It was quiet in Keith's room even though three people were holding vigil there. The three of them could barely keep up a conversation as none of them could ignore the underlying tension; Sven and Lance were angry with her still for all this, and Allura was not so sure that she could fault them for their feelings. She hated being on the losing end and it showed, try as she did to keep things on an even keel. Lance could not seem to speak without ripping into her and Sven was too tired to keep the peace. So they just stopped talking altogether. It was less painful that way.

The beeping of Allura's communicator broke the silence. Sven and Lance glanced at her and she did not bother leaving the room to answer it. The three of them listened as Coran relayed what Pidge had found. Sven and Lance watched the color drain from her face and something akin to panic leaked into her eyes, but her voice was strong when she spoke. She looked at the two of them, her jaw set.

"Go to main and help Coran," she ordered, her tone booking no argument. "We have to evacuate. Listen to him and if I hear anything about either of you screwing up, I'm going to put a blaster to your head personally."

Lance threw her a jaunty salute.

"As you wish, Your Majesty," Sven said formally.

"Would you two just get out of here!" she yelled. "What are you standing around for! There are four hundred men here that need to get out before Zarkon arrives."

"Easy, Princess," Lance warned. "We're not your stooges to boss around. If this wasn't an emergency, we wouldn't be doing shit."

If his language offended her, she didn't show it. Her blue eyes were like ice as she stared him down, but it was apparent that she was struggling to rein in her temper. Sven put a careful hand on her shoulder.

"We are Keith's friends and he saved your life. Think about what kind of people a man like that would keep around him," he said evenly.

"I...please do what you can to get my people to safety," she said, her voice low and trembling with the effort.

They both saluted her, though Sven did before Lance, and finally ran out of the room. After taking a second to gather herself, she turned back to Coran on her communicator.

"Salvage what you can from here and evacuate the men into the housing compound," she ordered. "I'm sending you some extra help."

"You must leave now, Princess."

"I'm not leaving until Commander Porterfield is safely gone," she said firmly. "Just do what you have to do. I'll get out of here on time."

She severed the connection before he could argue. In a moment, the alarm klaxons began going off and orange lights began flashing all over the compound. Outside the med wing, men began rushing back and forth, getting patients out.

"Doctor Gorma," she called. "Get in here."

The older man came in, looking rushed and harried. "Yes?"

"Can he survive if we unhook these machines?"

The doctor refused to meet her eyes. "No. He could slip into a coma and never wake up if we do."

"Then wake him up."

"But Princess, we've already tried and he didn't..."

"Do it," she interrupted. "We have no time, Doctor."

He nodded and went to get a hypospray from the medicine drawer. He measured the right amount of stimulants into it and pressed it against Keith's neck. Allura leaned down until she was face-to-face with the commander and patted his face lightly.

"Wake up, Porterfield...Keith...wake up...please," she said. "You have to open your eyes now...wake up..."

He didn't stir.

"Give him another one," she said.

"But it might kill him."

"He'll die if we leave him and he'll die if we do something," she murmured, fully aware that she held this man's life in her hands now. "Just do it."

Dr. Gorma added as much stimulant as he dared to the hypospray. Allura clutched Keith's hand as she chewed on her lip. She owed him her life and she needed to repay the debt but she could only wait to see if she was saving him rather than damning him.

Keith felt himself fighting through an inky black darkness. He could feel a coolness on his face and slowly began to feel and hear. He groaned softly. He heard a female voice shouting his name and he could feel a tugging on his left arm. He struggled to open his eyes and succeeded in opening them a crack.

"Porterfield!" Allura exclaimed. "It's about time!"

"Nice to see you too, Princess," he muttered, his voice hoarse.

He was still trying to get his blurry vision focused, but he could see several figures moving around his bed and he could feel them taking things out of his body. Allura put a guiding hand on his back and she pulled him up to a seated position.

"Listen to me, Keith," she said. "We have to get out of here. I'm going to put you in a wheelchair. Do you think you can help me?"

"I can try," he said.

She carried most of his weight as she helped him to the chair, but they made it. She got behind him and took off down the corridor. His head rolled around as he could barely hold it up. He could barely even keep his eyes open.

"Stay with me, Keith," she said. "Don't you dare die on me now. After all the crap you put me through."

He forced his eyes open. Allura opened her communicator as she ran.

"Coran, I've got Porterfield. How is the evacuation going?"

"Exactly according to the plans, Allura. The men are doing fine. Half are out already and the other half are stripping the compound of any important items."

"How are the officers doing?"

"Better than you expected. They've been a great help. Hunk and Pidge have done a great part in taking main apart."

She had no idea who Hunk and Pidge were, but if they were doing a good job, she was satisfied.

"I'll see you at Housing then."

"Yes."

"Allura out."

She pushed Keith until they reached her quarters. She had a private two-seater shuttle there that Coran insisted she have, and she vowed she'd never use, but she needed to get Keith to safety. She had to lift him again because the chair couldn't fit in there, but this time he was a dead weight. He was conscious, but he couldn't gather the strength to move his legs. Gasping for breath as she struggled with him, she was finally able to strap him in as well as herself. Remote charges had been built into the tunnel so that her trail would be destroyed and she set them off as they shot out into a connecting tunnel.

"W-where a-are we going?" he stammered sleepily.

"I'll tell you when you can understand me so you won't ask again."

"You are the most unpleasant woman I have ever met," he mumbled.

"Get used to it. It's taken me years to get to this point in my character development."

He snorted in a pathetic effort to laugh. She shook her head, a ghost of a smile on her lips. Waves of relief washed over her and a sort of giddiness threatened to allow a hysterical giggle from escaping her lips. Pressing her lips tightly together, she kept it in and took deep breaths to settle herself down. It wasn't over yet. Porterfield was in no condition to provide any kind of backup if they were found and she needed to stay sharp.

"Where are Lance and Sven?" he asked, beginning to sound more like himself.

"They're coming. This is the first time they'd left your side since...since you were admitted into the med wing. They are good friends."

"That's why I keep them around. Are you all friends yet?" he asked.

"Not quite," she answered dryly.

"I'm not surprised. Don't mind, Lance. He uses humor as a defense mechanism," Keith said.

"Against what?" she snorted.

"Against people liking him. And Sven could charm the pants off you. Literally."

That comment made her blush and she scowled at nothing in particular.

"Don't be so sure," she grumbled.

There was a beat of silence.

"That's true," he admitted, sounding tired.

He settled back in his seat and closed his eyes. His silence made Allura crane her head to look at him sitting behind her. He looked like he was going to pass out at any moment.

"Stay with me, Porterfield," she ordered. "Your friends are not going to be happy if I give you to them as a corpse."

"Can't argue with that."

"Talk to me," she said. "Tell me about yourself."

She turned back around and waited for him to start talking. He did, though his words were slurred and slow. She was not surprised that he had seen so much action, but was surprised that he was still sane. She listened all the way to Housing as she began to put together a picture of the man he really was, beyond the personnel jacket that she had loathed at first read.

Annoyed with herself, she realized that she was beginning to like him.