Hunk smiled a little and they continued to play. Keith woke up a while later, staring silently at the ceiling. Hunk and Lance both scrambled up next to him. Keith blinked at them, his brow furrowing, 'Why are they staring at me? Where's Shiro?'

"You are awake Keith..." Lance breathed and Hunk turned, "I am going to get Shiro." Lance nodded, sitting down next to Keith, "Don't worry, your brother is coming in a minute." Keith just stared.

HUnk hurried into the control room, "Shiro, Keith's awake!" Shiro stopped what he was doing and followed Hunk into the room. Keith was shifting restlessly in bed, Lance talking to him quietly. "Keith?" Shiro walked over and held his hand.

Keith paused his shifting and looked at Shiro. Shiro brushed Keith's hair back and smiled, "Hi buddy. How ya feelin?" Keith simply shook his head. Shiro let out a sad breathe and nodded, "How about food? Water?" Keith shook his head again frowning. Lance mirrored hsi frown and glanced back at Hunk sadly.

"Come on Keith. A little something. That is what I am asking."

Keith looked around at their hopeful faces and nodded slowly. Shiro smiled slightly and went for the muffin. Keith grimaced inwardly, wishing he'd just heal already. Shrio broke off small pieces again and fed Keith slowly. Keith slowly ate them, not nearly as fast as before. Shiro's heart broke as he watched Keith. The young paladin stopped chewing, staring blankly at the wall behind Shiro's head.

"Keith?"

Keith blinked, focusing on Shiro again. "Keith, you're scaring me..." Keith made a small noise, meaning sorry. Shiro sat in silence and watched Keith. Keith started chewing again and weakly swallowed the bit of muffin. Shiro smiled a little bit more and put the muffin away, realizing Keith wouldn't eat as much as the day before. Hunk grabbed the water pouch and handed it to Shiro solemnly. "Just a little Keith. Keeps you hydrated.... You -um." Shiro cleared his throat to not sound so watery, "need more color." He smiled a little.

Keith weakly raised an eyebrow in confusion but opened his mouth obediently. Shiro held it until Keith motioned for no more and placed it back on the table. Keith coughed weakly, turning his head into the pillow. Shiro bit his lip and looked at Lance and Hunk. Lance shook his head and mouthed, 'This is bad'. Shiro nodded in understanding and closed his eyes for a second, praying for strength. Hunk placed a supportive hand on Shiro's shoulder. Keith then shifted restlessly again. Shiro opened his eyes slowly.

"You okay man?" Hunk asked softly behind Shiro. Shiro nodded lying. Keith slowly drifted back to unconsciousness. He hated seeing Keith so helpless and stood, going and leaning on the doorway looking away. Lance shared a glance with Hunk and walked up to Shiro,

"Don't worry Shiro. Now that we can wormhole we'll find a place that can help Keith."

"We had better." Shiro whispered under his breath. Lance fell silent, unsure of what to say to give Shiro hoe, when he himself had little left.

"it is one of the hardest things, for anyone. Watching a family member possibly..." Shiro didn't

finish audibly, scared to say it out loud although the word 'death' laid in his mind like a 10 ton weight. Lance put a hand on Shiro's back, "Yeah, it is. But we don't know yet if he'll actually.... We can still save him before it's too late." Shiro nodded sadly and rubbed his eyes, emotionally exhausted.

"Go get some sleep. Hunk and I can keep watch again."

"I couldn't sleep if I tried guys. He keeps me up just thinking about him. I need him...really."

Hunk joined them by the door, "We know Shiro. Everyone sees how attached you two are. Why don't we all keep watch tonight then."

"..." Shiro sighed and nodded, "That'd be nice. Thanks."

"You're welcome." Hunk left and brought back blankets and pillows. He arranged them on the floor and grabbed the cards again. Shiro stayed quiet all night while they played. Lance paid better attention to the game, trying for Shiro's sake not to worry him more. Shiro lost every game but they all knew why, He behaved just like Lance did earlier: watching, looking, and checking on Keith above them. Lance won, not crowing over his victory like usual, instead he picked up the cards to deal again. Shiro stood, "I'll go get dinner okay guys? Be right back." The two boys nodded quietly.

Shiro left and went to the training deck and sat in the corner and cried. He let out all the pain that ached inside his heart and just wept. Nothing meant more to him than Keith so when Keith was hurt, especially when Shiro was behind the pain, it caused him so much anxiety. He wept for a long time, finally running out of breath to do so more. A memory filled Shiro's head.

"Kashi! Kashi!" A wide grinning eight year old ran into Shiro's bedroom, "I got an A+ on my spelling test! All because you helped me!" He presented his paper proudly, the big grade standing out in red ink. Shiro looked up from his textbook and smiled back widely at Keith, "That's great Keith!" he sat up as Keith jumped on the bed and hugged him,

"I did it. All because you helped me."

Shiro chuckled. "You'll always help me. Right Kashi?" Keith asked, staring up at him.

"Always Keith, always."

Shiro watched the memory in his mind's eye and smiled a little, tears still falling down his face. "Always Keith, always." Shiro sighed hard and shakily. He wanted to help Keith, with all his heart, but Keith was so far gone. This wasn't a spelling test or an exam that Shiro helped Keith study for but he promised to always help and he would. Shiro wiped his eyes and set his jaw determinedly. He went to the bridge, checking their progress and ordered them to go as fast as possible. He then went to the kitchen and grabbed food and water and brought it back to Hunk and Lance. "Sorry I took so long boys." Shiro chuckled and put the food down.

Hunk and Lance both noticed the dried tear tracks on his face and the red around his eyes, "It's fine Shiro." Lance said warmly, giving him a smile. "Perfectly fine."

They sat and ate the goo, "We need you in the kitchen Hunk." Lance laughed, "Most definitely. I swear if I eat one more bowl of goo I'm going to make squishy sounds when I walk." They all laughed happily, giving Shiro a slight lift. They played cards again after dinner, occasionally checking if Keith was waking up as he shifted now and then. They soon settled for bed on the floor and Shiro outside in the hall. Lance yawned, "Night guys."

"Night Lance, night Hunk. See you in the morning." Shiro turned off the light and went outside into the hall. Lance fell asleep fairly easily, having stayed up the night before. Shiro tried to sleep and had dreams all night of Keith.

Lance woke up around three in the morning to an odd sound. He rubbed his eyes and looked around. Lance heard the sound again, paling slightly as he got up and walked to the bed. Keith's breathing was long and slow. As he breathed a soft moaning sound could be heard. Lance pulled an extra pillow from where he was sleeping and propped up Keith's head gently. The moaning was slightly quieter now. Lance bit his lip, remembering his grandfather making the same sounds.

'He is close...' Lance thought.