Sven awoke to find himself in a clean bed surrounded by pristine white walls. He sat up quickly, but had to lie back down because dizziness overcame him. A nurse walked in then, a smile on her face. He smiled back.

"I am not on Doom anymore, am I?" he asked.

"No. You're on Arus, Commander."

He laughed from the pure joy of hearing her words. The nurse grinned despite herself. Then, his laughter faded and he looked around.

"Vere is Romelle?" he asked apprehensively. "Did dey get her as vell?"

"Yes. She is in the ICU."

His eyes widened and his breathing quickened. He put a hand on his chest and felt the frantic beating of his heart.

"Vat happened?"

The nurse hesitated. "I don't think I should be telling you this. It isn't my place."

"Den get someone who will!" he yelled.

She practically ran out of the room to fetch Doctor Gorma. Keith was standing just outside the room when she came out and she nearly knocked him down.

"Your friend is awake," she said. "He wants to know about the woman you brought in."

"I'll take care of it," he said to her.

"Are you alright?" she asked, noticing the bags under his eyes and the stubble on his chin.

"We were out all night in Cassia," he replied. "I'll be fine."

She left and he entered the room. Sven brightened when he saw Keith come in. They stared at each other, not knowing what to say when there was so much to be said. Keith stepped forward and Sven chuckled. He sat up and threw his arms around his friend.

"Tank you, my friend," he said, patting Keith's back.

Keith grinned. "Lance and I couldn't resist an adventure." He sat on the edge of Sven's bed. "So, you want to know about Romelle."

"She took care of me and kept de fact that I vas awake from Zarkon at de risk of her own life," Sven said, sobering. "She iz a very special voman, Keit."

Keith looked closely at Sven's face and was startled to see the emotion on it. His friend had changed in the six months he'd been gone and Keith had a feeling it was for the better. Sven was one of his best friends, but he had to admit that he had been somewhat self-centered and arrogant, but no so much so that people disliked him. In fact, he was very well-liked especially by women, and he knew it. But Keith could see that now Sven cared about someone more than himself. The look in his eyes when he asked about Romelle was so heart-breaking that Keith wondered if there was something more between them.

"She means a lot to me," Sven said in response to his unanswered question.

"She was very strong," Keith told him. "When we were escaping, Lance and I had to carry you, she took a blaster and returned fire even though she was injured. I've never seen strength like that before."

"Vat injury did she sustain?"

"She was shot in the back. Doctor Gorma said that it was a laser rifle set at the highest setting. Fortunately for her, we were far enough so that she wouldn't disintegrate, but we almost lost her back there."

"Iz she going to be ok?" Sven asked, averting his eyes.

"Yes. She's resting in ICU now," Keith replied. "You can see her when you get your strength back."

"I vant to see her now."

"The nurses won't allow it. I can get you in tomorrow at the earliest."

"If you're not here by ten hundred hours, I'm going to crawl dere if I haf to."

"Nice to see the old fire back in your belly," came a voice from the doorway.

"Lance!" Sven exclaimed. "Nice to see you, Friend."

Lance pulled Sven into a hug, slapping his back. "I never thought I'd be this happy to see your ugly mug again."

"Vish I could say de same."

They laughed and began to talk. Outside the room, Allura stood next to the doorway. She had meant to go in and say hello, but from the sounds of things, she would just be intruding. Their circle of friends was complete and she had no place in it. Ignoring her more depressing thoughts, she turned on her heel and headed to her study to get some paperwork done. In the room, Keith paused in what he was saying and craned his head.

"Did you guys hear something?" he asked.

"No," Lance said.

He looked towards the doorway. "I thought I heard something. Anyway...."

Allura took a deep breath, the clear night air filling her lungs. She stretched, her back cracking as she had been hunched over he desk for over four hours straight. When the words on her computer screen had begun to blur together, she decided it was time to take a break. She decided to go to her mother's, although technically it was now Keith's, garden to give herself a rest. She sat on a stone bench and took her glasses off. She rubbed her strained eyes.

Suddenly, Allura froze when she heard footsteps nearing her and listened carefully. She relaxed when she recognized Keith's firm steps. He had come looking for her, wanting to talk about something he knew was weighing heavily on her mind since they had gotten Sven back.

"How are things going?" he asked, coming to sit beside her.

"Better than expected. Voltronia is almost complete and Marinia is halfway done. The people are much happier now and I haven't heard a single complaint from them yet," she replied. "You're doing a great job."

"No, you're doing a great job. We just work for you."

She shrugged. "Whatever. As long as they're happy." She looked at him. "Why aren't you with Sven?"

"The nurse made me and Lance leave. She said Sven needed his rest. We couldn't fight her. Is she Nanny's cousin?"

Allura had to smile at that. "I think so. It's scary to think that there's a lot more where that came from."

Keith ran a hand through his hair. "Allura, about the Blue..."

She looked at him warily. "Am I still going to pilot it?"

"That's for you to decide. In all fairness, you are the pilot now, but you have to consider the fact that Sven has the experience..."

"I've heard that before," she interrupted. "I'll think about it."

He looked at her closely, concerned. "I'm just telling you how it is. I don't want to make things any harder for you by lying and saying that you should be flying it. I noticed that you are looking more exhausted with your political duties as well as your piloting ones."

"Don't worry about me. You've got enough things to worry about," she said, more harshly than she meant to, but she was getting annoyed at his clucking over her.

He was a little taken aback by her tone and stood abruptly. "Well, Princess, that's what friends are for."

She craned her head to look at him, her blue eyes sparkling in the moonlight. "Really?"

He smiled confusedly, unsure of why she would ask a question like that. He thought that they already knew where they each stood.

"Of course," he answered bemusedly.

She nodded and stood, a small satisfied smile on her face. "I think I'm going to get some rest. Goodnight, Keith."

"G'night, Allura."