Chapter Five

Bethie sat up in the bunk, her knees clutched to her chest and silent tears running down her face. It was dark in the cavern as Hunk had ordered them all to bed and she could hear the sounds of sleep from her teammates, but she could not close her eyes without seeing Skech. Jack was quiet in his bed and after his admission that he knew about Skech, he had not offered her anything more. He seemed to sense that she did not want to talk about it and he didn't push the issue. It was clear to everyone else that there was a lot more between her and Skech than met the eye, but they were sensitive enough not to ask.

Exhaustion crept into the edges of her consciousness, but when she laid down, she suddenly yearned for his arms to be around her and she could barely bite back a sob. Burying her face in her pillow she tried to silence her weeping, but when Jack's bed squeaked and she felt her own bed dip with his weight she knew the pillow hadn't worked. She turned and went into his already open arms. His hands were gentle as he cradled her head against his shoulder and she clutched at his shirt as she released her pain.

Jack could feel her tears go through the thin material of his shirt, but he only held her tighter, his own feelings unimportant in light of his best friend's anguish. He hadn't slept a wink and even though she had not made a sound before now, he could feel the waves of sadness coming from her. He knew what it felt like to lose his heart, knew it as surely as he knew the woman he held, and he knew that if he had the chance to bring Skech back, he would do it.

For her.

"You need to get some rest, Bethie," he said. "I know it'll be close to impossible to get some sleep tonight, but I want you to at least try. Tomorrow we hit them hard and I want the Red Lion to be by my side when we do."

"Tomorrow, I'll fight for him," she said, her voice hoarse. "For him and for my mother."

Jack started to let go of her, but panic made Bethie's throat tighten. She clung to his arms, her eyes wild.

"Don't go," she said. "I know this is strange, Jack...just stay here with me. Just...just stay."

His lips parted with surprise, but he only nodded dumbly, letting her pull him down onto the bed. At first, she laid awkwardly in the circle of his arms, but then Jack took in a long breath. He gave her a squeeze as he did and she seemed to melt against him, their bodies relaxing against each other. Bethie rested her cheek against his shoulder and closed her eyes. For the first time since learning of Skech's death, the vise that had tightened around her heart had loosened and her hand rested lightly on top of Jack's heart.

And she slept.

It began to snow.

Jack did not realize how much time had passed until he saw the perfect white flakes cloud his viewscreen and wondered if they would be back in their homes by the time the snow melted away. Somewhere below, Keith and Lance were preparing to provide ground cover for the five Lions, securing what few fighters they had left. There would still be no help from the Alliance, not even a single squadron, despite an outcry from citizens to come to the aid of Arus. Sven was doing all he can, but he was trapped by the bureaucracy that Keith and Allura had fought so hard to create. The unfairness of it all made Jack want to turn his Lion towards Galaxy Garrison and the Senate, but he resolutely kept the Black's nose headed for the Castle of Lions. It was a crazy plan, but he wasn't going to argue with the planet's ruler and in all honesty, his blood pumped at the thought of facing down the Lotorians instead of hitting them fast then running away.

"Report, Black Lion."

Jordan's voice on his private channel startled him from his thoughts, but Jack gave no indication of that when he replied.

"All clear, Green. Don't worry about me."

"I'm not exactly in any position to watch your back, Jack," she argued. "Or did you decide to let Bethie in on your secret?"

Jack glared at the green dot on his readouts, which was on the back end of the V-formation they flew in, like it always was. It irritated him that he'd confided in Jordan, but he would have to deal with it now. She was right about their positioning and that irritated him even more. He opened up communications between all five Lions without answering her.

"Blue Lion, switch positions with Green," he said.

There was a beat of hesitation and Jack braced himself for Ethan's inevitable protest. To his relief, the Blue's pilot merely gave an acknowledgement and did as he was told.

"I was wondering when you would try for the pot of gold."

Jack could not keep his lip from curling as Merla's face filled his viewscreen. She smiled pleasantly, ruby red lips parting in a beguiling way.

"I can't get her off the channel, Jack," Matt said.

"Oh, I'll be gone by and by, Matthew. I just wanted to extend an invitation to your team to have dinner at the castle. I'm sure you'll all be happy to be back underneath its gloried ceilings."

" Dinner?" Bethie spat. "You've got nerve, Merla. We're not exactly coming for a visit."

"On the contrary, I believe that you owe me this courtesy. After all, I did not come barging in on your little desert hiding place, did I? Oh, don't look so surprised. I know all about it thanks to the Black Lion's lurching journey home. I hope your head is doing alright, Jack. It was a nasty hit. So, have I convinced you to visit? Your mother would be delighted to see you, Princess."

Stunned silence was her response.

"Alright, I'll give you all a chance to regroup and perhaps have a talk with the King. Tell him I was very upset to find him gone, but not surprised. I will see you all in the south entrance within the next hour."

Her image disappeared as mysteriously as it disappeared.

"What the hell is going on up there?" Keith demanded. "I've been trying to get in contact with you for the last five minutes, Jack!"

In stiff halting tones, Jack told Keith what had just transpired.

"It doesn't seem as though we have much of a choice," Keith said bitterly. "I'll tell the troops to stand down, but I want only you and Bethie to go to the castle. She knows where we keep the Lions now, but that doesn't mean we're going to drop them off at her doorstep."

"We'll land near your entrance and you can meet the Lions there," Jack said. "If the need arises, you and Uncle Lance can fly the Black and Red. No arguments about taking any one of them with us because I don't like having the Lions unmanned and within her reach."

"You weren't going to hear an argument from me," Keith said. "I don't want you to antagonize her, Elisabeth. She's been a step ahead of us every single time and if she has gone out of her way to invite you into her domain, you can bet she's about a hundred steps ahead. Did she say anything..."

"Nothing about Mom. We'll be careful, Dad."

"No rash decisions and..."

"Trust us, Uncle Keith," Jack put in. "I haven't grown up in the presence of diplomats and politicians my entire life without learning a thing or two."

"But if trouble starts brewing, you have to hit them back, Dad. Trust me and Jack to get ourselves and Mom out of danger because we can't lose any chance we can get to hurt them as badly as we've hurt them," Bethie said.

"Always were too smart for your own good," Keith said frustratedly. "We'll all hold up our ends of the bargain."

"We're going to land now," Jack said, leading the Lions. "We'll see you in a few minutes."

Keith, Lance, and Pidge were already standing outside, mindless of the circling enemy fighters or robots within shooting distance. Bethie threw herself in her father's arms, fighting back tears as he did the same. Ethan put his arms around them both. Lance and Jack clasped hands before Lance put an arm around his son and held him in a way that he hadn't for a long time.

"You gave me a scare, Jackson. I should have known you wouldn't want to mess up that hair with the helmet," he chided.

Jack ran a hand through his tousled chestnut hair. Lance thought then how exhausted he looked and how much older because of the stillness in his once dancing eyes. He was glad Link was not here to see that.

"If it's any consolation, I sleep with the helmet on now," Jack said easily. "You're looking a little snowy up top, Dad."

"Being a leader will do that to you."

Jack turned to Keith. The beard was gone and the midnight black hair with its streaks of gray wild around his head, but there was no mistaking the fact that this was a leader of men. His back was straight, jaw set, but it was the look in his dark eyes that Jack envied. It was part ferocity, part bull-headed control that had Keith's eyes gleaming like obsidian stones, the color shades darker than what was written in his biography. He clasped Jack's hand, his grip firm and Jack could clearly read the thoughts in his head.

"I'll lay my life down for them both," he said fiercely.

"No," Keith said. "I want all three of you back."

Bethie and Jack turned to each other. Without another word, they set out on foot towards the castle.