Keith entered the medical wing of the castle still in his black uniform. By this time all of Arus had heard of the Princess' accident. They had tried keeping it under wraps but someone had said something and it was hard to stop it from there. He had managed to push through the crowd waiting outside the med-wing and he ordered Lance and Hunk to clear them out. It was a hazard to have so many people in such a small place. Coran was sitting outside the examination room, looking as if he'd aged ten years. He looked up when he heard Keith's steps and the younger man was not surprised to see the animosity in the advisor's eyes.

"How is she?" Keith asked carefully.

"Worse than she was this morning," Coran retorted.

He stood and stalked towards Keith. For his part, the commander fought the urge to take a step back. Coran had never showed his bad side since they had known him, but he was certainly showing it now. And it was not something to scoff at. Though Keith outweighed him by fifty pounds as well as thirty years younger, Coran's countenance was enough to intimidate him. But he was still captain of the Voltron Force and an Alliance officer so he stood his ground and looked Coran in the eye.

"How could you let this happen!" the advisor yelled.

Keith couldn't say anything. He had been avoiding that question himself and putting the Lions back to their individual places had kept his mind off it, but now that Coran had thrown it in his face, he couldn't do anything but think. His jaw worked as they stared each other down. And for the first time in his life, Keith averted his eyes. He couldn't say anything in his defense because he had no defense to speak of. He was responsible for her and now she was in the hospital.

"I can't believe that this happened during practice!," Coran raged. "I don't even want to think about what could have happened had it been a real battle."

The doors of the examination room slid open to reveal Doctor Gorma and the Princess lying in a bed not far behind him.

"Pipe down, Coran," she said, her voice hoarse and weak. "I have an incredibly painful headache and the noise is making it ten times worse."

Coran pushed past the doctor and Keith to go to the Princess' side. Keith followed him, though at a more subdued pace. The other members of the team came charging in a moment later, save Pidge who limped, after they had received the word that the Princess would be fine. Pidge had been getting his own injuries wrapped up and had just finished.

Allura had a white gauze bandage taped to the cut on her forehead and two black eyes. Her right wrist was wrapped in an elastic bandage because she had sprained it. She also looked more than a little tired, bags under her eyes. She wasn't dressed in her uniform anymore. It was blood-stained.

"How do you feel?" Coran asked.

"How do you think?" she replied.

"She sounds fine to me," Lance remarked.

Coran silenced him with a ferocious glare. Lance's eyes widened in surprise and he looked at Keith for some kind of explanation for the older man's behavior. Keith only shook his head and motioned for him to stay quiet.

"She has a concussion," Doctor Gorma said, coming to stand at the foot of the bed. "She's going to have to stay awake for the next two days because it'll be too dangerous for her to sleep. Afterwards, she's going to be just fine, though she will have a headache for the next week or two."

"No serious or long-term damage?" Keith asked. "Her helmet was cracked slightly."

"None that I can detect at this moment," the doctor replied. "The helmet has a special design and it protected her well even though it cracked. It can take quite a beating."

"Makes me feel better," Hunk said. "I'm glad you're alright, Princess."

"Me, too, Hunk," she said with a small smile. "So, Coran. What's this about you yelling at Keith outside?"

"After this, I refuse to believe that you think I would allow you to fly Blue Lion, Princess."

"Coran, I refuse to believe that you actually think you can stop me," she retorted. "But I really don't feel like arguing right now. The only thing I can say to you is, it's nobody's fault. It was an accident. Keith couldn't have stopped it anymore than I could have. By the way, what did happen?"

"It was a disrupter of some kind," Pidge replied. "It shorted out our circuits which was why we lost control. I don't know how it could have possibly gotten here because we got no strange readings before practice."

"The meteor shower," Lance muttered. "It probably cloaked a vessel coming in."

"Hunk..." Keith said.

"I'm already there, Chief," the big man said. He gave Allura's hand a light pat. "I'll be back to visit, Princess. We can play Scrabble to keep you on your toes."

"What's that?"

"You'll see. Are you coming, Pidge?"

Pidge grinned at the Princess. "Thanks for breaking my fall."

His grin was infectious and she managed a small smile. "Anytime, Kid."

He limped after Hunk, leaving Keith and Lance to face Coran's wrath. He had been silent during the light exchange and looked as if he was going to explode. Allura tilted her head slightly to look up at him and she squeezed his hand.

"Don't do this," she said. "Things happen..."

"Do you know what could happen if you get killed!!" Coran said loudly, letting go of her hand as he threw his arms up in the air. "Do you know what anarchy could occur if Arus loses its leader. We don't have a steady government. The men under you are constantly vying for a more important job, a more prestigious office. If you die, there is no one to take your place. There will be a civil war if you die. Your refusal to have an heir has your leadership in a perilous position. And now this!"

"NOT NOW!" Allura yelled, sitting up. "For Riaru's sake, Coran, back off! And what's this about an heir! Have you lost your mind?!?"

Keith put a restraining hand on the Princess' shoulder, pushing her back gently to the pillows. Her eyes began to water as the pain in her head intensified. She closed her eyes, a tear sliding out from beneath her eyelids. He knelt and put a hand on her head, stroking her hair to comfort her. He looked at Lance. The other man nodded his understanding and put a hand on Coran's arm.

"Come on," he said placatingly. "You need to get out of here before her head blows up."

"Princess..." he began.

"He's right, Coran," she said, waving her hand. "I'll talk to you when we've both calmed down."

He nodded and allowed Lance to lead him away. Keith's hand stilled on her head and he moved away at a more respectable distance. She opened her eyes, the pain in them brightly apparent. He stood at ease, but his face relayed his feelings.

"Don't you dare," she said, raising a warning finger. "I don't need your arguments too, Keith."

"I know," he said. "We're not going to talk about anything but you getting better until you actually do get better."

"Good," she said. "I'm not going to stop flying and if you try to take the key away from me..."

"I know, Allura," he said.

She rested her head back down and closed her eyes.

"I'm so tired," she sighed.

He dragged a chair to her side and sat down.

"Open those eyes," he said. "You heard what Doctor Gorma said."

"I'm just so tired," she repeated, beginning to drift.

He shook her hard. Her eyes opened slowly, but he could see that she was glaring at him already. He stood, telling her he'd be right back, and went quickly to his room. He pulled out a pack of cards from his night table drawer and went back to her, holding them out triumphantly. She eyed them suspiciously, not knowing what they were.

"This will help pass the time," he said.

"What are we going to do with them?" she questioned.

"I'm going to teach you a little game called War."

A blonde eyebrow arched and she chuckled appreciatively. "How appropriate."