Summary:

Pidge goes for the knife.

Author's Note:

You only read this chapter if you've helped Pidge pick the knife.

Alt. Ending 1: You Choose the Knife

Would you go for the knife or the gun?

Gun Knife

Would you like to choose the Knife?

Yes No

Taking her lessons she's learned from her classes, Pidge went for the knife. Rushing him, she grappled his arm and tried various positions that would have him drop the knife to the ground. But, there was the sound of a gunshot, her ears ringing again in the proximity amid the screaming that Lee was making.

The silence that followed was deafening.

"Pidge."

Lee stiffened in her arms and the gun dropped to the ground with a dull thud. Lee stopped screaming and his grip on the knife tightened before it followed suit.

"No," Pidge whispered, her eyes burning.

"Pidge," Keith called again, softer this time.

She closed her eyes.

"No, this wasn't supposed to happen!" Lee cried, stifling a broken sob.

Pidge opened her eyes, slowly turning to face Keith and his arms wrapped around her. He leaned against her, his weight heavy and she sank to her knees. She didn't know what was happening, but the warmth spreading to her chest and hands told her one thing.

Keith dropped his head to her lap, cradling him in her arms. "No, no, Keith, no," Pidge frantically whispered.

The red was spreading across his chest, the hole in his shirt vaguely revealing where he had been shot. Keith was struggling to breathe, his wheezing painful to hear and the veil of sweat that covered his skin. "Hey, hey," he murmured, lifting his gaze to her.

Rick managed to stave off the bleeding, and could only watch. Lee was curled into a ball, rocking on his feet while uttering the word "no" on repeat.

"Keith, you can't—you can't!"

He wheezed and was trying to breathe through what could be a punctured lung. Whatever Pidge was trying to do to stop the bleeding, much like she had done for Rick, wasn't working for Keith. There wasn't a towel or anything she could use to stop it.

His hand, wet and covered in blood, reached for hers, stopping her from trying. It was as though he knew that he didn't have much time and Pidge couldn't hold back her tears. She resisted his hand, holding down the place where she could feel the… no, she couldn't.

"You can't leave me, Keith, please, you can't," Pidge pleaded.

"I'm glad—you're—okay," he wheezed.

"No, stop talking, stop—you'll make it worse." Her vision was blurring. She wiped furiously at her tears, unable to stop them. "Just wait and someone will come and rescue us and save you."

Keith's gaze was lidded, slightly furrowed from trying to hold down the pain. "I—I don't think—I'll make it." He laughed without humor, bitter, angry, and frantic, but it was the realization that he was shot finally dawning on him, hysteria tinged in the edges of his voice.

"No, you will—you have to! Not just for me, but for them! For—!" She choked back a sob.

His gaze shifted from where Lee was laying. Rick was pale as a sheet, close enough that he's probably losing just as much as blood as Keith was, only, there was a look on his visage that was in denial about the situation as much as she was. Regret and anger and disbelief flitted across his face and Pidge didn't have the heart to think of anything else of what they meant.

Pidge couldn't believe how much blood there was. No matter what she did, nothing would stop the flow of blood. "I'll save you, Keith, I promise, so please, don't leave me—I-I don't think I can live without you—after all, we went through." Her tears flowed endlessly, holding him close to her while she tried to apply her shaky hand against his chest.

Keith didn't answer for a moment, closing his eyes for tears to fall from his eyes. He reopened them with a weak smile. "You will," he whispered.

"No, I can't—I can't. I-I—"

"I do too."

"Please. Please… don't leave me."

She pressed her head against his head, his forehead and he lifted a hand to touch her cheek. Fingertips graze it and she clenched her eyes shut. "Please, Keith—hold on."

He was getting so cold. For a person who worked out like a maniac, Keith always radiated a heat that was entirely his own. He was her personal heater, her comfort, and her…

Her best friend.

When she reopened her eyes, Keith was looking up at her with a weak smile.

"No, you promised."

He was crying too.

"You promised!"

His hand dropped from her cheek.

And it was as though the world turned to nothing but black. The voice of Rick's desperation, anger, pointed all at Lee. Lee, screaming and crying that this wasn't supposed to happen. It all faded into the background because all she could see was Keith's lifeless face.

— x —

"How's she doing?"

Matt looked up from where he was reading. Honestly, he wasn't really as much as he was just trying to find something to distract him. The heart monitor beside him steadily beeped, and his eyes wandered over to Pidge, where she was resting.

But his gaze flitted back to where Shiro and Allura were standing. Allura was holding a bouquet and walked over to the vase they had set up in the room.

Matt ran a hand down his face. "Hey, guys. She's still asleep, but better than yesterday. Is Lance and Hunk with you?"

"They'll be dropping by later," Allura said. She looked over Pidge and smiled. "She looks good with short hair—looks like you."

Matt couldn't help the laugh. God, he needed that.

And then she promptly frowned. "Have you slept at all?"

He sighed. "Not really."

Shiro pulled up chairs for both Allura and himself. Now seated, Matt regarded the other with concern. "How are you holding up?"

Allura turned to Shiro just as he sighed. Clenching his jaw, it took a minute for him to speak. "W-Well enough."

Matt let the silence wash over them. It was several minutes of silence before Allura spoke up. "Keith's funeral is being held when Pidge wakes up."

"I see." Matt could only nod. "Did you have him—?"

Allura nodded when Shiro didn't answer. "Keith didn't leave much of anything behind, but from what Shiro said, Keith wanted to be next to his dad. His dad is buried back home in the town they lived in." Her eyes were bright, shimmering with tears that she continued to try to blink back.

Matt nodded again.

Shiro cleared his throat, lifting his gaze from the floor to the sleeping girl. "What happened yesterday?"

Matt pressed his lips into a line. For a moment, he didn't say anything. "Pidge woke up, asking for Keith. I didn't have the heart to ask her what she remembered because she was hysterical."

Shiro took a ragged breath.

Allura couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into tears.

Matt clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, remembering the moment he received a phone call. How it happened, how he wished he had been there, and wondering if there was anything he could've done to make sure that this didn't happen. His parents were next to him when he went home, hoping there was clues the moment Keith had disappeared.

After Keith had stormed off, as if he knew something they didn't, everyone called his cellphone. When there was no answer, they tried calling the police. The police agreed quickly, surprising everyone, and were puzzled. The police confirmed that someone had reported a similar incident already.

When they asked who, they were startled to find that Rick was missing and had been for forty-eight hours.

Those were the most excruciating eight hours of Matt's life.

The police started to investigate and the sun barely rose over the horizon when he got the call. When they arrived at the hospital, they found Pidge in critical care. Her hair was in disarray, uneven as though someone had taken scissors and didn't know how to cut evenly. There were cuts on her face and dark bruises that looked a lot darker than they should on her pale skin. There were even bruises on her face that it took all of Matt from screaming.

His little sister had never looked so small before.

His mom burst into tears and even his dad struggled with hiding his tears at seeing their youngest child in such a condition.

A few days later, she was cleared from critical care and placed into recovery. Despite all the trauma she experienced, the doctor was happy to report that the baby was doing well and that she was on her way to recovery. After a long talk with the doctor, they set her on a path to recovery.

But the news of Keith's passing was an extremely bitter pill to swallow.

The police reported that the other people involved in the kidnapping had also died, leaving Pidge the only survivor. When asked what happened to the other two involved, the police stated that Lee died by committing suicide and Rick died from blood loss. And Keith died from a gunshot.

Pidge had a variety of physical trauma, caused by what most would guess it came from a blunt object. She had a concussion and needed to be kept under a twenty-four-hour observation until she came into the clear. There were bruises on her ankles, her wrists, and her upper bicep, a force from being manhandled and a cut that the doctor guessed to be from a gunshot. There was a bruise that was forming around her neck, as though there was an attempt at her being strangled. While there were dark bruises around her rib cage, her body was more resilient than expected.

Matt only patted her head after the doctor finished explaining the extent of her injuries, finally allowing himself to cry. It was a miracle she didn't lose the baby and in some ways, it's a way of Keith living on.

— x —

"Hey, Pidge? What are you doing?"

"Working. And what are you doing?"

The corners of Keith's lip twitched. "Looking for a bike."

Pidge lifted a brow. "What for?"

He squinted at her. "To, I don't know, ride maybe?"

"Do you need more of a bad boy vibe?"

Keith sputtered and she laughed.

— x —

"Hey, Keith, are you awake?"

Keith shifted, adjusting the blanket covering them so she dropped more comfortably in the crook of his neck. The sound of the television continued, with its created laughter going on cue whenever the person speaking made a joke.

"No, go back to sleep."

"Hey!"

He opened one eye. "What is it?"

She smiled. "I'm glad we met." She shifted to peer up at him, just to watch him react.

Both opened and he grinned. "I'm glad I met you too."

— x —

"Hey, Keith?"

Keith shifted his gaze away from the ceiling to face her. The moon shone into the room, illuminating the room without the need for light. He arched a brow in silent inquiry.

"I'm kinda glad you got me knocked up."

He snorted, rolling his eyes.

"No, I'm serious!" Pidge slapped him on his bare arm. She resumed cuddling the pillow, shifting so she snuggled closer. She rested her chin on his chest.

"It kinda made us, I don't know, more aware of each other?"

He dropped his head down to the pillow, his gaze watching the ceiling as the moonlight hit something reflective on the ground and made beautiful shapes in the shadows of the room.

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure there's a better way of getting to know a person than by sex."

"Keith." Pidge pouted.

"Alright, alright."

"I swear, Lance rubs off on you sometimes and you don't want to admit it, but it's true."

"Yeah, remind me to thank him," Keith said dryly.

His hands shifted so that one of them rested on her back and the other behind his head. "But, no, you're right. It also made me realize that I wanted a family of my own. I wanted a place to call my own."

"Keith…"

"And you made me feel that way. I mean, everyone did, but somehow, you made me feel like it was possible. And then you were pregnant and it just felt right."

He shifted, sitting upright that Pidge sat up with him. Her long hair draped down her back and her front, curling at the edges. His brushed the back of her fingers against her cheek.

Keith boyishly smiled. "Thanks for kissing back."

Unable to fight the blush, she playfully hit his arm, embarrassed.

He laughed.

— x —

Blearily, she slowly blinked awake, finding herself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. It felt all too familiar that she turned her head to once more find Matt sitting next to her, but this time, he looked up from the book he held in his hand.

Were those dreams?

"Pidge," he greeted, sounding immensely relieved. He blinked rapidly and shuffled over to press something by her headboard.

"Matt," she croaked.

"I'm here, shh, I'm here," Matt reassured when a nurse came in, followed by a man wearing a white coat. Ah, the doctor.

After a series of questions and adjustments, Matt excused himself to call their parents, leaving her with the doctor. Sitting upright, there was a sense that something was missing. Felt missing.

"Miss Katie," the doctor greeted. "How are you feeling?"

She closed her eyes, trying to swim through the myriad of medication and soreness. It was as though she was floating, she noted, and her mind was groggy and slow. Reopening them, Pidge concluded, "Tired."

The doctor continued a series of questions that pertained to her well-being before they cleared her.

"We'll keep you here for another night for observation since you're awake, but you're recovering well, Katie," the doctor said. "You'll be cleared for release tomorrow."

Pidge absently nodded. The doctor excused himself as Matt returned to the room. When he did, Pidge asked quietly, "Where's Keith?"

Matt clenched his jaw. He moved a second later to sit down beside her. "Pidge, do you remember anything? What was the last thing you remember?"

She closed her eyes again. And then reopened to stare at her hands. Flashes of imagery replaced the bandages on her wrists and the room with blood and a smiling, handsome man looking up at her.

It was hot with the smell of iron-strong in the air mixed with humidity, rain, and gunpowder.

The ghost of his fingers lingering on her cheek that her own hand lifted to touch it, devoid of anything that she was expecting. What she was expecting, she wasn't sure, but it wasn't there. His warmth, however, lingered.

A heavyweight on her lap.

The sound of his last breath.

His tears.

The sound of rain hitting the shed.

"Keith?" The call of his name in Pidge's voice was so quiet, painful, and barely a whisper that Matt gasped, barely able to restrain his own grief.

Tears began to steadily stream down her face until she could no longer hold back the grief of realizing that he was gone.

— x —

Five years later…

The doorbell rang and the sound of pattering feet zoomed to the door. "Who's there?" an over-excited and exaggerated voice squeaked.

Allura giggled. "Auntie Allura!" she sang back. "Here to pick up your beautiful mommy on a date!"

"Boo! Mommy doesn't need to go on dates!" the little voice shrieked, running away from the door, and Allura could only assume that he was running to defend his mother's honor.

"Izzy, mommy needs to get ready!"

Allura laughed and pushed open the door to a beautiful penthouse where it was lined with state-of-the-art technology and a modernized look with… toys. Toys absolutely everywhere. Pushing the door behind her closed, she stepped inside and removed her shoes. The fair-haired woman started picking up some of them so there wouldn't be an accident.

Peeking into the bedroom once she was done, she found a small boy of four clinging to his mother's leg, standing in front of the mirror when she put on the finishing touches on her hair. When he turned to face her, she could only smile.

It was as though a tiny Keith was looking back at her with his glare, his head of dark hair, curling in the same ways Keith's hair did. The only difference was that he had Pidge's beautiful hazel eyes and her button nose. He even had some of Pidge's freckles.

"Allura, I don't see why I should go on a date—Izzy is all I need."

Allura sighed, stepping into the bathroom to get a better look at her best friend. Shoulder length hair, stylized with a bit of hair gel, makeup, and a relatively conservative outfit with a sage green shirt that revealed her back and a single chain across the top of her shoulders and draped sleeves. Opting for a pair of black skinny jeans and a single bracelet on her left wrist, she looked good.

"You should try," Allura said softly with a small smile.

Pidge leaned away from the mirror, opting to clip one side of her hair up to reveal a simple set of DNA strand earrings that dangled from her ear. Turning to face Allura, she lifted a brow. "Tell me this isn't a situation that feels all too familiar."

Allura rolled her eyes. "We're not going to a nightclub if that's what you're thinking."

Pidge stiffened. "No, we're going to meet some of your friends, who are single and wanted to meet me."

"Just promise me you'll try."

She shifted, turning to face the more beautiful woman with another lift of her brow. Her son started to pull at her pants and she sighed, leaning down to pick up her son so that he could sit on her hip. Giving a pointed look, she left the bathroom and headed to the kitchen.

"Pidge, please."

Pidge stopped. Her son wrapped his arms around his mom's neck. "Mommy?"

"I'm okay," Pidge said with a smile, grinning at her son that he giggled. His small hands patted her cheek. Turning to Allura, she reached up to the necklace that hung around her neck. Her hand curled around the small trinkets that hung from there. "Allura, I don't know how much of this will work."

"They're all great guys, believe me—Matt even vouched for them."

"Traitor."

"He wants you happy. I want you to be happy."

"I'm not ready."

"Well, I will digress and say that Lance and Hunk aren't sure if you're ready."

"And they'd be right." Trust her best friends to have her back.

"Please."

Pidge sighed, turning again to go into the kitchen. Once there, she set her son down on the ground and went about double-checking everything once the babysitter arrived. "Look," she began as she went through her checklist, "I'm already dressed, I'm willing to try, but I will not guarantee anything."

"And that's all I need. If anything, Lance and Hunk will be there to scope out girls so you can always bail if you get uncomfortable."

Though Allura won't see it, Pidge pouted when Allura seemed satisfied with her answer. The doorbell rang and she excused herself to go answer it. Pidge watched her go when she felt another tug on her pants. Crouching to her son's level, she smiled, "Yes, baby?"

"Is mommy going to find a new daddy?" His eyes were bright like he was trying not to cry.

"Oh." Pidge's face fell. "Come here." She hooked her hands under his arms and lifted him to sit on the kitchen island. "Look, Isaac, I'm not looking for anyone to replace Daddy."

He sniffled.

"Okay, see this?" Pidge pulled the trinkets close where his small hands were able to hold it in them.

He nodded.

"This ring is your dad's," she whispered. It was the ring they found when they were cleaning out his apartment. Simple, slender with only a single diamond in the center of a flower. Vines wrapped around the flower and down the band. She had no idea how and when he found the time to buy a promise ring. "It was his promise to me that he was going to make me very happy."

Isaac sniffled again.

"Now, this," she said, lifting the other trinket. It was a charm in the shape of a small dagger with his initials. "This was also your dad's. But this one is his heart. His mom gave it to him when he was small and he's always kept it with him. As long as I wear these, he'll always be your daddy."

"Then that means you love daddy, right?"

"Yes, very much." Pidge swallowed past the lump that formed in her throat. "No one will replace him."

Seemingly satisfied with this answer, he nodded with a smile.

"Now, go find Auntie Allura and find out what's she doing," she said, tapping a finger to his nose that made him giggle. She lifted him off the counter and he zoomed away, only to hear the familiar voice of Matt laughing.

Now alone, Pidge tightened her fingers around the ring and charm and choked back a sob with a hand over her mouth. By the time she heard the door close and her son's voice mixed with Matt's, she pulled herself back together. Heading to the living room, she found her brother curled up on the couch with Isaac, ready for a movie with Allura laughing at something Matt had said.

With Allura looking hopeful, they hooked their arms together and leave.

It's only later when she comes home to find her brother asleep with Isaac in the guest room that she let those feelings slowly wash over her again. At night, it's easy to let her thoughts run, to think of the what if's that she always hated. Kissing her son goodnight, she padded into her room to get ready for bed.

Once she washed off the makeup, was dressed in her sleepwear, and ready for bed did she let it come back in force. Peering up at the full moon that shone into her room, she looked up through the ceiling to floor windows. Placing a hand there, she remembered that night after they had made love for the first time.

And the tears started falling.

"I miss you, Keith," she whispered. Her chest ached, a dull and familiar ache that it continued to eat at her when she was like this. She crumpled to the floor, arms wrapped around herself to console herself. "I miss you so much."

It's only when she cried long enough that she heard the familiar sound of her door opening. Standing there was her brother and her son, looking on in worry.

"Mommy?"

She opened her arms and he came running. With his little arms wrapped around her neck, she held him as close as she could. It's only when she feels her brother's proximity and the warm reassuring touch of his hand on her head that she let the grief swallow her whole once more.

Isaac Kogane, her son, and her saving grace would grow up looking like Pidge with the beautiful ebony locks of his father. He would have his father's temper, his mother's wit, and his father's reflexes. He would go on to become very successful in martial arts and win awards and recognition in science.

And he would grow up knowing that Keith Kogane died a hero and that his mother loved him very much.

Author's Note:

And there it is guys, the "sad" ending. If you'd like to read the intended happy ending, please go back and choose "You Trust." Happy reading!