Restlessly, Allura paced up and down her study. Her forehead was wrinkled as she pondered the many issues that had come up with the emergence of the Lotori even though weariness made her gait slower than usual. She should have been asleep hours ago, but errant thoughts kept her from keeping her eyes closed. Now the silence in her study, normally soothing, was grating on her nerves.

With a huff, she sank into the soft leather chair behind her desk, and immediately regretted doing it. The huge, solid affair that was her desk could hardly be recognized as such for it was completely covered with datapads, loose sheets of paper, and Riaru knows what else. Feeling a tightness in her stomach at the thought of the work she would have to catch up on, she swiveled her chair to face the bookcases to her right.

The first object her weary blue eyes fell on were the two group pictures taken at hers and Keith's wedding. In one photograph, they stood next to each other, smiling brightly into the camera. Keith's arms were around her and she leaned against his solid frame. Their fingers were tangled together, the distinctive gold bands they wore sparkling in the late afternoon sun. It was the quintessential wedding picture, but the one next to it was not. In the second photograph, only the lower half of her body was visible, her white skirts fluttering as she kicked her stocking-clad legs. The camera had caught one of her shoes flying in mid-air. A chuckle escaped her lips as she remembered being hauled bodily onto Sven's sturdy shoulder, surrounded by Pidge, Hunk, and Lance who were yelling at the top of their lungs about running away with the Queen. Keith had been shoved aside like he hadn't been just crowned King and he would have fallen if not for Romelle, Link, and Gwen catching him. A full-blown laugh erupted from Allura as she studied her husband's startled face, covered with lipstick from the kisses the three women had bestowed on him.

A small smile curved her lips as the memories of that day, and the days preceeding it, successfully took her mind off her troubles. She and Keith had talked about it often and she felt as if she knew his side of the story as well as he did. Eyes resting on his serene expression in the first wedding picture, she remembered.

Twenty-two years earlier...

Allura stared into the toilet, focusing on her hazy reflection. Ragged breaths came out of her open mouth and her blonde hair stuck damply to her face. Her head ducked deeper into the toilet's wide opening as she retched painfully, her eyes watering. Acidly, she cursed Keith's name and the male gender in general for not having to go through this.

Son of a....

As if on cue, she heard his familiar footsteps enter her chambers and unerringly find her in the bathroom. She didn't have to look at him to know he was probably looking at her with compassion in those deep, dark eyes she loved staring into, because at that particular moment, she felt another heaving in her gut that told her to raise her head right then would mean a bigger mess. Keith knelt next to her and gently gathered her unbound hair in one hand, the other coming to rest on her back. Despite her earlier thoughts, she felt comforted by his presence...but she still wasn't going to let him off easy.

"Allura," he said quietly. "Do you want me to get Nanny?"

"Do you think she'll be able to throw up for me?" she retorted, her voice scratchy from her exertions.

The look he threw her was dry but he didn't comment. He stayed next to her until she was sure she wouldn't end up vomiting all over them both and sat back. Leaning against the wall, Keith stared at her, a smile threatening to break across his face. Allura knew she didn't look too intimidating sitting on the bathroom floor with her hair falling in limp waves around her, but she didn't think it was cause for laughter so she glared. It was enough to make him grin.

"I don't know what you have to smile about. You're going to have to find yourself a concubine because there's no way in hell I'm taking a chance with you again!"

His grin gave no sign of fading and the glint in his eyes was rakish. "You weren't protesting last night," he said slyly.

A faint flush rose to her cheeks. "It had been forty-three hours since my last vomiting sessions and I'd forgotten what it was like. Never again!"

Keith only shrugged and stood. He helped her up with gentle hands, wrapping an strong arm around her waist as her wobbly knees threatened to make her sink back down onto the floor. Depositing her on the bed, he quickly picked up the breakfast tray still resting on the trunk at the foot of the bed, and handed it to a waiting Hunk beyond the metal doors--but not before grabbing the still-steaming mug of coffee and the plate of dry toast Hunk held out. Keith's mouth watered as he imagined the scrambled eggs and pancakes he'd spied untouched on the plate, but didn't make a move to sneak a bite. One look at Allura told him she was close to falling onto her back and going back to sleep. He waved the coffee in front of her face.

"Just hang on, Allura. All you need is a little caffeine."

Even with her eyes half-closed, she managed to glare at him, but she took the proferred mug and filched a slice of toast from the plate he held in his hand.

"Doesn't Nanny suspect anything when she sees my breakfast untouched?" she muttered.

"She doesn't see your breakfast untouched," Keith said, amusement creeping into his voice as she opened her eyes wide to keep from falling asleep, nibbling at the edge of her toast. "We have our own personal garbage disposal right outside the doors."

She managed a tiny smile. "Remind me to thank Hunk."

"Will do. Feeling better then?"

She looked at him, her mouth still a hard line, but he saw the softening in the sapphire blue depths that tended to look at him with more tenderness than he suspected she knew.

"A bit."

Gingerly, he rested a hand on her still flat belly.

"I know, nothing to show for it, yet," Allura sighed. "Although, considering only a select few know, that's not such a bad thing."

"I still think you should tell Coran and Nanny. It's not as if we're not getting married anyway..."

Allura straightened. "That reminds me, I have a fitting to go to in..." She glanced at her bedside clock. "Half an hour."

Keith wrapped both arms around her, his lips tantalizingly close to her ear.

"And I've got a tux fitting in an hour. I'd say that's long enough..."

Allura started to respond when her eyes widened. She dropped her toast onto her bed and nearly spilled the coffee as she put it on the floor before she ran back into the bathroom. The sounds of her retching into the toilet made Keith sigh. Slowly, he got up and followed her.

"How was the old ball and chain this morning, Commander Conception?" Lance teased.

Keith fought the urge to throttle his friend and instead responded with what he hoped was a wise smile, "You'll find out for yourself when Link's pregnant with your first child."

Lance only snorted at that, but the annoyance on his face satisfied Keith.

"Link and I are not having kids for a while. We've barely had time to be alone together," he said.

"Accidents happen," Sven said with a shrug. "And you, my friend, are the King of Accidents."

Pidge looked up from the tuxedo catalogue he was perusing to nod his agreement. "I'd be scared if I were you, Lance. I've seen you and Link together. You two barely think. She's got a good head on her shoulders otherwise, but with you...you make her stupid."

Keith, Sven, and Hunk erupted in laughter as Lance sputtered. Pidge only blinked in confusion before realizing what he said and then he too laughed.

"You nervous?" Hunk asked when the laughter died down.

"No," Keith said honestly. "The suspense is killing me really."

"Have you made your choices yet, Sir?" a staid elderly gentleman inquired politely.

Keith started, not having heard the man glide up to him. "Uh..not yet, Mr. Zianli."

"Don't worry, Mr. Z. We'll come get you when we settle on something," Lance said easily.

Zianli eyed Lance with trepidation but only nodded curtly before disappearing behind the curtains separating where the men sat from the rest of the exclusive boutique.

"Arus doesn't have a single stadium to its name but it's got a 'dinner wear' boutique," Sven said with a sorry shake of his head.

"Zianli was just waiting for the chance," Pidge said. "Just in time for all the weddings. He can keep this store for a year just from you four."

"Did you find a good one yet?" Hunk asked, looking over Pidge's shoulder.

"They all look the same to me."

Keith stood, putting his hands on his khaki-clad hips. "Alright, let's get this show on the road. Faster we get out of here, the faster we can get started on Sven's stadium."

"I like the sound of that," Sven said, rising.

Pouring over the stacks of pictures on the coffee table, they finally settled on a style that they could agree on. Keith stuck his head out the curtain and waved Zianli in.

"We want this one," he said, poking a finger at the picture Lance held out.

"An excellent choice, Sir. I will call for the final decision and we will get started on the fitting."

Hunk frowned. "Final decision?"

With a grimace, Keith clarified. "Nanny."