Disclaimer: I don't own VLD!

A/N: This fic needed a wrap-up/feel-better chapter, so here it is! Thank you, everyone, for reading!

Chapter 7

Keith quietly shuffled down the hallway of the L'thya hospital, one hand on the wall. When one of the nurses came over to scold him, he gave them a look that must have convinced him to leave Keith alone. Good decision.

If it was any time but now, one of the other paladins or Coran would've been walking with him or insisting he went back to bed, but they were all out in the city on a secret mission at his request. Which, in turn, gave him the chance he had been looking for.

It was a week after he and Emi had been rescued from the hybridization facility, and both of them were still recovering. He knew it would take time. The wounds would heal, but the nightmares wouldn't be going away any time soon. Shiro and Allura hadn't left Emi's side since they got her back, and the rest of Team Voltron split their time hovering between Keith and Emi. The whole ordeal seemed to have freaked them out. Hunk had hugged him for five minutes straight once they were all back on the castle ship.

All of the other prisoners had been boarded onto the Castle and brought by the team to L'thya, a planet known universe-wide for its relaxing and excellent medical facilities. Many of them had been held by Farren and Saveri for years, and they needed more than just a few days in the healing pods. They needed people that cared for them and gave them the socialization and counseling they desperately needed.

Saveri and the rest of the science team were being held at a prison located off of a well-known asteroid belt. There wasn't any kind of universe-wide justice system, so they would be tried by court systems from each planet they had abducted people from. For Emi and Keith, that would be Earth, though Reuan was arguing that they also had the right to try the science team since the kidnapping had been committed on their planet. Keith didn't care as long as Saveri and her team got what was coming to them.

Keith rested for a moment. He had woken up from surgery only a couple hours ago, so he was still sort of out of it and exhausted. At least that damn implant was gone now. They still weren't entirely sure what those had been for, but the L'thya had figured out how to safely remove them so now he and Emi were free of them. It was a good feeling, knowing that there wasn't anything foreign lodged behind his ribcage anymore.

Luckily, the room he wanted to go to was right at the end of the hall. Leaning against the wall, he knocked, wondering if they would let him in.

The door opened a few moments later, and Shiro instantly pulled him inside. "Keith, what are you doing up? You're supposed to be resting," he said in a loud whisper. He firmly pushed Keith in a chair and then stood back, giving him what could only be labeled as a Dad-look. While he had been good at it for years, being an actual father had only improved and sharped the expression. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"I…" Keith shrugged and leaned against the side of the comfy, cushy chair. "How's Emi?"

Shiro softened and nodded over to the little bed by the window. Emi was asleep on her side with her arms around her black lion plushie. Bandages were wrapped around her arms and legs, but she looked comfortable.

Allura sat cross-legged at the head of the bed, and her hand was laying on Emi's temple, a gentle pinkish-purple glow lighting up her fingers. Magic. Allura only used it on occasion. She was singing softly and had her eyes closed, though she opened them for a brief moment and flicked a smile in Keith's direction.

"What's Allura doing?" Keith asked, keeping his voice low.

"Giving Emi good dreams," Shiro said, his gaze lingering on his wife and daughter with intense affection, "She hasn't been sleeping well." He turned his attention back to Keith, meeting his eyes. "Like you."

Nothing escaped Shiro. "I'll be okay." Keith leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, and then stood up. "I just wanted to see how she was."

Shiro's hand came down on his uninjured shoulder. "Wait." Keith frowned and tried to take a step toward the door, but Shiro wouldn't let him loose. "Keith, we need to talk."

Allura slid off the bed, covered Emi with a fuzzy purple blanket, and walked over to them. "You've been avoiding us," she said gently, "We're worried about you."

Keith looked at the floor since that was currently easier than looking at either of them. He didn't deserve their worry. The guilt he had been trying to reason away flooded him, beating at him. Your fault, why didn't you notice what was happening, it's your own damn fault, you're the reason Emi's hurt, you only have yourself to blame. Part of him knew he couldn't let those thoughts run away with him, but wasn't it true? He hadn't rescued them, he hadn't even been able to help Emi.

"I'm sorry," he said, the words breaking as they left his mouth, "I should've done more…"

Shiro looked at him harder and then started. "You don't blame yourself, do you?"

Allura seemed alarmed as well. "It wasn't your fault. We saw what happened from the Red Lion's perspective, and there wasn't anything you could have done to stop the Ossa."

"I should have, though!" Keith said, pulling away from Shiro. "I should've figured out a way to get out of it, or at least get Emi free. You would've found her if she was on Reuan, she could've hidden with Red." His shoulders hunched forward.

"Keith, stop," Shiro said, "Just stop." He stepped toward the younger paladin and put his hands on either side of his face, making him look him in the eye. "We do not blame you. And you're not going to blame yourself, either. Got it?" He let go and then pulled Keith in for a hug. "You can't do that."

Allura hugged him from the other side, and he found himself sandwiched between them. He bowed his head, trying not to cry. It wasn't that easy, stopping himself from feeling that way, but their reassurances helped somewhat.

"Stay in here for a while," Shiro said, pointing to a smaller bed in the corner. This room was bigger than his, which allowed both Allura and Shiro to sleep there at night.

"You should sleep," Allura said, patting him on the shoulder, "You need to rest, too."

Okay…okay.

It was later that evening when the other paladins and Coran got back from their secret mission. They gathered in Keith's room, where an argument broke out about which pair had come back with the best find.

"It's black. It's fluffy. It's perfect. Ours wins," Lance said.

Pidge shook her head. "Ours has black on it! And orange and white. It won't shed as much because its fur is short."

Coran made a grand gesture. "And it's got little stubby legs that make it automatically adorable."

"You were only supposed to come back with one," Keith said. He had come back from Emi's room and was sitting on his bed, watching the two subjects of the argument play-fight and bat at each other. Honestly, he hadn't even really expected them to come back with kittens, but then again, L'thya was a diverse planet and lots of humans had made a home there.

"This is way better," Hunk said, reaching down to scratch one of the kittens behind the ear, "Now they'll be best friends."

"I don't know if Shiro and Allura will go for two," Keith said uncertainly. They had been perfectly fine with the fact that Keith had promised Emi one kitten for a good reason, but two? Hmm…

"We'll just give them both to her and pretend we didn't realize there were two," Lance said, "We can be all, 'Oh, wow, look, it's amazing!' And then they won't have a choice."

"How could they say no, they're soo cute," Hunk said, lifting the calico kitten up to his face. It meowed and pushed its paws against his cheek, fussing. "Yes, you're right, you are so cute and fierce, yes, you are."

Keith gently pushed the other kitten over, which made it squirm and try to bite his hand. Okay, so black kitten or tri-color kitten. One was fluffy while the other one was short. Which would Emi like better?

There was a knock on the door, but before anyone could even try to hide the kittens, the door opened. Allura and Shiro stepped inside, Emi's hand in theirs. "We heard from the front desk that everyone was back—"

"Kittens!" Emi erupted. She dropped her parents' hands and raced over, skidding to a stop beside Keith's bed. Her eyes shone with more energy and excitement than they had in days, and she put her hands to her lips. "Kittenkittenskittens."

"Wait, kittens as in more than one?" Allura asked. However, any kind of protest she was about to make died when Hunk walked over and put the little calico munchkin kitten into her hands. "Ooooh, my." She squished the kitten to her face and gave Shiro a starry-eyed, smitten look that said they were definitely keeping both kittens no matter what.

Lance picked up Emi and set her on the bed. "You get to name 'em, Squeaker."

"Both of them?" she asked.

He gave her ponytail a gentle tug. "Yep, both."

Keith picked up the black kitten by the scruff of its neck and held it out to Emi, who took it and hugged it to her. She kissed the top of its head and then lifted it up so she could get a better look. It blinked its blue eyes and meowed until she held it closer.

"What if I name them wrong?" she said.

"You can't," Shiro said. He looked amused instead of annoyed, so Keith took that as a good sign.

"Okay…" She pointed at the black kitten. "Shadow." She tilted her head as she considered the calico kitten and then smiled. "Haru."

"Did you really just name that cat after your favorite cartoon character?" Lance said, teasing her.

She nodded and smirked. "Sure did."

Keith reached over and ruffled Emi's hair. "I like it."

Emi crawled up the bed and cuddled up beside him, giving him a hug. "Thank you."

Keith hesitated and then hugged her back. Things were going to get better. It would take time, but they would heal. This was a good start.

Again, thanks so much for reading this angsty fic! :D