Lance moved to help Roy as she gently moved Olly into a sitting position, but was stopped as Roy flung out an arm.

"Don't touch her." She ordered, turning her bright eyes onto him. Lance frowned, but took a step back. Satisfied at the distance between them, Roy cradled Olly in her arms, pressing their foreheads together.

It was a familiar position to Lance, the pose identical to that of when they had attempted to subdue Therra in the pod. He had told himself it was none of his business, but now with Olly lying unresponsive in Roy's arms, it had become his business.

"Olly come on, fight for me Olina!" Roy muttered, free hand reaching down to hold Olly's.

Lance noticed her face was carefully neutral, as if she was forcing herself to remain calm. Figuring it was important, Lance tried to do the same. Panicking would get them nowhere.

Olly's eyes fluttered and she let out a whimper. She reached up weakly to place a hand on Roy's cheek.

"Lance I need you to take off her jacket," Roy said.

"R-right—"

"And be careful not to touch her skin!" Mild panic was seeping into Roy's voice, and Olly shrieked, pulling her hands away from Roy.

"Shit! Olly, I'm sorry!"

Lance did as he was told, removing the jacket with as much care as possible. Roy Immediately moved one of her hands and held it over Olly's heart.

Lance's eyes caught on a mark stretching across Olly's collarbone. It was an old scar, faded over years and years, leaving only pale lines, illuminated in the light. He wasn't sure, but it looked kind of like numbers.

"What's wrong?" Matt asked, worry prominent in his voice.

Olly cried out and Roy turned towards him.

"Whatever you're feeling right now, push it down. Block it out. If you can't do that, get out, and move as far away as you can."

No one moved, and Lance too forced himself to push down the tiny bit of panic that he could still feel. He made himself completely calm, slowing his breathing.

Olly seemed to move her hand towards him for a moment, before it dropped to her side again with a groan.

"That..." Roy furrowed her brow in brief confusion. "That's- that's good! Lance, hold her hand for me, okay?"

Lance frowned "But you said not to touch her skin." He said.

"Whatever you're feeling – or not feeling, whatever – keep it going." Roy said, shuffling back to make room for Lance. "I think right now you're better for this."

Lance knelt down and grabbed Olly's hand, squeezing it tight.

"Pilot... I need Pilot..." Roy muttered to herself. Lance watched her, wondering what she was going on about. She stood up, tapping her prosthetic limb on the ground nervously. "Lahnce came back the other day, right?" she looked to Matt, knowing that he kept track of these things.

"Yeah." He confirmed.

"Mux, find Pilot for me, now." She said, arranging the chairs and motioning for Lance to place Olly on them.

Muxis pulled a device from his pocket, flicking a switch on the side as he left the room.

Roy moved back to Olly, watching over her as Lance continued to hold Olly's hands.

"That gets rid of our most unstable source." She murmured, motioning to the door. "He's no good drunk, I swear."

Olly's eyes fluttered open, and Lance watched as they took on a glassy quality.

"Shit, she's still over stimulated..."

Lance tightened his grip, forcing calmness. He tried to imagine it flowing from him into Olly.

He had a feeling he'd already figured out what was happening.

"Olly look at me." Roy said firmly. Lance had never heard her take that tone of voice with her before.

Olly's eyes snapped up to meet hers, holding her gaze.

"Pilot'll will be here soon, hold on."

Immediately some of the glassiness in Olly's eyes vanished, said girl attempting to pull away from Lance.

"No, no I'm fine-" She said, but as Lance's hands left her own, she shrieked, clenching her eyes shut.

Roy darted forwards, resting their foreheads together and hushing her quietly.

"Please, I don't want to" Olly whimpered. Roy tilted Olly's chin a little so they were looking directly into each other's eyes.

"That's an order, Olina" Roy said softly.

Olly's eyes widened, and her gaze flickered to her collarbone for a fraction of a moment.

"Yes, Miss Rosaline." she whispered meekly.

Lance shared a brief look of confusion with Matt before Muxis burst through the door, a small alien that Lance could easily mistake for some sort of bug close behind him.

"Pilot!" Roy yelled, grabbing her hand and placing it over Olly's eyes. It was still for a second before Pilot jolted in place, tipping backwards into Roy's waiting arms.

The girl sighed deeply, breathing through her nose. Roy lowered her to the ground, where she sat, absolutely still.

Olly still writhed in place, in constant danger of falling off the crude bed made of chairs.

"Come on Olly, focus." Roy hissed, moving to place her hand on the back of Olly's neck once more. "Put your walls up. Block it out."

There was silence as Olly's laboured breathing echoed through the kitchen. Her face twitched a little. To Lance, it seemed like every other grimace that had decorated her face in the past couple of minutes. But he supposed Roy must have seen something more in it, and she grasped Olly's hand and squeezed.

"That's right Olly, just like that!"

Pilot stirred, sitting up straight and stretching her arms. She spotted Olly and pulled herself into a standing position, moving over to stand by her side.

"Hey, we're good. You should be able to control it yourself now." She whispered, stroking the girl's hair as she did so. Lance noted the way she carefully avoided flesh on flesh contact, drawing back whenever she got close.

Maybe it was stronger with direct contact?

Lance remembered their last mission, the way Therra had grabbed Olly's arm as she attempted to escape. Olly's scream right after, and Roy abandoning Therra to help Olly instead.

Why was Roy able to help? What was it about her that could let her touch Olly without causing her pain?

Olly groaned, slowly pulling herself up to rest on her elbows.

She was pale-faced, but calm, watching everyone in the room in turn. Lance noticed that her gaze lingered on him, but didn't point it out. Roy still kept a hand on her neck, and Pilot had picked Olly's discarded jacket up off the floor, wrapping it around Olly's shoulders.

"We'll explain everything in a second." Roy assured, Pilot shooting her a look over the top of Olly's head.

"I'm sorry" Olly said lowly, staring up at Pilot.

She shook her head at Olly's words.

"It's not your fault. Besides, I can deal." Pilot said, moving to sit at the kitchen table. She was still watching Roy, though this time it was in mild disinterest.

Roy helped Olly sit up fully, careful that she didn't list sideways off her chair. She took the second chair to herself, slouching back in it in exhaustion.

Slowly, Lance, Matt, and Muxis joined them at the table.

"It's nice to see you, street rat." Olly said, the slightest of laughs entering her voice. Pilot grinned and finger gunned her from across the table.

"Right back at ya, mood ring."

Olly let out a full laugh this time, hopping off the chair and going around the table to give Pilot a hug.

The hug didn't look like it would end any time soon, and Olly held out an arm. "C'mon Roy." She said. Roy rolled her eyes, but got up all the same and joined in, a smile curling at the corners of her lips.

This was the most emotive Lance had ever seen Roy.

Some more minutes passed, Muxis finding it the perfect time to take a nap at the table. The hug ended, but all three girls still stayed close.

"You're definitely going to want an explanation." Roy said, pulling herself from the clump first and sitting at the table again.

Lance smiled as Olly moved to sit in Roy's lap almost immediately, Pilot laughing as she hopped up onto the table and sat there.

"Should we wait for Mux to wake up?" Matt asked, jabbing a thumb at the Galra.

"Nah, he 'ready knows." Pilot shrugged. "Haven't needed to do this for a while, so you don't exactly know yet, fluffy."

Matt huffed. "I tolerate Roy calling me that, but it doesn't give you a free pass."

Pilot stuck out her tongue, and Roy bit back a laugh. Olly giggled, the sound easing the tension from earlier.

It was an adorable scene, but it only added to Lance's growing list of questions.