Allura entered her room. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she was dizzy. Leaning against the closed doors, she slid to the ground, clutching her head in her hands. She saw the end of her life, and she saw the end of peace. She'd run into a nurse in the corridor and was given even more bad news. Alderain and Maerie, along with her baby, were dead. Allura was overwhelmed and wanted to scream her frustration.

"Allura?" a quiet voice broke through silence.

She looked up and saw Keith looking at her worriedly. She wanted to cry at the sight of him. He looked as if he'd lost ten years of his life in the half hour that she was gone. She stared at him, not trusting her legs to work.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She told him what Jeff told her and the information Lotor divulged. He sank back against the pillows.

"I might not be alive in a day and neither might the others," he said. "Who's going to defend Arus?"

"Don't say that," Allura said. "Alliance forces have been deployed and scout ships have told us where the Drule Fleet is. They're heading right for us and we're going to be ready for them. You'll be up there, Keith."

"I'm not getting better, Allura."

"You will be when Gorma finishes analyzing my blood." She got up and went to his side. "I'm not going to let you die."

He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. When they parted, she threw her arms around him and closed her eyes, breathing in his scent, and promising herself that she would never forget how he felt in her arms.

"Want to have that talk now?" he asked.

"Yes, I do." She turned earnest eyes to him and said simply, "I love you, you know. The whole situation with Alderain was all your fault."

"Mine?" he repeated with disbelief, and unsure of how to take her words. It was so like Allura to say something sweet then maddening in the same breath. "How can that be my fault?"

"You were having a bad time and I didn't know how to handle it," she explained. "When we fought, I was so hurt that I wanted to forget you. I thought Alderain would help me do that. I thought I could fall in love with him instead of with you. But being with him only made me wish that it was you who was walking with me in the gardens...like we used to, Keith. I missed that so much--I even missed our fights. But then when you came back, I was angry that you didn't react more strongly to his being my suitor, yet I didn't want to ask why I was angry. I didn't want to think that I was in love with you--maybe I didn't want to at the time because I was afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

Allura rested her forehead against his and he twined their fingers together.

"Afraid of my feelings for you," she answered. "I've never done anything like this, Keith. I've never felt anything even close to this. I meant what I said before, after we kissed for the first time. I wouldn't be able to stand it if you left me. I would never recover and I would lose my best friend, but life without taking chances is not living. When I said that we should put our responsibilities before ourselves, I was wrong. If we don't love each other, then what are we fighting for? "

"Pidge said the same thing," Keith said with a short laugh.

"He's a smart kid."

"We can do this, Allura," he said gently, tracing her jaw with his finger. "You and me--we can be a team in all aspects of our lives. If there's something I've learned from this damned war, it's that life is too short. We can't waste it trying to be apart from each other. We don't have time to dally anymore. It's now or never. Let me love you."

Their gazes caught and held. He saw fear in her eyes, but also love. So much love and all for him. He pulled her to him and she went, her eyes closing.

Their lips met and just like that, they forgot the world around them. Keith kissed her with everything he had in him, and he could feel her reciprocating in kind. Her arms were wound tightly around his neck and he held her on top of him. He loosened her hair as he began to press butterfly kisses against her neck, unzipping her flightsuit enough so his journey would not be interrupted--she hadn't bothered putting on a turtleneck like she usually did. A sigh escaped her lips and she buried her face in his shoulder. Her breath was warm against his cold skin and he could feel himself losing control. She raised her head slightly and started to kiss the underside of his jaw, slowly making her way to the soft skin underneath his earlobe. One of her hands was tangled in his hair and when his hands roamed down to her hips, her hold tightened. Groaning, he rolled so that she was on her back and he began to undo the zipper of her flightsuit. But before he could get it down all the way, her hand clamped down over his.

"You're weak," she murmured against his lips. "We can't do this now."

"The hell we can't," he returned. "Now or never, Allura."

She released a breath and let go of his hand.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said. "I promise."

"I trust you. With my life, with my heart..."

He cupped her cheek and smiled into her eyes. "At last..." he said and he lowered his head, bringing his mouth to hers again.

Lance woke up with a start. Link laid nestled against him, her breathing erratic, but he was just thankful that she was breathing at all. He held her tighter, wanting to warm her cold skin as well as his. Blankets were piled on top of them and he felt a hot water bottle at his feet, but he was still cold.

He tried to sit up, but his body wouldn't cooperate. He wondered what was going on because there seemed to be endless activity outside in the corridor.

"Hey," he called out, though his voice barely made it above a whisper. "Hello?"

Grunting, he reached down and pushed the button on the side of the bedframe. Seconds later, a nurse came in.

"What's going on?" he demanded, barely able to focus on her. "Where's everybody?"

"You're not in any condition to do anything other than rest, Lieutenant Branegan," the nurse said gently but firmly. "The Princess will be in to see you shortly, but until then you should lay back and rest."

"I want to talk to her now," Lance said stubbornly. "Please call her for me."

"Yes, Lieutenant, I'll do that."

She left the room and Lance waited another minute before he moved to search for the viewscreen portable controls. He found it in the drawer of the nightstand and he turned it on, going to ANN.

He watched for approximately thirty seconds, his eyes widening with each passing second. Then with a strength he didn't feel, he pushed the button on the bed frame.

Allura ran a hand through Keith's tousled hair. He rested his forehead against her temple, his breath cold on her cheek. His hand rested on her bare belly, warm because of her skin. She kissed his forehead, closing her eyes and vowing to remember the moment forever.

"Are you alright?" he asked her tenderly.

"I should be asking you that. You're not exactly in the best condition."

"If I was, we would be fast asleep."

Allura felt her cheeks heat. He smiled and kissed her.

"I feel guilty for having used up that time when you could have been planning," he murmured. "But I don't regret anything."

"Neither do I," she replied. "There is no one else in this universe who I want to be with at this moment--or any other moment."

They lay together in silence for a moment because that was all they had. The door chime rang and they looked at each other with panic, then amusement.

"One minute," Allura called out.

She got up and pulled on her clothes while Keith watched. He was too exhausted to move and when she finished, she tucked the covers in around him. Then, she went to answer the door.

Allura was a grown woman, but in many ways she was still a child. And as Nanny looked from her to the half-naked man lying in her bed, the Princess of Arus felt all but two years old.

"Yes, Nanny?" she asked as casually as she could.

Nanny's face reddened and she would have exploded if she hadn't seen how sick Keith looked. She pushed any unpleasant thoughts from her head and forced herself to look at only Allura.

"Ve must talk," she said. "You can safe dem eef ve haf enuf time."

Allura's eyes widened and she nodded.

"I vill be in your study," Nanny said. She threw Keith a dirty look and marched off. Allura went back to the bed and helped Keith into his clothes. She wasn't shy about looking at him now as she knew she was supposed to be. He seemed to be aware of that and he grinned. She grinned back, then it faded when she saw how tired he looked.

"Rest, my love," she said, brushing a lock from his forehead. "I'll have Doctor Gorma run in here and take you to the medwing to be with the others."

He didn't argue like she expected him to, but only nodded weakly and closed his eyes. That worried her to no end. After one last kiss, she rushed out the door and to what Nanny had in store for her.

The Legend Will Continue...