Published September 4, 2019

Author's Note: If you're confused about the chapter titles, I changed the previous chapter's title to "Wait for Me," a song from Hadestown that perfectly fits the Holt family, and used its former title for this chapter.

"It's My Turn Now"

I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord;
Through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.
Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever,
That your truth is firmly established as the heavens. ...
The heavens proclaim your wonders, O Lord;
The assembly of your holy ones proclaims your truth.

~ Psalm 89: 2-3, 5, as quoted in the Magnificat, October 2007, Vol. 9, No. 8

The healing pods could not restore the weight Sam had lost, so Pidge entrusted Hunk with the task of fattening him up. At first, he could not stomach anything too rich, so his fare was mostly food goo and simple dishes.

Allura noticed that Sam had an odd aversion to the Altean mice. When she asked about it, he apologized and explained that the work camp where he had stayed before being sent to the scientists' prison had sometimes been infested with strange vermin and pests, mostly species alien to him. His instinct was still to brush them off. After a while, through, he warmed up to them, partly due to Pidge's coaxing and introductions. Like Pidge and the others, he found them soothing, like petting a dog or holding a cat. It made him miss Bae-Bae.

On the few occasions when they interacted directly, Lance tried to get Sam to laugh. At first most of his quips were met with blank stares. Sam understood the jokes but lacked the energy or good humor to laugh at them. He was still just processing so much sudden change.

Sam had trouble sleeping, being unaccustomed to comfortable bedding. Some nights Pidge or Matt stayed up with him to keep him company.

Knowing they would soon part ways made them anxious to make the most of the time they could still spend together. Pidge took him on rides in the Green Lion, who knew to be gentle with this special passenger. They toured Olkarion's cities and natural environments, which were more beautiful than anything Sam had seen as a prisoner.

After a few days, Sam summoned the strength to describe his experience more fully to Matt and Pidge. They had already debriefed with the entire team, but now they asked each other questions about details. "How did it feel?" "What was it like?" "How did you manage to do that?" He had to pause often, and Pidge held his hand and let him take his time.

They talked for so long that as it grew later, instead of going back to their respective ships and rooms, they set out some blankets and pillows on the floor of the Castle lounge. Eventually Pidge paged Shiro to join them, since he was practically a member of their family and could help fill in details of the stories they shared. The men ended up telling Pidge about their six-month voyage to Kerberos, sharing inside jokes and anecdotes. They laughed when they remembered how excited they had been to find ice that might contain evidence of alien life.

Pidge fell asleep first, and Matt soon after. Sam and Shiro looked over them at each other, exchanging smiles.

Shiro whispered, "Should we take them to a bedroom? With real beds?"

"Let them sleep." Sam indicated the way his children had unconsciously snuggled together. "They used to do that when they were little … and sometimes when they were older and stayed up too late watching movies. We used to camp in the backyard, in a tent shaped like a rocket." His smile turned cynical. "Never thought I'd get sick of camping."

"I'm sorry you went through that."

"Speak for yourself. I can't imagine the things you had to do … the things they did to you …" Sam trailed off, glancing at Shiro's robotic arm. Then he looked back at his children. "You did so much for both of them." He had expressed his thanks earlier, after Matt revealed how Shiro saved him and Pidge recounted various adventures she and Shiro had shared. Shiro opened his mouth to protest but Sam went on: "I'll stop thanking you, but I won't forget it. Our whole family is indebted to you."

Shiro just smiled. There were countless ways he could justify what he had done for the Holts, yet somehow they knew there was no need. "You should try to rest." Sam was still recovering from everything he had gone through.

Sam obliged, lying down close to Pidge. After drowsing a few minutes, some scratching, squeaking noises startled him into alertness. He raised his head and saw the mice crawling over the pillows above his children's heads. Sam almost scowled, but then they looked at him directly, with surprisingly big, intelligent eyes. Something about them softened his heart. With a resigned sigh he laid his head down again and let them curl up on the pillows.

Shiro remained sitting for a while, watching over the reunited family, before lying down next to Matt.

The next morning, Allura was trying to gather the team together. She was leading Coran, Lance, and Hunk to the lounge, but when she looked into the room, and saw something that made her stop and put a hand on her heart. When she turned back to the others, her expression was very emotional, but it was hard to say whether the emotions were positive or negative.

"What is it?" Lance asked.

Allura hushed him and spoke softly. "You can look if you like, but be quiet."

Coran and the paladins poked their heads around the door.

Sam, Pidge, Matt, and Shiro slept in a row amongst the blankets, each of them next to the ones they had missed most. They were almost like a family of dogs or wolves, the eldest ones on the outside shielding the younger ones between them. The mice had curled up on the pillows near their heads.

There had been other occasions when the team freed prisoners who had been separated from their families, but this was the first time they could see the results of their work. Coran smiled, indulgent and amused. Hunk clasped his hands and held them against his chest as he cooed, "Aw, they're adorable." Lance sniffed as though on the verge of crying. Everyone who looked on the scene felt somewhat wistful.

Everyone had an opinion or suggestion regarding Sam's return to the Galaxy Garrison.

"Do you think your testimony will be enough?" Hunk asked. "What if they just treat you the way they treated Shiro?"

"Well, he doesn't have any cyborg prosthetics made from alien tech," Shiro pointed out, lifting his own as a reminder.

"I can bring other evidence as well—pictures, video footage, artifacts," Sam said. "I probably shouldn't risk bringing samples of plant or animal life, since they'd be afraid of them infecting Earth with unknown contaminants."

They recorded his verbal testimony and helped him transcribe it and supplement it with pictures, diagrams, and other relevant data that would help the Galaxy Garrison understand his experience.

"I hope someday we'll be able to visit, and invite Earth to be a part of the Voltron Alliance," Allura said at one point.

"You mean the Coalition?" Lance asked.

"No. Remember on Arus, we agreed to be allies with the local population, but at the time we had no plans for military cooperation. The Coalition has a specific goal, to dismantle the Galra Empire. I hope the conflict will be resolved by the time we reach out to Earth."

That gave Hunk an idea. "We should make a list of all the things you need to see and do on Earth. All the different types of food, and centers of science and culture—"

Lance nodded in excitement. "Yeah, and weather and environments—like rainbows and beaches—sports for different seasons—"

As they ran off to make an organized list, Matt could not help but think there were parts of Earth he would not want Allura and Coran to see—the ugly parts—poverty, warfare, genocide. He knew the Alteans were familiar with such concepts and had seen such harshness, but they seemed to think of planets as whole, united communities, not collections of nations with diverse cultures and problems. He didn't want them to see only some parts and assume all of Earth and its people were like what they saw.

Author's Notes

I wrote the sleepover scene before the Holts were reunited in the show. I wasn't sure if it would end up working in this short story cycle but I figured I'd include it at this point. Hope you like it!

Music: "It's My Turn Now" by Keke Palme from Jump In