to get to his feet, pulling Lance to his feet at the same time. "Head for the door, I'll catch up." He told Lance, then looked towards his brother. "FRANCIS! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW! THE FLOOR'S GOING TO GIVE OUT!"

"FUCK YOU!" Francis yelled as he plopped down on the floor. "I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE! I'M NOT GOING TO SCHOOL!"

Keith slowly approached Francis. "C'mon, bro…we gotta get out of here."

"Nuh, uh!" Francis shook his head, pouting. "I don't wanna!"

"Please…we have to go, it's not safe here…" Keith pleaded.

Keith was a couple feet away from Francis when the floor beneath the older man gave way. Keith rushed forward and grabbed a hold of Francis's arm. The captain's eyes were wide with fear as he looked down the hole in the floor at his brother who dangled above the flames. "Just hold on…I'll pull you up!" Keith futilely tried to pull Francis up. He could feel the floor threatening to give away from beneath him. "Please just hold on bro…I'm not going to let you die…no matter what, you are my brother…."

Francis looked up at Keith, a peaceful smile on his face. "I'm going home Keith. I'm finally going home to daddy." There was no fear in his eyes, only joy and happiness. "I will save some chocolate pudding for you. I really will because I love you." He laughed happily. "And when I see you again, I will teach you how to fly that new kite daddy gave you. I promise. I will always keep my promises to you."

Tears streaked down Keith's cheeks, he could feel Francis slowly slipping from his grip. "Francis…I…I love you, brother…" Keith smiled at Francis, who smiled back, every bit the loving brother Keith had once cared for and depended on. Then he felt Francis's fingers brush against his as his brother slipped from his grip. "NO!!" Keith screamed, watching Francis fall, losing sight of his brother through the smoke and flames. He felt Lance grab him and pull him away from the hole seconds before the floor gave away from where he had been laying.

Coughing, Lance managed to pull Keith further from the hole before collapsing next to him. He pulled Keith into his arms, trying to provide some comfort. "I'm so sorry Keith...I'm so sorry..."

Keith was quiet for a moment before he looked at Lance. “We have to get out of here.” He struggled slowly to get his feet and pulled Lance up.

"You think?" Lance coughed. Due to his injuries and the dense smoke, breathing was getting more and more complicated. The intense heat definitely wasn't helping matters either. Praying that the adrenaline would keep his strength up enough to get out of the burning matchbox, Lance guided Keith toward the kitchen. "The fire...is blocking...the door. But...there is...a window...in the kitchen." He could barely cough out the words.

Keith kept one arm around Lance as they headed towards the window, their one and only hope of escape. The smoke burned his eyes and made him cough with every breath he drew. His whole body longed to stop moving, but he refused to let it knowing if he stopped, even for a moment, it would be the death of him and Lance. Keith knocked out what little glass was left in the broken window and climbed out, obviously to the tiny shards of glass that scraped his hands. He turned and reached back through the window to help Lance out.

The collapsing roof in the other room sent sparks flying into the kitchen, forcing Lance to cover his head. As thick smoke and intensely heated air flooded into the room, breathing and seeing was completely impossible. Keith reached in and wrapped an arm around his waist, giving Lance the support and strength he desperately needed to climb out of the window away from the flames.

Keith guided Lance away from the house, each step seeming to grow slower and slower until he collapsed to the ground with Lance. He could feel the darkness that threatened to claim him once again but fought against it. “You okay?” Keith asked, brushing his fingers through Lance's hair.

Managing a slight nod of his head, Lance smiled weakly at Keith, his breathing so forced that he couldn't speak. Everything that he went through over the past twenty-eight hours was too much for his body to handle anymore. Lance grabbed Keith's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze before passing out completely.

Tears streamed down Keith's bloodied and smoke stained cheeks. “I'm sorry, Lance…” He whispered, carefully bringing Lance's hand to his lips and gently kissing it. “I love you…” He whispered before the darkness claimed also him and he fell into an unconscious state along with his best friend.

************************************************************************

Keith moaned in pain as he slowly started to wake up. The first thing he was aware of was that Lance's hand was no longer in his…and panic quickly set in. He struggled to sit up but couldn't find the strength. He thrashed around on the bed as complete panic set in, his heart racing and his blood pressure soaring.

"WHOA! Easy son! Everything is okay now. Just calm down and take it easy." The voice was as calming and familiar as the warm and gentle hand that ran soothingly through Keith's hair.

Keith calmed slightly and slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times in confusion and wonder. “Dad?”

Rick McIntyre smiled warmly at his son, a spitting image of himself. Well except for the shoulder length hair that Keith insisted on having...Rick was sure it was probably just to irritate his instructors at the Academy. "Yeah. It's me. I see you finally decided to wake up."

Keith blinked a couple times as though trying to figure out why or how his father was there. “I um…I guess I overslept.”

"You could say that." Rick chuckled quietly. "You have been in and out of consciousness for 3 days. This is the first time you have been fully awake since your friends found you. Luckily they noticed the smoke and decided to investigate."

“Three days?” Keith questioned. Suddenly his eyes widened and he tried desperately to look around the room. “Lance…where's Lance?”

"Take it easy...you have had a major concussion, not to mention several badly bruised ribs, a few broken ones, and too much smoke inhalation." Rick's face was grim as he brushed the hair out of Keith's eyes. "Lance...was badly hurt too."

“Where is he? I want to see him!” Keith struggled to sit up only to collapse back down against the bed. He closed his eyes in defeat. “Is he awake yet?”

"You stay in bed!" Rick sighed. "No...Lance hasn't wakened yet. His condition is a little more serious then yours, but Goram says that he is recovering well."

Keith opened his eyes. “I want to see him. I am not going to stay here when I should be in there with Lance. I have to be sure he's okay considering it's my…fault.” Keith clenched his hand into a tight fist.

"It is not your fault!" Rick said as he grabbed the clutched hand, squeezing it comfortingly. "Lance'll be fine. He was greatly weakened from starvation and dehydration as well as from smoke inhalation and some sort of allergic reaction, but his strength is returning quickly. Several ribs are broken and his lungs are badly bruised, but they, as well as his cuts, are healing nicely." He smiled reassuringly at Keith. "Lance is stubborn. And if I know him he should be waking up anytime now to drive you up the wall again."

Keith was quiet for a minute. “I have to see him…please…I promise I'll relax again after I see him…I just…I….”

Tilting his head, Rick stared at Keith. "Lance is more then a friend to you, isn't he?"

Keith chewed lightly on his bottom lip as he wondered if he should tell his dad that Lance was far more then a friend to him. Even though nothing more then a kiss and 'snuggling' had gone on between him and Lance, Keith wasn't sure how his father would handle that his son was in love with another man. After a moment Keith finally answered. “Lance means everything to me.”

Rick smiled brightly. "I thought so. I have been hoping that you would find someone to love and care for. The fact that it is Lance makes it even better." He chuckled softly. "Though I'm afraid you are going to have quite a ride. He can be a handful!"

Keith stared at his father for a moment before realizing his mouth was hanging open and quickly closed it again. “I think it's more the other way around…Lance is more the one who has his hands full.”

"You both can be a handful!" Rick laughed. "But tell me, why do you think this is your fault?"

“Because…Francis…” Keith paused for a moment as the memory of his brother falling to his fiery death hit him hard. “Lance was hurt because of me.”

Tears running down his face, Rick carefully gathered his son into his arms, hugging him tightly. "No. None of this is your fault. All of it is mine. I should have stopped battling the courts and lawyers and just grabbed you and your brother when you were younger. None of this would have happened if I had."

Keith buried his face against his father's shoulder and cried. Cried for the pain that had been inflicted on Lance. Cried for the death of a brother he couldn't save. And cried for the pain that consumed him.

Rick's own tears mixed with his son's as he held Keith closer to him. He gently rocked Keith, letting the years of pain and sadness flow out. And, at the same time, years of guilt, frustration, grief, and helplessness slowly seeped out of him.

Finally Keith's tears slowed and he relaxed completely in his father's comforting arms. Within moments, he drifted back to sleep. Rick gently wiped the tears from his child's cheeks as he kissed Keith's forehead. "I'm so sorry, son. I wish I could change the past, but I can't. I love you so much and am so proud of you." Rick whispered before shifting to lean against the headboard, refusing to let his son go.

**********

Keith awoke with a start, struggling weakly against the arms that held him. "LET ME GO!"

The arms tightened around Keith as a soothing voice broke through his sleepy mind. "Take it easy son! It's just me. It's okay. Everything is going to be okay."

Slowly Keith relaxed, his heart still beating wildly in his chest. "It's not okay…things can never be okay."

"That is not true Keith." Rick sighed as he slowly rubbed his son's back. "Everything will be fine...if you let it."

"I don't believe that…not anymore. Soon as I started to think things would be okay, hell's fury was once again unleashed upon my world." Keith mumbled.

"But that doesn't mean you should give up. Everything worth having is worth fighting for."

"Even if you fight for something that doesn't mean you have it. Peace is an illusion. Suffering is reality." Keith said softly, then in the faintest of whispers added. "And I am not taking anyone else down with me."

"So...how do you plan on going about doing that?" Rick sighed.

"By leaving." Keith stated simply.

"And what about what you leave behind?"

"Everyone would be better off if I wasn't in their lives. Lance tried to become a part of my life and just look at what happened to him."

"What happened to Lance had absolutely nothing to do with you Keith." Rick hugged his son tightly. "And if you do leave, what about him? And what about all the people you have helped? If you hadn't come into their lives, where would they be now? Still prisoners of Doom...or worse, dead."

"Someone else would've done the job. Many other people are capable of doing what I have done...in fact others could've done a better job. Saved more people's lives." Keith sighed and closed his eyes. "What happened to Lance was entirely my fault...he suffered because I was a part of his life. And Francis's death was my fault...I never did enough to save him. Every person I have ever been close to suffers. I am cursed."

"Keith...we can not control everything that happens to us in life. No matter how much we want to." Rick smiled sadly down at his son. "All we can do is do the best we can and learn from what life throws at us. We can not let the past control our lives...we have to learn from it and continue living."

"I have learned from the past. I learned that I am like a poison, slowly and painfully destroying those who dare to bring me into their lives."

"If that were true, then why do so many people care for you? Why do they love you?" Rick brushed his hand through Keith's hair. "Why do Lance and I love you so much...and are so very proud of you?"

"Because they are fooled by illusions, a mask of who and what I pretended to be."

"So which are you showing Lance...your true self...or an illusion?"

"Doesn't matter anymore. He suffered because of me…his suffering is all my fault. I should've done more to save him but I was too much a coward."

"Keith...you did save Lance." Rick gently gripped his son's jaw, forcing Keith to look at him. "And as for Francis...you saved him too. You set him free."

"I should've done more for him…saved him before…before he…" Keith blinked back the hot tears that burned in his eyes.

"Keith..." Rick smiled sadly. "There was nothing you could have done. The courts wanted to...send him to prison. I'm the one who requested to have him sent to an institution." He hugged his son tighter as a few tears falling from his eyes. "I just...didn't want to admit that it was...too late. I was hoping they could help him. If I had just accepted the truth, none of this would have happened."

"It's my fault. You weren't there so there was nothing you could do. If I had been braver I would been able to save Francis and…tell you…and save him and me both." Keith whispered.

"That's the point Keith...I wasn't there. And I should have been!" Rick frowned. "I am supposed to be one of the finest intelligence officers of the Alliance! And I couldn't even recognize that my sons were being abused!"

"Most people can't, or simply don't want to, see what's happening right in front of them…" Keith smiled weakly. "It wasn't your fault. I have never blamed you."

"That may be true, but the fact still remains that I just wasn't there enough to see it! And there is no excuse for that!" Rick sighed and stared out the window. "You may not blame me, but I still blame myself. However..." He sighed again as he looked back at his son. "I know I can't change the past. No one can. All I can do is learn from it and try to do better."

"I can't do better. I did my best and it still wasn't good enough. What happened to Lance is proof of that." Keith said firmly.

"And how is what happened to Lance your fault? How do you know that it wasn't mine?"

"He was hurt because of me. Francis…he went after Lance to get to me. He hurt Lance to hurt me. Which makes it my fault."

"No it doesn't Keith. You didn't know Francis had escaped. I didn't find out until a few days ago. And even if you had known, there was no way you could have known he would have come here." Rick said firmly. "And if anyone is to blame, it is me. If I had let them send him to prison in the first place, he never would've escaped."

"That is not a certainty. He could've escaped from prison…jails breaks do happen all the time." Keith said and shook his head.

Rick smiled slightly. "I agree that there is a lot of uncertainty in this. So how can you be so certain that everything is your fault?"

"Lance was hurt solely because he was closest to me. How is that not my fault?"

"The point is that I am sure that he doesn't blame you for what happened! And I know he still loves you!" Rick smiled sadly. "So do you still want to throw that away?"

"He'd be better off without me…and after everything that happened he probably doesn't want me in his life anymore." Keith said sadly.

"How can you be so sure of that?" Rick asked.

"Because…" Keith shrugged. "It's just the way my life is."

"Why don't you ask him yourself?"

"Because he's in another room and hasn't woken up yet."

"True." Rick grinned. "But I'm sure he will soon. And he will want to see that you are okay too. I can take you there myself, if you want me too. And if you promise to not strain yourself in anyway..."

"I want to see…what if he doesn't want to see me though?" Keith asked quietly.

Rick laughed softly as he got up and carefully picked up his son. "You always worried too much. Cross that bridge when you get there, Keith."

Keith didn't respond, too lost in his own thoughts and worries on what Lance's reaction would be…that is if Lance ever woke up to react to his presence.

**********

Hunk smiled when he glanced up and saw Rick slowly carrying Keith into the room. "How are you doing Keith?" He whispered quietly, sitting in a chair next to Lance's bed.

Lance was still asleep. He was still breathing from a respirator but the bruises on his face were already starting to fade. His chest was bandaged and there were several bandages on his arms. An IV was attached to one arm, as well as another bag with some sort of medication or painkiller.

Rick smiled as he gently placed Keith down into one of the empty chairs on the other side of the bed. He glanced up at Hunk. "How is he doing?"

Hunk grinned. "Much better. He kinda woke up a few hours ago, mumbling about Keith. But the medication just knocked him out again."

Keith nervously reached out to gently lay his hand over Lance's hand. "I'm sorry Lance." Keith whispered. "I am so very sorry that you got hurt because of me."

Rick wrapped a blanket around Keith, pausing to kiss his forehead. "I'm going to get something to drink. Would you like anything?"

Keith shook his head, his eyes never leaving Lance's unconscious form that lay battered and bruised on the bed before him. Hot tears blurred Keith's vision and streaked down his cheeks. "All I want is for Lance to wake up." He said quietly.

"Okay. He's going to be fine." Rick smiled as he knelt down and gently wiped Keith's cheeks. "I love you."

Hunk nodded. "The medication should be wearing off soon. So I think he will be waking up any time now." He quickly stood up. "I think I will get something to drink too." Giving Keith's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, Hunk followed the older man out of the room.

"Please wake up Lance…please just be okay…I know you probably don't want me in your life anymore...but you gotta be okay." Keith said softly. He brushed a stray lock of Lance's brown hair away from his closed eyes. "I know just saying I'm sorry for what happened to you is not enough…but right now it is all I can think of to say."

The only response was a soft flutter of Lance's eyelids and the gentle sounds of the machines at the head of the bed.

Keith wasn't sure what to say, he doubted it mattered much what he said as Lance probably couldn't hear him anyway. So instead of saying anything else, he just lightly squeezed Lance's hand.

Lance could dimly feel someone holding his hand. He thought he heard Keith's voice, but he wasn't sure. It was so difficult to wake up. His whole body ached and wouldn't respond to anything he asked. It felt so heavy. Lance tried to squeeze the hand holding his, but he wasn't sure if his hand listened to him.

Keith sighed sadly. "Maybe you'd wake up better if I wasn't here. I know that Hunk said you asked about me but…that was probably to be sure I wouldn't bother you…wasn't that it?"

Lance moaned so softly that it was barely audible. He was really having to struggle to get his body to wake up. Finally he just focused all his attention to his hand, forcing it to close tighter on Keith's hand.

Keith was startled at the soft pressure on his hand. "C'mon Lance…that's it, wake up."

It felt like lead weights were attached to his eyelids...they just wouldn't respond! Like the rest of his body. Lance gripped Keith's hand tighter, barely mumbling. "Ke..."

"Time to wake up sleepy head." Keith said, giving Lance's hand what he hoped would be a reassuring squeeze. "Please wake up Lance. I…I need you."

Finally, Lance was able to open his damn eyes. He smiled when his sleepy brown eyes landed on Keith. "Keith...you okay?"

"That depends."

"Wha..." Lance's eyes widened with worry as he squeezed his boyfriend's hand even tighter.

"If you are okay then I am fine." Keith replied, giving Lance a small smile.

"Yeah...can't move yet." Lance laughed slightly. "I don't think...the painkiller has...worn off yet. But I'll be fine...skipper."

"It's probably for the best that the painkiller hasn't worn off." Keith smiled weakly.

Lance smiled. "Actually, I think I would prefer the pain over not being able to move. At least I can still do something." He frowned slightly. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. A little sore but otherwise I'm fine." Keith said, even though it was far from truth, afraid to say the truth out loud for fear Lance would agree.

Lance stared at Keith for a moment. "It's not your fault Cat. You tried your best to save him. At least he is finally free now."

Keith was quiet for moment. "I am more concerned right now about what he did to you… because of me…"

Lance smiled as he gave Keith's hand a reassuring squeeze. "He roughed me up a bit, but it was mainly because I was pissing him off. I just can't seem to learn to keep my big mouth shut...especially when I am mad!"

"I'm sorry…it's my fault it happened…he hurt you because of me." Keith apologized.

"It is not your fault, Cat!" Lance winced as he shifted so that he could look at Keith straight in the eyes. "He was confused. Even when he struck me, there was sadness in his eyes...like he didn't want to do it, but he couldn't control it. It wasn't his fault."

"I know it wasn't his fault…it was my fault. I should've done more to help him when we were kids but I didn't…I failed to save him and I failed to save you…couldn't save either of you from the pain."

Lance sighed. "Keith, you can't control everything that happens...nor can you prevent it. The true people to blame are your mother and stepfather." He smiled as he weakly reached up and tenderly caressed Keith's face. "I know you were scared of your brother. But you still came for me...despite that fear."

"Because I was more afraid of losing you...I just wish I had gotten there sooner…saved you from at least some of the pain he put you through." Keith said, a couple stray tears falling down his cheeks.

"Don't worry about could have or who's to blame. All that matters to me is that you are alright." Eyes shining bright, Lance gently wiped Keith's tears away. "Besides...I'm the one who promised to protect you. Didn't do too good of a job. I guess I better stick to flying." He laughed softly.

"You did a fine job… " Keith smiled a little more. "I am sorry I couldn't do the same for you…" Keith paused. "I don't know if everything he said was true or not…I hope not…"

Lance frowned slightly. "What do you mean? What did he say?"

"That he…r…raped you." Keith whispered and tightly closed his eyes.

"Keith..." Lance whispered as his thumb gently traced Keith's bottom lip. "He didn't. And I don't think he ever would have. There was so much sadness in his eyes...it was as if he knew he was hurting you. He didn't want to...I could see it. But he didn't know how not to anymore. He still loved you...he just no longer knew how to show it."

Keith breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad that he didn't…" Keith's voice trailed off for moment. "Lance…?"

"What? What's wrong?"

"I just want to ask you if… that is do you…" Keith tried to think of the best way to phrase his question. "Do you still want me around…even though I don't hate the person that did this to you and wish he was alive?"

"Of course I still want you around!" Lance laughed, tears falling from his brown eyes. "Whatever made you think that I wouldn't? You better have your head checked again...you must have hit it harder than the doctor thought!"

"I just thought…that'd you hate me for what happened and that you'd be happier without me in your life. That…you could get hurt because of me. I am cursed…I am like a poison destroying anyone who dares to be near me…you'd be better off without me in your life."

Lance sighed as he gently pulled Keith down into an embrace. "How many times do I have to tell you that you can't get rid of me that easily? I care about you! And I will stick with you through the good and bad!" He smiled as he released Keith. "I love you. You are not cursed or poison. You are the most compassionate and courageous person I know!"

"Why do you care about me? Why do you love me?" Keith asked as he looked at Lance in confusion. "What have I ever done to deserve it? I'm obviously not the person you think. I am anything but courageous."

"You overcame one of your greatest fears...for me. That is courageous in my eyes." Lance smiled tiredly. "As to why I love you...you've always been there for me. You've helped me through the good and bad in my life. I never would've gotten this far without you in my life."

"You would've made it further without me holding you back. You deserve so much better then anything I could ever hope of offering you. I can't offer you very much…I can't give you very much. Why insist on holding on when I bring you nothing but pain?"

Lance sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "You have done more for me than you will ever know. And you have given me more than I have ever dreamed of getting. I hold on because I want to. I guess you either can't or won't see how good you really are. Is that why you're trying to push me away?"

"I just don't want to hurt you anymore." Keith said quietly. "That's all I seem to do. And the closer I get to you the worse you get hurt."

"You have never hurt me!" Lance said firmly. "Nor do I blame you for anything that has happened! And I never will! And don't try to change my mind about it because my mind is made up!"

"You don't have to blame me. I blame myself…everyone else blames me, and they are right to blame me. I have caused you so much pain. My hand may not have inflicted the wounds but they were inflicted because of me, that makes your pain my fault. " Keith closed his eyes. "And I fear what'll happen the next time my past rears its ugly head… I'm afraid you'll be killed because of me."

"Keith..." Lance whispered sadly as he caressed Keith's face. "The only thing that will kill me is if you push me away and run again. Because if you do that, you'll be taking my heart and soul with you."

Keith was quiet for a moment. "I just don't know if I can stand the living in fear…waiting for the next time when…when you'll be killed because of me. When you're killed simply because I love you."

"The decision on when or how I die is not for you, me, or anyone else to make. I only have the amount of time that is given me. It is my decision on how I use it." Lance took a deep breath as he stared deeply into Keith's eyes. "And I've decided that I'm going to use that time loving you. You can't decide that for me. Even if you do decide to leave me now, I'll still love you. You and no one else can stop me."

Keith closed his eyes tightly, stopping the tears that threatened to fall. After a moment he opened his eyes and looked at Lance. "I have came to a decision of my own, and I don't want you to say anything until I am finished. Everything that has happened has proved to me I can't run from my past, nor can I keep it buried within me. I need to deal with everything if I ever hope to have a stable relationship with you. I do love you Lance, and I want to be in a serious relationship with you. But, I have to help myself before I can help us." Keith paused a moment. "Talking with you helps a lot…but you don't understand what it's like, and I am glad that you don't understand it because to understand it you have to have been through it. I know I need some professional help. I don't know if there are any such places on Arus, I may have to leave here for a while. Either way I am stepping down from my position as captain, at least temporarily. I understand if you don't want to wait for me…I just have to do this for myself."

"I will wait for you, no matter how long it takes. I've waited this long, I can easily wait longer." Lance smiled as he took Keith's hands in his own. He could feel the painkillers try to put him back to sleep, but he fought it. "You're right...I don't understand everything you've been through. But I still want to help and support you."

Keith brought Lance's hand up to his mouth and lightly kissed it. "Just knowing that you love me and will always be there for me is help enough. I might not always get that through my thick head…but my heart knows it even if my mind don't."

Lance smiled brightly. "I know. Just don't ever forget it."

Keith smiled. "I will never forget." He squeezed Lance's hand lightly. "Now get some rest."

"Just don't push me away anymore. Your father too. We need you." Lance whispered, afraid to close his eyes and Keith would disappear forever.

"I am done running away. It's time for me to deal with my problems. You really need some more sleep, Lance. Rest now, I will be here when you wake up." Keith promised.

Relieved, Lance finally stopped fighting it and relaxed. He barely had time to squeeze Keith's hand and mumble a few words before falling asleep. "I love you."

"I love you too Lance." Keith said, kissing Lance's forehead before steeling in to watch over Lance as he slept.

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A few days later, after Lance was starting to get better, Keith returned to Earth with his father. He found a place that was one of the higher rated psychiatric aid facilities. It had individual and group therapy, in a resort atmosphere as opposed to the sterile hospital environment. He was able to keep in touch with his father and Lance through letters. With the professional help Keith was rapidly improving. After three months of therapy, he felt well enough to return to Arus. He spent several days with his father as he planned his return to Arus. Wanting to surprise his friends, Keith didn't tell them that he was returning.

Keith's shuttle pulled into the docking bay without any mishap. With some prior help from his father, he was able to get landing clearance without anyone suspecting a thing. Hunk was there with several other technicians working on one of the land crafts. He glanced up when the craft landed but since no one was there to greet it, Hunk didn't think anything of it.

Keith stepped off the shuttle, dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans, a dark green shirt, and blue jean jacket, with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He looked around at the typical chaos that the repair bay was often in. He stepped over behind Hunk without notice, as the larger man worked in frustration on a piece of broken equipment. "Have you tried a hammer yet?"

"I think throwing this in the lake is the only thing this is good for!" Hunk snorted before turning around, only to drop his tools and pick Keith up in a fierce hug! "KEITH! You're back! Oh man we've missed you! How are you doing?"

Keith gladly returned the friendly hug. "And I've missed all of you. I'm doing much better."

"Well you look better!" Hunk grinned brightly, moving back at arm length to look Keith over. Then he yanked Keith back into another hug. "Things just haven't been the same since you left. Sven is already threatening retirement!"

"Things are that bad are they? On second thought, I might have to rethink the whole job issue." Keith laughed.

Hunk laughed. "Well, normally you only had to deal with Lance. But since Allura is a pilot now, Sven has too hard headed stubborn pilots to deal with! They are driving him crazy!"

"He was already crazy before." Keith laughed. "So, where's everyone else hiding?"

"Hmm...Pidge is due here any second to try and help me with this piece of junk. Sven and Allura are in the library. And Lance may still be in bed." Hunk laughed at Keith's surprised face. "He got stuck with the night watch last night."

"I'm sure I could wake him up." Keith laughed with a mischievous grin.

"Oh, I'm sure you could." Hunk smirked. Then Pidge walked into the bay. He practically tackled Keith when he saw him. "KEITH! You're here!"

"Looks like someone had a growth spurt." Keith said as he ruffled Pidge's hair and gave the shorter man a hug. "And still as smart as ever." He added with a laugh.

Hunk laughed. "Though I'm willing to bet that he isn't smart enough to fix this!"

Pidge eyed the equipment for a moment. "I say throw it in the lake. Let the water fix this worthless crap!"

"Hmm...I stand corrected." Hunk laughed.

"I still think a hammer would help." Keith said. "Hammer first, lake second."

"Well, beating the thing to death first would be more fun than drowning it first." Pidge grinned. "How are you doing?"

"Much better." Keith said. "It feels great being back here."

"We've missed you. Especially Sven." Pidge grinned evilly.

"I heard that's he's going crazy trying to do my job." Keith laughed.

Hunk chuckled. "Um...you said he was already crazy, Keith."

"Okay so going more crazy then he ever was before. Though as long as he's not howling at a full moon, I don't think there's much to worry about." Keith grinned.

Pidge glanced over at Hunk. "There was a full moon last night. Did you hear any howling?"

"Actually..." Hunk smirked. "I think I did. It could've been Sven."

"Naw...probably Lance trying to stay awake." Pidge laughed. "I heard Nanny griping about all the paper airplanes in the trash this morning."

Keith chuckled. "Well unless Sven is too busy, I'll tell him he can stop worrying about all the captainly pressures."

"He is never too busy to hear that!" Pidge laughed as he hugged Keith again. Hunk quickly followed suit.

"Hard to say, since he's in a room alone with the princess." Keith laughed.

"Trust us, he'll still be happy." Hunk smirked. "But take some pictures if things look interesting. We'll pay you for some copies."

"Deal. I could use the money." Keith said with a laugh.

Pidge grinned. "You got it! Have fun. We can catch up more later after you say hi to everyone."

"Catch you both later." Keith nodded. He walked down the hallways, still remembering every nook and cranny of the castle. He stopped in front of the library doors and knocked.

Though muffled, Keith could still make out Sven's voice. "Come in."

Keith opened the door and stepped into the room. "Hope the two of you aren't too busy, I could always come back later if you are."

"KEITH!" Allura and Sven yelled together. Sven quickly got up from the couch, but Allura was faster. She was across the room with her arms around Keith's neck in a blink of an eye. "You're home! Why didn't you tell us you were coming?" Allura asked before kissing Keith's cheek.

"It would kind of ruin the surprise if I told you I was coming." Keith laughed as he gave the princess a hug.

"Well you definitely got the surprise factor right." Sven laughed, having to hug both Keith and Allura since the princess wasn't ready to let go yet. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel a whole lot better. And considering you aren't going to have to be captain any longer you'll be feeling better too, so I've heard." Keith grinned at Sven.

"Thank the gods, goddesses, spirits, and whatever other deity is out there!" Sven yelled, hugging Keith tighter.

Allura laughed. "I think Sven is feeling better already."

"Yeah but I'm going to be crushed to death if he hugs me any harder." Keith laughed. He patted Sven's back as he hugged his friend.

Allura laughed as Sven sheepishly lets go. "It's great to have you home, Keith. You are staying, right?"

"Yep, I'm back to stay." Keith replied.

"That's great." Sven frowned slightly. "Are you sure you're ready? We don't want to rush you until you're absolutely sure."

"I'm sure. I waited to come back until I was positive I could handle everything. " Keith said.

Sven smiled. "Good. I've had your job and I don't want it...but that doesn't mean I'm not going to help you with it. It's really too much for one person...especially with Lance and Allura!"

"HEY!" Allura shouted, hitting Sven not too gently on the arm and making him yelp.

"Um…you can deal with her and I'll deal with Lance." Keith said quickly.

"Um...I'd trade you." Sven whimpered before having to dodge another blow.

"Not a chance." Keith laughed. He slowly backed out of the room. "Have fun you two."

"Oh, I will!" Allura smirked, before grabbing a pillow and whacking Sven on the head.

Sven yelped. "HEY! NO FAIR!"

Chuckling, Keith closed the door and continued down the hallway. He reached the bedroom and quietly opened the door. He set his duffel bag down on the floor and stepped towards the bed, being careful not to make a sound. Keith sat on the edge of the bed and leaned over top of Lance to kiss him lightly on the lips. "Time to wake, sleeping beauty."

Lance mumbled sleepily before slowly opening his eyes. He blinked up at Keith's face, a sleepy smile gracing his lips. "Keith? Am I dreaming?"

"No, you aren't dreaming." Keith smiled as he lightly caressed the side of Lance's face. "I'm really here."

Lance's arms flew around Keith's neck, pulling him down into a fierce hug. He held him tightly before whispering hoarsely in Keith's ear. "Gods, I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too, Lance. I've missed you a lot."

"How are you feeling?" Lance released Keith enough so that he could caress Keith's face. "Are you here to stay?"

"I feel much better, even better now that I am here with you. And, yes, I am here to stay." Keith smiled. "It took a while but I learned to deal with my past and move on to things that are important to me."

"Great!" Lance smiled brightly. He started to lean up, but stopped and pulled back. "Is it alright if I kiss you?"

Keith grinned at Lance, and instead of replying he leaned in and kissed the pilot deeply. "As long as I don't beat you to it."

"Looks like you have." Lance chuckled breathlessly. "The letters helped, but the real thing is definitely better!"

Keith smiled. "I wholeheartedly agree." He sat back and pulled a small black velvet box out of his jacket, handing it to Lance.

"What's this? It's not my birthday." Lance asked as he sat up.

"Open it and find out." Keith said. Lance opened to box to reveal a ring. It was a gold band made up of interlocked eternity symbols. "It's a promise ring. A promise that I will love you forever. A promise of the commitment I am ready to make to you."

"Keith..." Lance gasped as he looked at the ring and then Keith's face. "It's...beautiful. You really mean that?"

"Mean what? That I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you?" Keith smiled at Lance. "Of course I mean it."

Lance smiled brightly as a few tears escaped from his eyes. "Okay, I'm really dreaming now, right?"

Keith wiped the tears away with his thumb. "You're not dreaming Lance. Over the past weeks I've learned to deal with everything that happened and to come to terms with it before it destroyed me. I was running from it for so long that it was slowly destroying me, destroying my chance at happiness. Now that I was able to help myself I am ready to make the commit to you that you deserve."

"Oh man! I don't know what to say." Lance laughed as he glanced down at the ring. When he looked back up at Keith, it was amazing that his smile didn't blind the young captain. "Yes."

Keith threw his arms around Lance and hugged him tightly. He kissed Lance on the lips, then grinned at him. "Thank you."

"No, thank you." Lance kissed Keith back before holding up the box. "Would you do the honors?"

Keith took the ring out of the box and slid it on the ring finger of Lance's left hand. He kissed his now fiancé's fingers lightly and smiled. "I will love you for all eternity."

Lance laughed as he kissed Keith's lips. "I'll love you more."

"Not a chance." Keith laughed as he hugged Lance close.

"Oh, is that a challenge?" Lance teased as he somehow moved even closer.

"It's a challenge alright, one you'll lose." Keith grinned. "Nothing surpasses my love for you, not even your love for me."

Lance grinned before kissing Keith deeply. "You know, this may be a long battle to see who wins."

"I think we'll both win." Keith said. He hugged Lance and deeply inhaled his scent. "I have missed you so much…I never really realized how lucky I was to have you until I got my life sorted out. And now that I know, I will never let you go."

"No problem since now that you're back, I'm not letting you out of my sight!" Lance laughed as he held on to Keith tightly and kissed his cheek. "I love you. Welcome home."

"It feels so good to be home. To be in your arms. To be back where I belong."

Lance nodded as he rested his head on Keith's shoulder. "It's good to have you back in my arms. To have you back in my life...permanently this time."

"From now until the end of time." Keith promised.

"Good because I don't like sharing now that I've finally got you. So you better get used to me bugging you."

Keith laughed lightly and hugged Lance. "As long as you don't mind me bugging you in return."

"Never!" Lance smiled. "Didn't I tell you that you can't get rid of me that easily?"

"Not get rid of you…just drive you insane." Keith laughed.

Lance laughed. "I think I'm already beyond insane. I'm the one who got in the shower with you with my clothes on! Now I'm really wishing I had done that sooner!"

"I think the next time we shower together I'd rather we didn't do it while we're dressed." Keith said, blushing slightly.

"Me too." Lance mumbled, blushing as well. "Have the others seen you yet?"

"Yup. I talked to all of them before coming in here to wake you up."

Lance yawned slightly. "Well, I couldn't think of anything better to wake up too. And you didn't shove me off the bed this time!"

Keith chuckled. "No, and I won't ever again."

"I'll just make sure your coffee is nearby." Lance chuckled, stifling another yawn. That was the problem with all night duty...it usually took a day and night to recover from it! "Is your father doing better too?"

"Yes. He's doing lot better too." Keith replied as he hugged Lance again. "Why don't you just go back to sleep, I'll still be here when you wake up."

Lance smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry. You just get back, give me this ring, and I'm falling asleep on you. You're not boring me, I promise!"

"You just pulled an all nighter…besides after the long flight I am a little tired myself." Keith grinned.

"Lie with me?"

Keith smiled. "I'd like that."

Lance grinned as he let go of Keith just enough so that they both could lie down and get comfortable. He curled up close to Keith, raising his hand in the air to look at the ring before resting it on Keith's chest. "I love you."

"I love you too Lance." Keith said. He closed his hand over top of Lance's. "And I will love you forever. Thank you for waiting for me."

"You are well worth waiting for, Cat. Especially to me." Lance whispered, kissing Keith's cheek before resting his head close to his. "Never forget that."

"I know that. It doesn't mean I can't thank you for it." Keith smiled. "Now get some rest. We have a lifetime ahead of us to talk."

Lance smiled as he closed his eyes, cherishing the feel of the man next to him that he had missed so much. He slipped into pleasant and peaceful dreams, knowing that he wouldn't be sleeping alone ever again. Keith was finally home.

Keith laid awake for several minutes listening to the sound of Lance's breathing. The feeling of the warm body next to him made him feel loved and secure. He knew any obstacles that came his way that he would be able to overcome them with the love and support of those closest to him. He closed his eyes and drifted into a relaxed sleep, knowing that at long last he was where he belonged and that he would be okay.

owari ^_~