Voltron New Beginnings

Chapter 16

"All is Fair"

By: Cindra

Notes: I put colons between conversations denoting silent thought between two characters.

( )Twin link can't be heard by anyone but the other twin…or only if someone is extremely strong in his or her mental abilities.

or italics That represents thoughts of the characters.

Eric paced the room outside the main balcony of the castle and forced himself to calm down. He was minutes away from getting the key to Black lion and becoming the next Captain of Lion Force Voltron.

Eric you're almost twenty-one and a Captain in the Galaxy Alliance! There's no reason for you to be nervous! He ordered himself. Who the hell are you kidding! Andy's gonna try something I know her to well! He stepped out onto the balcony and the crowd below them went wild.

"Lt. Commander Xavier, here is your key to Red lion, congratulations." Lance handed over his key.

"Thank you, sir." Nate shook Lance's hand.

"Here ya go Chris. You earned it." Hunk handed Chris his key to Yellow Lion.

"Thank you." Chris shook his hand.

"It is my honor to present you with my key, little niece." Patrick hugged Ariel and then handed his key to Green Lion.

"I won't let you down Uncle Patrick." Ariel hugged him back.

Allura stepped in front of her daughter and smiled. "I know that it isn't the Lion that you wanted Andromeda, but I hope that you can learn to love Blue Lion as much as I did when I flew her." She watched, as her daughter reacted to her words.

"I'm honored to be the one to fly Blue Lion. I will do my best to protect our people, my team, and our family from our enemies. I swear that I will make you proud of me." She clipped the key to her uniform and then hugged her mom.

"We already are proud of you." Allura hugged her back.

"Eric, you have shown all of us that you have earned the right to this key and Black Lion. I am very proud of you and it is my honor to pass down the leadership of Voltron Lion Force to you." Keith handed him his key.

"I'm honored your majesty. I will not fail as Captain of this team and I vow to keep Arus and everyone on it safe from our enemies." Eric shook Keith's hand.

Keith turned to look out at the thousands of people that had shown up to watch the ceremony and the crowd went wild. "Good citizens of Arus, I give you the next generation of the Voltron Lion Force. Pilot of Black Lion Captain Eric Lawson, Pilot of Blue Lion Commander Andromeda Edwards, Pilot of Red Lion Lt. Commander Nathan Xavier, Pilot of Yellow Lion Lt. Commander Christophe, and Pilot of Green Lion Lt. Commander Ariel Edwards."

"Are we done now?" Andy walked over and hissed into her father's ear.

:Don't start Andy. The celebration has just begun there's also tonight's Ball!: Alex glared at her.

:No Way! There's no way that I'm attending that Ball: Andy glared back at her sister.

:Yes you are Andromeda you have no choice. Eric is going to make sure that you show up. : Allura interrupted their mental bickering.

:Mother! Even you can't be that cruel! Eric isn't going to go for this either!: Andy was not at all pleased with her mother's idea.

"Andromeda?" Eric tapped her on the shoulder trying to get her attention, but she was glaring at her mother and sister.

"Andromeda Marie Edwards!" He snarled down at her, but she was still ignoring him.

"Commander Edwards!!!" Eric snarled into her ear.

Andy snapped her head up to glare at him. "What is it?" She hissed.

"Excuse me Commander, but do I have to remind you that I outrank you?" Eric glowered down at her.

"Well excuse me Captain Lawson! What the hell do you want, sir!"

"I have been trying to remind you that you have patrol. You can snarl at your mother and sister later."

"Say's who?" Andy fumed.

"Says me! Now move your butt to your lion!" Eric ordered her.

"One of these days POW to the moon!!" Andy stalked off the balcony and plotting Eric's death in her mind.

"What was that Dromi?" Eric was right on her heels.

"You're going with me?" She was not pleased.

"That's right Andy, consider me your shadow. I think we'll work on a few drills while we're up in the lions. Your flying seems to be lacking something lately." Eric was enjoying his power over her.

"LACKING SOMETHING?!" She screeched at him in fury. "WE WERE FLYING IN A THUNDER STORM!"

"A good pilot can fly in any kind of weather, besides this will be good practice for you and it will keep your mind off the Ball tonight." Eric had been testing her ever since she had made the rank of commander.

"So you're okay with escorting me to the Ball?" Andy frowned at him.

"I have to go any way, so I might as well keep you in line while I'm there." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Geez! Thanks a lot you big jerk. Don't do me any favors!" She hissed at him.

"Princess might I have a word?" Prince Evan one of the guests for the Ball called to her.

"Not now!" She felt like hurting something. "Why can't they just take a hint and leave me alone?" She muttered under her breath.

Eric having felt and heard Andy's feelings about the prince heading in their direction decided to take matters into his own hands. She was the one that usually ran to him to chase her pesky suitors away by pretending that she and he were an item. Not that he minded her tactics; he rather liked kissing her. He pulled her into his arms and stared down into her startled amber eyes.

"Eric?" Andy was surprised that he had pulled her into his arms. She looked into his lion gold eyes and almost lost herself in their fathomless depths.

"You want him to get lost don't you?" He growled softly his mouth only inches from her own.

"Yes, but what exactly are you up to?" Her question was answered when he closed the distance between them and brought his mouth down against her own. This was not the way she usually felt when she kissed him in order to keep the pesky princes away from her. It was like she was melting in his arms and she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. Oh Boy! She thought to herself! I can't really be falling for him... can I?

Eric was as surprised as she was, but he was not about to let the fact that he liked kissing her and holding her in his arms, convince him that he was falling in love with her. This might not have been one of my better ideas.

Evan stared at them in outrage that she would let a mere Captain kiss her like that. "How can you let him kiss you? He is not royalty!! He is just a nobody Captain!" Evan hissed at her in outrage.

Eric forced himself to break off their kiss and had the urge to kill the scrawny little prince. "She's mine and always will be and the sooner that all of you wimps get that into your heads the better. Now get lost before I'm forced to really hurt you." Eric was deadly serious and the prince took a cautious step backwards in order to put some distance between them.

"I want to know how the princess feels about this!" He snapped.

Andy frowned at him in annoyance, "I think that you should leave us alone, Evan. Eric is going to be my escort to the Ball and I guess that he always has been the one guy that has ever been worthy of courting me. He did after all save my life when I was eight and we've been close ever since." She turned back to Eric and kissed him.

"You two deserve each other!" Evan talked off his royal feathers ruffled.

Andy waited until Evan was gone to pull away from Eric. "Did I ever once ask you to be my protector?"

"It worked didn't it." Eric glared at her.

"If and when I want you to kiss me again, it will be up to me. Now if you'll excuse me Captain I have patrol." Andy headed for the control room.

"I will never understand her and to think that I thought she felt the same thing that I felt when we were kissing!" He stalked after her.

(Later on that night)

Andy decided to go hide out at Darian and Allana's. She was in no mood to be at any dance and especially not with Eric as her escort. What is with him anyway! Being Captain of the team has given him a major power trip and he seems to think that he has a right to make me work my butt off! Why did I have to feel anything when he kissed me! I will not fall for him! It is not going to happen!! Andy fumed from her old hiding place, a tree house that Darian had built for her.

Darian walked outside his home, with his three-month-old son and went in search of his little blossom. He had just gotten a call from Eric demanding to know if he was harboring Keith and Allura's escapee. "Dromi it's not like you to hide from anything or anyone." Darian stood just in front of the tree that housed her old tree-fort.

Andy didn't answer him.

"Look, Little Blossom, Eric has already called to see if you were here and even though I told him that if you were in fact hiding out here that I had yet to see you..." Darian growled. "Eric isn't stupid and he will eventually figure out where you're hiding. You know that and I know that, so why don't you just come down here and we'll both go inside and have a bowl of strawberry ice-cream."

"If you're trying to insinuate that he and I share some sort of mental bond with each other then you're wrong!" Andy hissed down at him.

"GET DOWN HERE NOW!" Darian barked up at her. "DON'T MAKE ME COME UP THERE!"

"I'M NOT GOING TO THAT BALL AND THAT'S ALL THERE IS TO IT!" She shouted back making no move to come down from her fort.

:Now!!!:

:Since when do you take their side over mine?: She climbed down from the fort via a rope ladder.

:We will talk about this inside.: Darian herded her into his castle.

:I don't feel like talking.: She pouted.

:That's just too damn bad, because you and I are going to discuss this whether you want to or not!.: Darian was not in the mood for one of her stubborn tantrums.

:Look! I just don't feel like attending one of my mom's boring royal gala's! Getting dressed up, as the crowned princess of Arus just isn't my thing! Alex and Ariel can take my place!: She wasn't about to budge on this one and Darian knew it.

"You're sixteen now. It's time that you took your responsibility, as the next heir to the throne seriously." Darian set a bowl of ice cream down in front of her.

"I don't want the job. Let Alex have it." She whimpered.

"There you are." Eric stood in the main doorway of the kitchen. He was dressed to the nines in his military dress whites. He also had a garment bag slung over his shoulder, which contained her attire for the Ball.

"Go away!"

"Look Dromi, all that you have to do is make a brief appearance, and then you can say that you have a headache and leave." Eric wasn't going to let her stay at Darian's and hide.

"The Ball has already started and it would take me forever to get ready." Andy frowned.

Allana stood next to Eric and smiled at Andy. "Not true Hon, we will have you dressed and ready for the Ball in no time at all." She tried not to laugh when Darian had to drag her to the door under protest.

"I WILL NOT FORGET THAT ALL OF YOU BETRAYED ME!" She wailed in protest, as Allana led her up the stairs.

(45 minutes later)

Eric gaped at the vision that was descending the staircase in front of him. Dromi wearing a red velvet strapless Ball gown, a red velvet cape was draped around her shoulders, she wore red satin slippers on her feet, and the crowned jewels completed her outfit.

"Have mercy." Eric growled softly. "Is that really you, Dromi?"

"I look stupid in this don't I?" Andy pouted miserably.

"No Little Blossom you look breathtakingly beautiful." Darian smiled at her like a proud papa.

"He's right Dromi you look beautiful." Eric smiled at her.

Allana was recording this for Keith and Allura on her Holo-cam. "Alex and Ariel will die of envy when they see you." She winked at her.

"Look, I'm just going to make an appearance and then I'm out of there." Andy frowned at them. "Well? Are you just going to stand there and stare at me or are you going to escort me to the Ball?"

Eric offered her his arm and led her out of Darian and Allan's home. "Your ride, your highness…" He did a sort of bow and then motioned for her get into his hover car.

"Knock it off Eric, this is just for show. I'm not going to be the heir no matter if they wish it or not." She sat down in the front seat, gathering her skirts around her, as not to get them torn when Eric closed her passenger side door.

"You do have to dance at least once in order for this to work." Eric reminded her.

"Fine Captain, but I'll knock you flat if you step on my feet!" She fumed and then glowered at him when he proceeded to have the nerve to laugh at her.

Allura was not at all pleased that Andy had refused to make an appearance at the Ball. "Why can't she take her duty as crowned princess seriously?" Allura sat on her throne and pouted.

"She's sixteen and isn't ready to take anything seriously yet." Keith patted his wife's hand. "Are you tired? Maybe you should lie down for a while."

"I'm fine! Just furious at our daughter!" Allura glared at him.

"Relax, or you're going to upset Lilly." Keith remained calm and cool.

"If you want me to relax, then find my daughter!" She snarled at him.

The entire Ballroom became completely silent, as Andy and Eric made their entrance into the Ballroom.

Alex and Ari gaped at their sister in shock.

Nate and Chris had to do a double take just to believe that this was Andy standing in front of them.

"You're late Andromeda!" Alex snapped at her.

"Mom is not pleased with you for trying to ditch the Ball." Ariel informed her.

"Do you boys have a problem?" Eric snarled at Nate and Chris when they continued to stare at Dromi.

"Us? No there's no problem." Nate pulled Ariel towards the dance floor in order to escape his friend's murderous glare.

"May I have this dance?" Chris smiled at Alex.

"We will talk later Andy." Alex hissed at her sister before letting Chris lead her onto the dance floor.

"I told you this was a bad idea!" Andy turned to flee from the room, but Eric had a firm hold on her elbow.

"They're just jealous, don't let them get to you." Eric led her over to Keith and Allura. "The princess as ordered your majesty." Eric bowed in front of Keith's throne.

"Excellent work Captain. Where did you find her?" Keith frowned.

"She was trying to hide out in her old tree fort at Darian's." Eric informed him.

"Well? Young lady! What do you have to say for yourself?" Allura glared at her.

"Look, Mother I'm here now, so can we just drop the subject!" She hissed.

"I have a better idea. Why don't you and Eric dance the Arusian waltz?" Allura smiled at her daughter's horrified expression.

"But that would mean that he and I would be dancing alone on the dance floor." She whimpered.

"The people of Arus want to see their princess dancing in the arms of her handsome escort and that's exactly what they're going to get." Allura ordered her child.

The music for the Arusian Waltz was now playing and it was their signal to begin their dance. "After you princess," Eric led her to the middle of the empty dance floor and bowed to her.

Andy curtsied as was the tradition of the waltz and then let him pull her into his arms and sweep her around the dance floor. "They set us up." She hissed at him.

"It's only a waltz Dromi it doesn't mean anything that we don't want it to be." He hissed back.

"It's the lovers Waltz, you idiot! This is like us announcing that we're officially a couple." She rolled her eyes up at him in frustration.

"Let them think what they want. Look on the bright side Dromi; this will keep those pesky suitors away from you." He grinned down at her.

The waltz finally ended and the entire Ballroom burst out with applause, not that either one of them cared what the others thought about their dance. They were not about to let it cloud the rivalry between each other.

"Thank you for the dance Captain, now if you will please excuse me I'm coming down with a terrible headache." Andy ran outside and into the castle maze for some much-needed air and a good cry.

(Seven months later)

Darian watched as ten-month-old Shawn took his first steps towards his enchantingly beautiful wife of eight years. "He's walking!"

Allana glanced up at her husband and smiled. "He's been walking since this morning. Did you and Keith find Andy?"

Darian rolled his eyes in frustration at the very mention of Andromeda's name. "Just once I wish that Eric and Andy would give into their feelings and stop this insane competition with each other."

Allana tried not to laugh at her husband’s frustrated expression. "I don't see that happening any time soon. She wants Black lion and seeing as Eric is the Captain and pilot of Black lion that makes him enemy number one."

Darian scooped Shawn up into his arms. "Then why does she keep running into his arms whenever another suitor comes to try and woo her?"

"Because she knows that Eric will chase them away and even though she won't admit it, likes kissing the hunky Captain." Allana winked at her husband.

Andy glared at her father, "Since when is it against the law to go for a ride on Stormy?"

Keith glared back at his daughter, "It is when you are supposed to be flying your lion on patrol!"

"Look father! I wanted to go riding; besides patrol is boring seeing as we always have our dome up all of the time!"

"Andromeda Marie! You will lower your voice when you speak to me." Keith growled.

"IT'S NOT LIKE I EVEN MATTER ANYMORE! NOT WHEN YOU HAVE CAPTAIN ERIC LAWSON LEADING THE TEAM!" Andy screamed at her father.

"THAT'S NOT TRUE YOUNG LADY AND YOU KNOW IT!" Keith shouted back.

"ISN'T IT!?" Andy screamed at him, "I graduated number one in my class at both academies, because mom wanted me to excel as a princess and so that I could earn a place on the team!" Andy brushed away the hot angry tears from her eyes. "Yes I made a mistake nine years ago, by taking your lion! How long am I going to have to keep paying for that mistake? When will you see that I've earned the right to fly that lion!!?" She ran from her father's office in tears, not noticing that she'd passed Eric in the corridor.

Keith ran out after her, "Andromeda! Come back here!" He shouted hoarsely.

"What happened was she crying? Andy never cries!" He glared at Keith.

"Not now captain!" Keith snarled at him stalking down the corridor.

"Fine! If you won't tell me what's going on, then I will just have to find out for myself!" Eric headed for the Sit Room and the main computer.

Andy threw some clothes and a few of her favorite weapons into her backpack. She stopped to stare at a holo-photo of her family and a secret photo that she kept of Eric and then tossed them into the pack before finally closing it up. I am like so out of here! She vanished from her room.

Alex went to check on her sister and didn't even bother to knock on her door before marching right in. "Andy? What did you do now? Daddy's really on the warpath this time." She eyed her sister's empty bedroom and frowned. "Andy?"

Allura entered Andy's room and then frowned at Alex, "Where is she Alex?"

Alex stared wide-eyed at the monitor on Andy's computer screen. "Please tell me that I'm not seeing this." She moaned.

"What's wrong Alex?" Allura walked over and glanced down at the computer screen. "SHE RAN AWAY!!" Allura screamed and then fainted.

"Mom!" Alex dove to catch her mother and then began fanning her mother's pale face.

Ariel ran into the room after hearing her mother's scream. "Alex! What happened? Is mom okay? Is it the baby? Where's Andy?" She fired questions rapidly at her sister.

"Ariel stop asking question and go get Daddy!" Alex hissed.

"DADDY!! MOM NEEDS YOU!!" Ariel shouted for her father, as she ran out of the room.

Keith instantly appeared next to his daughter, "Why? What happened?"

"I don't know." Ariel dragged him with her into Andy's room.

"Allura!" Keith raced over and swept her up into his arms. "Alexandra? What happened?!"

Alex worriedly bit down on her lower lip; "Mom fainted."

Keith set Allura down on Andy's bed. "Why? What happened?" He asked once more.

Alex picked up Andy's laptop and handed it to her father. "That's why Daddy." She winced at her father's thunderous expression and covered her ears.

"SHE WHAT!!!" Keith roared.

Allura sat up. "SHE RAN AWAY! OUR SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER PACKED UP AND LEFT HOME! DO YOU HAVE AN EXPLANATION AS TO WHY SHE WOULD WANT TO LEAVE HOME LIKE THIS?!" She screamed at her husband.

"Calm down Allura or you will upset the baby" Keith tried to calm his wife.

Allura pushed herself off the bed and up onto her feet. "Lilly is fine." She patted her very pregnant belly and her daughter kicked her in response. "I'm more concerned about Andromeda and why she felt that she had to run away from home!" She was not at all pleased with the situation or her husband.

Ariel glared at her father, "DADDY HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?!"

Keith glowered at the three females who were glaring murderously at him. "This is not my fault! How was I supposed to know that she would react like this?"

"You two were arguing again weren't you?!" Allura glared at him.

"IT SEEMS TO BE THE ONLY WAY THAT WE'RE ABLE TO TALK TO EACH OTHER THESE DAYS! SHE CAN'T UNDERSTAND THAT ERIC IS THE LEADER OF VOLTRON AND THAT MAKES HIM HER SUPERIOR! HE IS ALSO BETTER THAN SHE IS! I SAW THE HIS ORIGINAL TEST SCORES FROM THE ACADEMY!" Keith roared at them, "SHE MAY BE OUR DAUGHTER, BUT SHE IS ALSO A COMMANDER IN THE GALAXY ALLIANCE AND HAS TO LEARN TO TAKE AND FOLLOW ORDERS WHETHER SHE LIKES THEM OR NOT!!"

Alex, Ariel and Allura stared wide-eyed at Keith and didn't dare say anything.

Keith narrowed his eyes down at Ariel, "Don't you have patrol with Nate in ten minutes?"

Ariel nodded, "What about Andy?"

"Don't worry about your sister. I'll find her." Keith reassured his daughter. "She's just mad and went to go fume for a while."

"She took all of her favorites, except her sword. I think that she means business this time Daddy." Alex frowned.

Allura saw the hurt in her husband's eyes. "But she loves that sword. She's really upset with you this time."

Keith tried not to let his panic show as he cradled the sword that he had given her for her birthday, in his hands. "Yes well, I can't worry about that now." He growled hoarsely, "If you two will both excuse me I have a shadow to find."

Eric sat in the Sit Room and replayed what had occurred between Andy and her father on the screen in front of him. "Damn it to hell! Not again!" He groaned in frustration burying his face in his hands. He glared down at his wrist-com that began to frantically beep at him. "Yeah what is it now?!" He snarled in his Com.

"I want you, Nate, Chris, and Ariel in the Sit Room and I mean yesterday!" Keith barked at him.

"Yes sir, but why isn't Andy joining us? Is she grounded again?" He frowned at Keith's image on the tiny screen.

"DON'T YOU START WITH ME KID! I AM NOT IN THE MOOD!"

"WHAT DID I SAY? HEY WAIT A MINUTE! SOMETHING'S HAPPENED TO ANDY HASN'T IT?" Eric shouted at Keith who was no longer on screen.

He read the latest weather report and it forecasted Arus's first major snowstorm of the year. He ran out of the Sit Room and into the solarium where he could see the snow already layering the ground and the wind was also beginning to howl. Please let her just be grounded. He silently prayed to himself.

"ERIC!!!!" Keith roared his name.

"WHAT?!" Eric roared back.

"GET YOUR ASS IN HERE NOW!!!" Keith ordered.

"Yes sir your majesty sir!" Eric muttered to himself and headed back to the Sit Room.

Andy pulled the hood of her parka over her head, as she stumbled blindly into the forest. The weather had gone from bad to worse and she couldn't see two feet in front of her. The wind whipped at her parka and her fingers were going numb. "This may not have been one of my brighter ideas. I should have taken my lion that way I would have been sheltered from this blizzard." She berated herself. How was I supposed to know that the blizzard of the century was going to hit today! It was barely snowing this morning!

She could hear the tree branches snapping from the weight of the snow on the branches. Over a foot of snow had fallen in less than three hours and it didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon. "Daddy's gonna kill me, if I live through this one. Why do I always lose my temper? Eric never loses his cool about anything." She shivered as the cold wind went through her parka.

Eric stalked into the Sit Room and sat down in his chair. "Where's Andromeda? If this is a mission, then she should be here. No matter if you've grounded her or not."

Nate eyed Keith and then Eric. "What did she do now?"

Chris and Ariel were the last to arrive.

"Did you tell them Daddy?" Ariel asked softly sitting down in the chair next to Nate.

"Is something wrong?" Chris frowned when Alex snuck inside and proceeded to sit down next to him. "Alex? What are you doing here?"

Alex looked as if she was going to burst into tears at any moment. "She's my baby sister, so I have a right to help to."

Something was wrong with Andy! Eric felt his blood run cold. "Well, sir let's hear it. What did she do this time?"

Keith sat down at the head of the conference table, "Arus is experiencing one of the worst snow storms of this century and my shadow has run away from home."

Eric jumped up from his chair and glared murderously down at Keith. "SHE WHAT?! IT'S BELLOW ZERO OUTSIDE!! SHE'S GOING TO FREEZE TO DEATH!! WHY DID SHE DECIDE TO RUNAWAY IN THE FIRST PLACE?! "

Keith glared murderously up at Eric. "I know that Captain. We were arguing about you being Captain of Voltron Lion Force! She still wants what she can't have and thinks that she has to prove herself to me! Thinking that I'll finally give her Black Lion, which is not going to happen, and the sooner she gets that through her head the better!!"

"When hell freezes over comes to mind! She and I have been at odds over that lion for nearly nine years! That isn't important now, but finding Andy is! Now if there isn't anything else! I have a pain in the neck brat to find!" Eric vanished from the room.

"Did he seem scared out of his mind to you?" Nate whispered to Ariel.

"Those two are too stubborn to admit that their in love with each other." Ariel sighed.

"Are you two finished?!" Keith snarled at them.

"Don't worry sir, we'll find her." Nate, Ariel, and Chris all ran from the room.

Alex ran over and clung to her father. "What if she's hurt Daddy?"

"It's okay Alex. We're going to find her, but I need you to stay here with your mother and the twins." Keith hugged her fiercely.

"Okay Daddy, just find her." Alex ran out of the room.

Eric landed his lion just outside of Darian's castle. "Please let her be hiding out here." He jumped from his lion and into a snowdrift. There was so much snow that it was above his knees, as he made his way to the front doors of the castle.

Darian was standing inside the now open entryway to the castle. "Eric? What's wrong?" He shouted over the howling wind.

Eric stepped inside and shook some of the snow off of his uniform. "Is Andy here with you and Allana?"

"Little Blossom is missing?!" He wasn't at all pleased with the news that he was hearing.

Eric tore off his helmet. "You could say that Darian! She ran away after having it out with her father!"

"Why aren't you wearing your snow gear?" Darian snarled tossing him a parka. "Did she take her lion?"

"No she didn't take her lion! That would be too easy and not enough of a challenge for the brat!" Eric pulled on the snow gear.

Allana came to see what was wrong and frowned at them. "What's going on and why did Eric fly here in this blizzard?"

"Let's just say that I would rather be at the castle, but Andy chose today to runaway from home." Eric tried to remain calm.

"Well don't just stand there go find her! Allura must be worried out of her mind!" Allana raced to go call her cousin.

Darian closed his eyes and focused on finding Andy. She was scared, cold and lost in the Orillian forest. "Let's go Eric, she was trying to come here, but now she's lost." Darian grabbed Eric and they both headed outside. The storm was getting even worse Black lion was layered with snow and by the sound of the roar that he was making was not at all happy to be out in this blizzard.

"This is not good! I can't see my hand in front of my face! Sir come in this is Eric. She isn't at Darian's, but she was trying to get here. My guess is that she's wandering blind in the Orillian Forest." Eric reported in.

"That's where the main area of the storm is at! I can't locate her with the main computer due to weather interference." Keith tried to keep himself from losing it.

"Look this weather is too bad to fly in and Darian's castle is on the outer part of the forest. I can use my portable scanner to find her." Eric was also keeping calm, but just barely.

"Keith, we'll use the snow speeders, it'll be faster than trying to wade through all of this snow. Have Ariel and the others return to the castle we don't need them getting lost in this to. Eric and I will find her." Darian informed Keith.

Blue lion landed next to Black lion and Keith jumped out of it dressed in full snow gear. He had a pack slung over his shoulder. "Let's go find my shadow before she catches her death."

Andy knew that she had to find some shelter and soon. She stumbled along in the snow, but lost her footing and went rolling down a steep incline landing beside a frozen waterfall. "Ow!! My ankle it hurts!" She winced in sheer agony when she tried to move it. She had also hit her head and had a nasty gash on her forehead. The fall had also ripped several holes in her jeans causing several deep cuts on her legs. Her parka had tears on one of the arms and she had a nasty scrape on her arm.

She squinted at the blurry image of the frozen waterfall and could see that there was a cave shielded by long frozen ice icicles. "Please let this ice be thick enough to hold me." She prayed not wanting to be soaked to the skin by the icy water. The cold ice stung as she crawled across the ice finally managing to make it into the cave.

Her head felt like it was coming off and she was fairly sure that she had broken something. She crawled further into the vast cavern until she could no longer hear the horrible storm raging outside. She then grabbed her pack and took out her first aid kit. She poured some anti-bacterial medicine on her wounds and then slapped pressure bandages on her arm and legs.

She reached up with her fingers and felt her forehead, only to encounter a warm sticky substance on her fingers. "This is just great! My head is bleeding! No wonder I'm seeing double!" She soaked a gauze bandage with some medicine and pressed it down on her forehead. She bit down on her lip in agony, but ignored the pain.

She searched the cave and to her great relief spotted a pile of wood. "I guess someone else got stuck here." She unzipped her parka, crawled over to the wood and pilled some of it into her jacket. She then tried to make a campfire. "Here goes nothing." She frowned. "Yes! At least I won't freeze to death." She pulled on her torn coat and let the heat from the fire warm her frozen body.

"Daddy please find me." She began to cry. Even Eric would be nice to see right now. He always comes to my rescue when those creepy princes's show up, he's a hunk, and he is a great kisser. I just don't know why he has to be so bossy all of the time. She whimpered to herself.

Alex paced her parents bedroom; "I'll be right back mom. I need to go take some pain medicine."

"What's wrong Alex?" Allura frowned at her daughter.

"Nothing mom I just have a sight headache." She smiled at her mother.

Ariel walked in to check on them. "Here mom I made you some tea and Lexi I brought you something for your headache."

"Is there any word yet?" Allura frowned.

Ariel handed her mother the tea. "Nothing yet but Uncle Darian, Eric, and Daddy will find her in no time."

"She's going to be fine girls." Allura knew that her baby was hurt, but didn't want to worry the girls.

"Alex I'll stay here with mom for a while. Why don't you go lie down and rest." Ariel hugged her sister (Andy's hurt Lexi!)

"Call me if you hear anything about Andy." Alex left her parents room and then headed for the Control Room. (I know that Ariel!)

Andy eyed her right ankle, not wanting to see how badly she had hurt it. Her boot had become extremely tight and her ankle was throbbing in pain. She carefully unbuckled the side of her boot and then slowly eased her foot out of it.

"OW! OW! It really hurts!" She cried out in agony as she peeled the heavy sock from her foot. Her ankle was severely swollen and had turned a nasty shade of black and blue. She'd taken the first aid kit that her Daddy always kept in the Sit Room, so it was fully stocked with something to ease some of the pain and also contained a thermal blanket which she wrapped around her trembling body.

She picked up a hydro syringe and loaded it with a painkiller. "Oh I really hate shots." She gritted her teeth and gave herself the medicine. "Where are you guys? Why haven't you found me yet?" She whimpered miserably.

Chris spotted Alex sneaking into the Control Room and decided to see what she was up to. "Alexandra are you okay?" He asked softly.

Alex whirled around to stare at him. "What do you want?" She hissed icily.

Chris ignored her icy tone and followed her into the Control Room. "I was worried about you. I know how close you and Andromeda are." He spoke to her, as if he were speaking to a frightened child.

Alex rubbed her temples with her fingers. "Besides a headache and different parts of my body aching every once in a while I'm fine." She sat down in front of the main computer and began keying in a certain location.

Chris stood directly behind her and began massaging her head with his fingers. "Is Andromeda hurt?" He asked softly.

Alex liked him massaging her aching head. "Yes and I think I know where she is." She leaned back and let him try and massage her headache away. "That feels nice. How do you like being here on Arus so far?" She all but purred, as he continued to work magic on her head.

"It has been a very interesting few months. I believe that I'm going to like it here." Chris smiled down at her.

"I'm surprised that you're even speaking to me. I haven't exactly been nice to you." Alex looked up into his violet eyes.

Chris smiled down at her; "I only want to be your friend, if you will only let me."

Alex smiled up at him. "I would really like that. Ariel has Nathan and Andy has Eric whether she wants to admit it or not. So, yes I would be honored to have you for my friend."

Chris glanced up at the screen. "Were you looking for that location?" He noticed that there was smoke billowing out of the cave behind the waterfalls.

Alex sat up in her chair and keyed in some more commands. "Yes, but I have to be sure." The scan revealed that there was one life form and it appeared to be a human female inside the cave. "Yes! Chris call Daddy! Tell him where she is and that he has to hurry, because Andy is badly injured." She jumped up from her chair and gave Chris a big kiss.

Chris kissed her back before turning back to the console to contact the others. "Eric? Come in. Alex has found Andy's location."

Keith's face appeared on the screen. "Where is she Chris?"

"She's at this location. I'm sending you the coordinates now. Alex says that you need to hurry because she's badly injured." Chris frowned at him.

"Chris tell Alex that we're almost there and that we'll be bringing her baby sister home soon." Keith ended the transmission.

Eric gunned his snow speeder and raced for the waterfall. He stopped near the edge of the iced over pool of water and tried not to panic when he saw that there was a trail of blood that led towards the caves entrance. He grabbed his med kit and raced across the snow-covered ice.

"ANDY! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" He shouted into the entrance of the cave.

Andy was barely conscious and thought that she was imagining things. "Eric?" She whimpered hoarsely.

Eric ran inside and found her lying near a dying campfire. "Andy? Can you hear me? Where are you injured?" He knelt down next to her trembling form.

Andy blinked her eyes open and tried to focus on his blurry face. "Eric! Are you really here?" She started to cry in relief.

Eric eyed her forehead and saw that the pressure bandage was soaked with blood. "You're bleeding." He whispered hoarsely and tried not to panic. "Yes I'm here baby. Now why'd you have to go and do a dumb thing like running away from home? You should have at least checked the weather report." He carefully peeled back her thermal blanket revealing even more bandages and a really nasty looking ankle. "Andy you need to stay awake. You can't go to sleep sweetness."

Andy winced and tried to deck him when he touched her ankle. "THAT HURTS ERIC!"

Eric was busy placing new bandages on her worst wounds. "It should hurt like hell, because it's broken." He began to examine her for any broken or cracked ribs.

"Hey, watch where you're placing your hands, Captain!" She winced when he encountered a tender area on her lower rib cage. She ignored the fact that her body was also having a completely different reaction to his touch.

Keith and Darian raced into the cave.

"Andy!" Keith eyed his injured baby girl and the Captain holding her in her arms.

"Daddy!"

"She's really banged herself up, sir. We need to get her back to the castle. She broke her ankle, has a few bruised or cracked ribs, some nasty cuts, and I'm almost certain that she has a concussion." Eric frowned at them.

Darian dug into his pack and pulled out a med scanner. "You and I have to work on controlling your temper. It only gets you into trouble, Little Blossom."

Eric had pulled Andy onto his lap, while Keith and Darian worked on putting her ankle into a temporary splint. "Are you mad at me?" She looked into his golden eyes and could have sworn that she saw loving concern for her mirrored in their endless depths.

"You seem to have way too much free time on your hands and I intend to keep you so busy that you will never pull something stupid like this again." He growled down at her. "Yes Princess, I'm very angry at you, but I'm even more relieved that you're going to be okay." He bent down and kissed her softly on the lips.

Keith eyed his daughter's wide-eyed expression. "We're going to have a nice long talk after Doc Steven's has a look at you. You scared your mother out of her mind and Alex and Ariel are not happy with you either."

"I just wanna go home." She sniffled miserably, as Eric helped her into heavier snow gear and then carefully picked her up in his arms.

"I'll take her now, Captain." Keith went to retrieve Andy from Eric, but he walked passed him and headed out of the cave.

"I've got her sir, just grab her stuff and let's get her back home."

Darian had already grabbed her pack and Keith was dousing the fire. "Let's go home." Keith sighed in relief.

Eric, who was met by the entire family, carried Andy into the castle. "Don't even think of going to sleep on me." He growled down at her sleepy-eyed face.

"Boy you sure are bossy." She frowned up at him.

"Yes well, I'm going to set you down now and then Doc Steven's is going to make you all better." Eric chuckled as he set her down on the exam table.

Andy reached up and grabbed hold of his hand. "Don't leave me I'm scared." She looked up at him with her amber eyes full of pain and fear.

"Easy sweets, the Doc won't hurt you. You've known him all of your life." He sat down on a stool next to the table.

Andy bit down on her lip in frustration and tears streamed down her cheeks. "Promise me that you aren't going to go very far."

"I'll be right outside. Do you want me to go get Alex to come in and sit with you?" He brushed some of the tears from her cheeks with his fingers.

Andy nodded in response and Alex popped into the room. "I'm here baby sister." She pinned Eric with a look. "I'll watch over her now Eric. Now why don't you go outside while Dr. Steven's helps her."

Eric bent down and kissed Andy on her cheek. "I'll be right outside." He whispered into her ear and then left the room.

Allura paced the Solarium floor. "What's taking him so long?" She frowned at Keith, as she rubbed the small of her back.

Keith walked over and pulled her into his arms. "She really banged herself up my love, but David says that she's going to be just fine. Now I want you to sit down and try and relax this isn't good for you or Lilly."

"Was she still mad at you when you found her?" Allura frowned at him.

"No, she just wanted to go home. Eric really kept his cool the whole time. I'll have to give Jeff and my father a call and tell them that they did an excellent job in training our new Captain." Keith smiled down at her.

"Who was the first one to reach her? You or Eric?"

"When Chris gave us her location, our young Captain Lawson couldn't get to her fast enough. Then when we finally got her into heavier snow gear and were ready to leave, he proceeded to carry her out of the cave and told us to grab her stuff. I have a very strong feeling that Eric cares more about our daughter than he will ever admit, at least for now anyway, and that is fine with me." Keith rubbed his fingers against his aching temples.

"So that explains why Eric is camped outside the med-wing." Lance grinned at Keith.

"Either that or he just wants to yell at her for running away." Patrick smirked when Keith shot him a glare.

"Can we please just drop the subject. I'm not in the mood to deal with this right now." Keith snarled at them.

(A few weeks later)

Andy was awakened by the cry of her month old baby sister; even earplugs couldn't completely block out her sister's wail for attention. "I might as well go fix myself a snack seeing as it doesn't look like I'll be getting any sleep any time soon." She yawned sleepily, as she pulled her robe over her nightgown, grabbed her crutches, and headed for the kitchen for a little bit of peace and quiet. She glanced down at her watch and groaned when she saw what time it was. 3am!

Keith stumbled out of his and Allura's quarters and squinted at his child. "Where do you think you're going Andromeda? Go back to bed and stay off your ankle."

Andy hopped around to face her father. "I'm fine Daddy. I just thought that seeing as I was already up that I might as well fix me a snack." She smiled at her father. "Or I can check on Lilly, so that you and mom can sleep."

"My angel is hungry." Allura yawned sleepily. "Andromeda Marie you need your rest." She squinted at her daughter.

"I'm fine mom, now if you'll both excuse me I'm gonna go raid the kitchen." She headed down the hallway.

"Isn't her room fairly soundproof? Lilly didn't seem to wake up any of the others." Allura reached down to pick up her baby.

"I think that Lilly and Andy have really bonded. She loves to take care of our little angel." Keith handed Allura a fresh diaper.

Eric checked over various parts of the castle from the main control center in the castle. "I see that the little angel is awake." He could hear Allura and Keith, as they tried to get Lilly to fall back to sleep. He checked elsewhere in the castle and found that a certain princess was not in her room. "So Lilly woke Andy up again." He glanced over at Nate who was sound asleep in his chair. "Nate! Wake up and take over."

Nate sat up in his chair. "What's wrong?" He yawned.

"I saw something on one of the screens and I'm gonna go check it out. I expect you to stay awake." Eric ordered him.

"Did Andy sneak out again? Is that the reason that you're being so grouchy?" Nate winked at him.

"No, Lilly woke her up again. She's probably raiding the kitchen for a snack, even though she isn't supposed to be on her ankle." Eric left the control room before Nate could say anything else.

Andy glared down at the cast on her ankle. "I hate not being able to fly my lion or train with the team and this stupid cast itches."

Eric leaned against the open doorway and listened to Andy talking herself, while she made herself a huge strawberry sundae. "Shouldn't you be in bed, Commander?"

"Eric or should I say Captain. Aren't you supposed to be on watch with Nate?" Andy munched on a strawberry as she glared at him.

Eric ignored her icy tone and walked over to the center of the enormous kitchen. "Aren't you supposed to be in your room, in bed, and off of that ankle Andromeda Marie?"

"It's hard to sleep when my baby sister is wailing across the hall from my room and I'm using my crutches just like Doc Steven's ordered me to." Andy frowned at him as if his very presence annoyed her.

Eric sat down on a stool across from her. "Why have you been avoiding me?"

"I'm not avoiding you. Daddy has me castle bound until my ankle heals."

"You just don't wanna hear another lecture again and I don't intend to lecture you Andy. That never seems to work with you. Consider being grounded in the castle a kind of calm before the storm." Eric picked up a spoon and dug into her snack.

Andy stared wide-eyed at Eric's stormy eyed expression fearing the worst. "What are you saying Eric? Am I off the team?" She whimpered softly on the verge of tears. Had she blown it completely by running away?

Eric forced himself to keep a stern expression on his face, as he looked down into her miserable watery amber eyes. "No that's not what I'm trying to say." He raked his fingers through his mane of red gold hair in frustration. God's why does her looking at me like undo me so much?

A single tear slid down her cheek.

Be strong Eric think of this as a lecture and nothing more and she did scare the life out of you a weeks ago so draw on that. Eric steeled himself against her tears and continued his chat with her about her actions. "Why would I want to take you off the team? You're my second in command, beat Nate and Chris's scores, graduated first in your class at both academies, and have more than earned the right to fly Blue Lion." Eric was on the verge of losing his temper. By Arus she was beautiful…what would it hurt to just reach over and pull her…No!! Focus on the conversation at hand and less on the vision across from you.

"What I was trying to say was that I plan on working your tail off as soon as that cast comes off your ankle. You will be lucky if you can move by the end of the day. If you ever pull something like running away again, let's just say that you won't like what I will do to you." He went back to eating her snack. Yeah that's it focus on how steamed you are at her.

Andy picked up her spoon and quietly ate her snack. "You almost sound like you're actually proud of me and for a while when you found me you almost acted like you were worried about me." She watched him for any reaction to her words. Hmm…maybe he really does have feelings for me.

Keep it nice and casual… Eric reached over and ruffled her hair. "You've always been like a kid sister to me, so of course I'm proud of you." He grinned at her.

So much for that insane notion! Maybe he really did fancy Angelica Sinclair more than me! I'm a fool to think that Uncle Darian was right that their was some sort of special soul mate connection between Eric and me! Andy's heart felt like it was breaking when she heard those two words 'kid sister'. Any thought of finishing her treat vanished. She wanted to go to her room and bawl her eyes out in her pillow. "Is that why you keep chasing those prince's away from me? Because you I'm like a kid sister to you and I need your protection?" She tried to keep the hurt from showing in her voice.

Kid sister!? Oh smooth move Lawson! Eric saw the hurt shining in her amber eyes. "That and I know how much you hate being around those snobby upstart princes." Eric watched, as she got up from her stool and went to leave the kitchen.

Andy let the tears flow freely down her cheeks. "Well don't do me any favors, Captain. I can handle any suitors if they try to bug me and I don't need nor do I want a big brother type figure to protect me! I bet you never thought of Angelica as a kid sister!!" Her voice broke when she spoke those last few words and she vanished from the doorway before he could say anything.

Eric felt like shooting himself. "Oh nice going of all the stupid things to say to her! She thinks that Angelica and I dated?! God's this is so messed up!" He groaned to himself and headed back to the control room.

Allura was walking Lilly around the nursery trying to get her to fall back to sleep. When she heard Andy enter her bedroom. "Shall we go see what's wrong with your big sister?" She smiled down at her wide-awake little girl.

"I MUST BE THE BIGGEST FOOL ON THE PLANET TO THINK THAT ERIC WOULD EVER FALL FOR ME!" She sobbed into her pillow. "ALL HE CARES ABOUT IS THAT STUPID LION AND BEING IN THE ALLIANCE!"

Allura entered her daughter's room. "What happened angel? Why are you crying?"

Andy looked up at her mother with tears streaming down her face. "Did Daddy ever think of you as a kid sister?" She wailed miserably and buried her face in her pillow once more.

Allura glanced down at Lilly and found that she had finally fallen back to sleep. "Let me go put Lilly back in her crib, then you and I will talk." Allura bent down and kissed Andy on her forehead before leaving to put Lilly back to bed.

"I'LL BET THAT DADDY DIDN'T THINK OF MOM AS A LITTLE SISTER OR UNCLE PATRICK AND UNCLE LANCE DIDN'T THINK THAT ABOUT AUNT MYRIA OR AUNT CASSIE THAT WAY! I MEAN WHAT'S ANGELICA HAVE THAT I DON'T!"

Allura returned minus the baby and tried to comfort her baby girl. "Come here baby and tell me what's wrong." She sat down on Andy's bed and held open her arms.

Andy flew into them and clung to her mother. "ERIC THINKS OF ME LIKE A KID SISTER! I THOUGHT THAT HE CARED ABOUT ME, BUT HE'S CHOSEN ANGELICA!" She hiccupped miserably.

Allura felt for her miserable child. "Sweetie he does care about you and no baby he didn't choose your academy rival Angelica Sinclair. He just doesn't realize how much right now." She rocked Andy in her arms. "It took your father forever to admit to himself that he was head over heals in love with me. In fact it wasn't until after Hagar kidnapped me and we both almost died that he finally told me how much he loved me."

Andy looked up at her mother. "Really? So you think he'll eventually realize how much he cares about me?" She sniffled.

Allura hugged her daughter fiercely. "Exactly how much do you care about Eric, angel?"

"More than I care about flying Black Lion. I just didn't realize that until a little while ago. I love him mom! What am I going to do?" She started to cry once more.

"It will be okay sweetie. It took your father two years to admit his feelings for me. You just have to be patient and everything will work out. He nearly went out of his mind when you were missing. I would say that he cares a great deal for you. After all, you've been a thorn in his side for nearly nine years." Allura brushed away her daughter's tears.

"If it's a kid sister that he wants, then a kid sister he'll get. I never said that I was going to make this easy for him." Andy managed a weak smile.

Allura shook her head at her daughter and ruffled her hair affectionately. "I almost feel sorry for Eric. Now try and get some sleep. You have a session with Darian tomorrow." She left Andy and headed her bed and a few more hours sleep cuddled in her husband's arms.

Keith was standing outside Andy's room. "What's wrong with our shadow?" He pulled her into his arms.

"She's just growing up too fast." Allura sighed. "Oh, and I don't think that you have to worry about Andy wanting Black Lion anymore." She smiled at him as they crawled back into bed.

"Why do you say that?" Keith yawned sleepily.

"Because she's found a new target to set her sights on…" Allura was almost a sleep.

"And what would that be love?"

"Why Captain Eric Lawson of course."

"That's nice love... What!?" Keith sat up in bed and glared down at Allura.

"Don't panic yet Keith. The Captain only sees her as a kind of kid sister right now. In fact that's what he told Andy and that's why I was comforting her in her room. Now can we please go back to sleep." Allura frowned at him.

"I'm not ready for this yet." Keith moaned.

"No one ever is dear. Now try and get a few more hours of sleep." Allura snuggled down into the covers and fell back to sleep.

(A few Months later)

Andy was free of her cast and loving every second of it. She set Lilly in her baby sling, grabbed her diaper bag, Bandit's leash, and went on her morning run, something that she hadn't been able to do for months.

Andy ran passed Nate, Chris, and Eric who were stretching out before their own morning run. "Later guys," She grinned at them as she ran by. She was wearing a cut off tank top and shorts.

"I didn't know that Andy had her cast off." Nate frowned.

"Neither did I." Chris looked over at Eric who was staring at Andy as she ran down the bridge. "Did you know that she was free Eric?"

Eric took off running. "Not a clue Chris. She wasn't supposed to get it off for another week yet." He was clearly not amused that Andy had forgotten to tell him about getting her cast off.

"I feel another argument brewing between those two. Why don't we do the intelligent thing and stay as far away from them as possible." Nate headed back inside the castle.

"Yes, let's go work out in the castle gym." Chris agreed.

Andy had the urge to take Bandit for a run on the beach and Lilly was wide-awake enjoying her ride in the sling. "Hello baby sis, when did you wake up?" She smiled down at her sister.

Lily kicked her feet and happily waved her tiny arms, as she babbled up at her sister.

Bandit started barking and took off down the beach.

"Bandit! Get back here!" She ordered her dog, which had finally stopped in front of someone further down the beach. "Some guard dog he is, huh baby sister." Andy jogged down the stretch of beach until she saw whom Bandit was so excited to see. "Good morning Captain. Where are your lackeys this morning or did they decide to give you the slip." Andy greeted him coolly.

Eric stopped petting Bandit, stood to his full height a good eight inches taller than her own 5'11" form and glowered down at her. Ever since that night when he'd called her a kid sister, his princess had been giving him a very hard time. "When did you get your cast off?"

"Last night when I accidentally got it wet. Boy are you a grouchy lion today, no wonder the guys fled in terror. Did you and Angelica have a falling out? I hear long distance relationships never last." Andy arched a brow at him.

"I'm not being grouchy nor have I ever had any kind of relationship with Angelica Sinclair not unless you count her being Max's kid sister and her obsession with trying to one up you at the academy!" He snarled down at her. "Do your parents know that you have Lilly with you?"

"Duh! I did have breakfast with my parents this morning, so yes they know that I have Lilly." She rolled her eyes at him trying not to give into the urge to jump for joy or kiss him. Yes! Mom was right and boy did I hit a nerve!

"You are mine now that you're free of your cast and that means that Lilly needs to be taken back to the castle." Eric growled down at her.

"Yours?" Andy blinked up at him in surprise. "We'll just have to see about that won't we Captain." She took off down the beach. Let the games begin Lion.

"We shall see who has the last laugh princess." Eric headed back to the castle. He was already plotting his next move. Consider me your shadow from now on.

(Two years later)

Andy glared at the screen in front of her. "This is so boring." She muttered out loud. Eric had been her taskmaster for two years now and she wasn't seeing any sign of him falling in love with her. He did however continue to grab her and kiss her till her toes curled whenever some prince tried to court her, or he would cut in if one of the pests tried to dance with her at royal functions. At least Ariel and Nate got to actually date each other like normal people. While she was stuck at Eric's mercy running drills in her lion, earning her master status in all forms of martial arts and anything else he could shove at her. She had even asked her father why Eric had the nerve to kiss her and then act as if nothing had happened. Her father would just hold her in his arms and tell her that everything was going to be all right.

Now here she was at 3am on watch, while everyone else was sleeping.

Lilly had woken up and went in search of her sister. "Dromi? No night-night?" She toddled into the control room and over to her sister.

"Lilly? What are you doing up? Did you have a bad dream angel?" Andy reached down settling Lilly in her arms.

Grizabella her present from her grandfather and ever-present companion since Bandit's death glanced up at Lilly.

"Love Dromi." She yawned snuggling deeper in Andy's arms and then drifted off to sleep.

Andy kissed the top of her sisters' downy blond curls. "Love you too angel." She blinked her eyes to force herself to stay awake. "I wish that I could go to sleep."

Bella sat up and gave Andy's leg a big wet kiss on her leg.

Andy glanced down at her furry snow-white panther lying beside her feet. "Don't worry Bella; I'm not going to doze off." Andy tried to focus on the screen. She only had to last until 5am when Nate came to relieve her. The only problem was that Eric had worked her all day and her body was screaming for her to go to sleep.

She recalled her father's reaction to her being put on watch and then Eric's response 'She's a Commander in the Alliance and will be treated just like the rest of the team.' were his exact words. She didn't see Ariel pulling any graveyards! In fact he hardly made Ariel work at all. He just seemed to thrive on making her life hell. What made matters even worse was that she wouldn't get more than three hours of sleep, before having to meet him for another day of torture.

Eric seemed to know exactly where she was at all times. If she went riding he would show up, if she went running it wouldn't be long before he would find her. Yet he didn't seem to cut her any slack, a person could grow to hate being bossed around all of the time, but she was hopelessly in love with him and he was absolutely clueless.

Nate downed his orange juice as he munched on his breakfast. "I hate mornings." He groaned sleepily.

Eric walked into the dinning room and fixed himself a breakfast plate. "How much do you wanna bet that she's sound asleep in the control room?"

Nate glared at Eric. "One of these days you're gonna push her too far, and then you'll regret making her life a living hell for the past two years."

"What do you mean by that Nathan?"

Nate couldn't believe that Eric was that blind or dense about his own feelings towards Andy. "What if you finally admit that you love her and she tells you to drop dead?"

Eric let his friends statement hit home. "Then that will be my problem won't it! Andy and I would kill each other on our first date! She laid Prince Alec flat just for trying to hold her hand without asking for her permission. There's also the fact that we're constantly arguing with each other. So trust me when I tell you that Andy and I would never work!" Eric snarled at Nate.

"Just try and think about what I said or at least try and cut her a little slack. Shit! I'm late! I was supposed to relieve her on watch an hour ago." He got up from the table and raced out of the room.

Andy sleepwalked into the dinning room a few minutes later, with Lilly still sound asleep in her arms, and her cat shadowing her every step. "I'll just grab a piece of toast and some juice, before I hit my pillow." She mumbled to herself.

Eric watched as she overflowed her glass with orange juice. The poor kid was asleep on her feet. "Maybe I am being a little too tough on you." He frowned noticing that she had dark circles under her eyes.

"Sissy sleepin." Lilly frowned at Eric. "You no like Sissy?"

Eric finally noticed that Lilly was with her. "What are you doing with Andy?"

"Love Dromi." Lilly cuddled against her sister. "Keeps monsters away."

"So you had a bad dream, huh." Eric was trying to pry her fingers off of the handle of the pitcher. "I think that we need to put Andy to bed, don't you."

Lilly nodded, "She go night-night."

"That's right angel, she needs to go night-night." Eric chuckled, as he picked Andy up and cradled her in his arms. Andy instinctively snuggled against his chest sighing contently in her sleep.

Keith and Allura were awake and on the way to the dinning room for breakfast before Allura left for a peace conference on Pollex. "So that's where Lilly is." Allura sighed in relief.

Keith eyed the young man who was holding his sleeping daughter. "I told you that she wouldn't be able to stay awake."

"She didn't fall asleep until after she got off watch. She decided to eat a snack before going to bed, only she fell asleep while she was pouring herself some juice." Eric grinned at him.

Keith plucked Lilly out of Andy's arms. "Here Ally take Lilly, while I go put Andy to bed." He handed Allura their toddler and then attempted to take Andy out of Eric's arms.

Andy however wasn't about to let go of Eric and snuggled even deeper in Eric's arms.

"Let's go darling; Eric can put her to bed." Allura pulled Keith with her towards the dinning room under extreme protest.

Eric carried her into her room and took in everything about her private sanctuary. He walked over to her bed and pulled back the covers. He noticed that she had several pictures sitting on her antique nightstand beside her queen size antique four-poster bed. There was a holo-photo of her family and an even larger photo of him when he had received the key to Black lion. He looked down at her sleeping face in confusion. Why do you have that picture? What does this mean? Eric set her down on her feather soft mattress, only to find that she refused to let go of his neck. In fact they were almost nose to nose. "Andy?" He growled hoarsely.

"Hmmm." She smiled in her sleep and pulled him even closer to her.

"Let go of my neck."

Andy shook her head in her sleep and purred. "No I rather like this dream." She then kissed him with all the feeling that she had for him.

Eric instinctively kissed her back giving into some of his hidden feelings for his princess. She dove her fingers in his hair and surrendered completely to his kiss. What am I doing? He reluctantly broke off the kiss and let her gently fall back against her pillows. Then he ran for his quarters and a very cold shower.

Andy sat up in bed and felt like crying her eyes out. "IT WAS A DREAM! HE FINALLY REALLY KISSES ME AND I DREAMED THE WHOLE THING!" She screamed into her pillow. How did I end up here? Daddy must have carried me to bed. She pouted and went back to sleep.

Andy awoke to the blaring of the castle alarms to find that it was now dark outside. "This is just great! I over slept! Eric is gonna make me pay big time for this!" She threw back her covers, pulled on her boots, and then ran from the room. "I wonder how long I was out?"

Everyone seemed very upset, her sister's were in tears, and her Dad looked ready to murder someone.

"Mom has been kidnapped by Rand! It happened yesterday on her way to Aunt Romelle's planet!" Ariel ran over to her sister.

"YESTERDAY?! HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN ASLEEP?!" Andy shouted at the top of her lungs. "MOM'S BEEN WHAT?!" She let go of Ariel and slammed her fist into the Sit Room table, easily shattering the glass without even causing a scratch on her hand.

Everyone went dead silent as they stared at the shattered remains of the enormous table and then at Andy's furious face.

"I told you that she would lose it." Alex sighed.

Eric, Nate, and Chris were completely speechless.

Keith however was not and let her know how he felt about taking her frustration's out on the table. "Did that help Andromeda Marie? You are lucky that I let you sleep as long as I did! I need you to be clear minded and focused! Do you understand me Andy?!"

"I'm sorry Daddy, it won't happen again." She walked into her fathers open arms. "We'll get mom back. I guess that I've been stressed out lately, a certain Captain won't lay off the torture." She glared over her father's shoulder at Eric. "But then Voltron is his one and only love. Isn't that right Captain?"

Eric glared murderously at her for that comment. "Are you finished or do you wanna destroy something else?!" He snarled at her.

Andy arched a brow at him. "My, My, My, we got up on the wrong side of the bed today. Didn't we Captain." She wasn't at all afraid of his murderous glare. "When do we leave?" She asked her father.

"In a few hours, the only reason that we used the alarms was to wake you up." Keith frowned down at his daughter.

"Let's just say that I didn't wanna wake up from my dream. I'll be back in a few. I just have to shower and change into my gear." She kissed her father on his cheek and then winked over at a very furious and frustrated Eric, before gliding out of the room.

Eric stalked out after her claiming that he needed some air.

Nate, Ariel, Chris, and Alex all grinned at each other sensing that the fall of Eric and Andy was almost at hand.

While Keith focused on rescuing his wife.

Next Book Two-- Voltron the next Generation

There you have the last chapter to book one!

Eric and Andy's story

I in no way own any of the original characters in this story and Voltron is the property of World Events Productions,ltd. (So nobody sue me okay ;;) The new characters on the other hand are mine and under no circumstances are they to be used without my premission.

©Cindra 1998-2007