Ford chuckle as they made their way down the hall. "Got to admit, that was one of the more enjoyable meetings I got subjected to," he said as he ran a hand through his beard. "We should invite Xenia to it more often."

Thace gave a smirk. "I believe Zelda would strongly protest that. Besides, Xenia would only be clearly interested if Lance was there."

"Heh, yeah, never thought I see her taken by someone as much as her father," Ford said as they turned the corner and then tossed an intrigued look at him. "Speaking of fathers, you and the kid seem to be getting along."

Thace faltered at that slightly, but cleared his throat. "Yes, well, we had a good discussion yesterday and I managed to clear up a few understandings."

"Ooh, I see," Ford said as he crossed his arms. "Does that mean you'll be staying here?"

Thace halted and frowned thoughtfully. "I doubt know," he said.

"Let me rephrase the question," Ford replied as he jabbed a finger at his chest. "Do you want to?"

"Truthfully, I would," Thace said with full sincerity. "It would give me the chance to get to know my son and continue the fight against Zarkon."

Ford nodded. "So, why the hesitation?"

"I'm leaving the decision up to Keith," Thace explained. "In the end, if he doesn't wish for me to be here then I will respect that."

Ford was silent as he tapped his fingers against his elbow. "That makes sense, but the kid is going to have to make a decision soon." He rubbed his neck. "I wasn't exaggerating when I saw the other rebel cells were rather nervous about the Empire out for your head. If this alliance is going to work, best way to know they can trust Voltron if they can keep their tabs on you."

Thace huffed. "You make it sound as if I'm a loose canon."

"Yeah, I know," Ford said with a shrug. "That's normally Oberon's job-"

"Excuse me."

The two Galrans turned their heads as Shiro appeared. The Black Paladin had his back straight, arms crossed over his chest and was shooting eyes full of judgement directly in Thace's direction.

"Forgive me for interrupting," Shiro continued, "but Thace I need to speak with you privately."

Thace's lips formed a firm line and he briskly gave a nod to Ford. "Let's continue with this later."

"Uh..sure thing," Ford said as he turned to the opposite direction. "I was meeting up with Pidge and Hunk to do more shop talk anyway."

Ford gave a wave as he walked off leaving Shiro and Thace alone. Shiro kept his hard stare as he pointed over his shoulder.

"Let's go to the observatory," he suggested. "Keith went to catch up with the others, so we should be able to chat uninterrupted."

Thace nodded as he followed the Paladin down the hall.

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Shiro did not say anything as he lead Thace up to the observatory. He had half expected Thace to question why they were there, but he didn't. Instead, all Thace did was stare up at the stars above and, if Shiro were to guess, waited for him to initiate the conversation.

Shiro rubbed the back of his head. He wasn't quite sure how to go about this, but he had to make this clear if he was going to become part of their crew. There was no point beating around the bush.

"I spoke with Keith earlier," Shiro said as he kept his eyes locked onto the stars above. "And I asked him if he wanted you to stay with us or not."

Thace turned his head to him, but kept his stoic expression. "I suspected as such." He drummed his fingers against his elbow. "And what did Keith say?"

Shiro shut his eyes. "He wants you to stay."

He cracked open an eyelid and casually glance to Thace, and saw the Galran's eyes widened slightly.

"Oh, I see," Thace said and then returned his face back to neutral. "Have you told the princess?"

"No, not yet, because there's something I want to make clear with you. " Shiro said as he lowered his gaze and turned to Thace. "Truth be told, I'm not certain if I want you here or not."

Thace went quiet, but narrowed his eyes slightly and looked ready to speak.

"And before you assume," Shiro said as he raised his hand, "it has nothing to do with you being Galra, at least not by this point."

That was the truth. A slight uneasiness might still remain, but after having Ford help him and hearing the full story of his escape from Oberon, Shiro felt the need to try harder to be more open. He owed it to both of them, not to mention to the other rebels who were also risking their lives for this war.

Thace crossed his arms over his chest. "Then may I ask what your issue is with me?"

"Yes," Shiro said as he shot him a judgmental look. "It's the fact that your Keith's father."

Thace blinked and tilted his head. "Forgive me, but I don't quite understand."

Shiro leaned against the railing, but made certain not to remove his stare away from him. "I know you had reasons for leaving behind Keith, but it doesn't change the fact that when Keith's mom died he was left all on his own."

His grip tightened on the railing. "He spent years being tossed from one foster home to another feeling like no one wanted him."

Shiro's mind briefly drifted back to the day his parents brought Keith to their home, a small scruffy boy who glared at Shiro like he was expecting him to pick a fight. It felt like they had taken in a feral cat in more so than a child.

Thace continued to say nothing, but Shiro noticed his eyes softened a bit.

"It took awhile, but he did learn eventually he could trust me," Shiro continued. "It was a lot of work, and I know to this day it's hard for Keith to learn to fully trust people but he's getting better at it."

"And now I've reappeared into his life," Thace said with a nod.

"Exactly," Shiro replied. "For all I know, this could be a good thing for him and I know Keith wants to connect with you, so I'm going to respect his wish."

He raised his cybernetic hand and poked Thace's chest. "However, alliance or not, if you hurt Keith in anyway whatsoever, then trust me not even Zarkon himself could stop me from getting to you."

Shiro glared at him, almost like he was tempting Thace to dare to try. "Is that clear?"

"Very," Thace replied and didn't look the least bit offended, "and I swear to you hurting Keith is the last thing I would want."

"So, we at least agree on that," Shiro said as he crossed his arms and began to walk away. "I'm going to inform Allura we're accepting the terms and you'll be living here from now on."

He went to head to the stairs, but paused when Thace blocked him.

"Wait, Shiro," he said, "there is something I wish to say to you."

Shiro arched an eyebrow. "Oh? What's that?"

Thace gave an exhausted sigh. "Thank you, for being there for Keith when I could not," he said softly. "I am glad he has found a brother in you."

Shiro blinked at that and then gave a nod. "You're welcome," he said, "and you should be warned I'm fairly certain the other paladins feel the same way."

"So, don't hurt Keith or you will all hunt me down," Thace said and almost sounded a bit pleased. "Understood."

Shiro gave a nod and proceeded to leave to inform Allura on the update, although he couldn't help but notice Thace seemed to be smiling in approval.

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When Shiro and Allura had called all of the paladins, and Coran to the meeting room Keith had a feeling in his gut he knew what exactly it was going to be about.

And he was right.

"We're going to accept the rebels terms and Thace is going to stay with us," Allura stated as she tucked her hands into her lap. "So, from this point forward he shall be both our diplomat for the resistance and assist us in our missions."

All eyes then turned to Keith which caused him to fidget a bit.

"You okay with that?" Hunk asked.

Keith swallowed and gave a nod. "Shiro basically left the final decision up to me and I said to go ahead with it."

"Huh," Lance said as he leaned back in his chair. "Well, this is going to be interesting. Do we get to see you call him 'Dad' anytime soon?"

Keith shot a glare as he crossed his arms. "Not likely."

"That's enough teasing," Shiro replied gently. "This is going to be a big adjustment for all of us, but we're going to get through it, okay?"

"I just have a question," Pidge stated as she raised her hand. "Should I give Thace the shovel talk?"

Keith blinked in confusion. "Shovel talk? About what?"

Pidge gave a smirk. "Oh, nothing," she said as she cracked her knuckles. "Just that if he hurts you he's going to have to deal with me."

Keith blushed bright red. "Wait, what?"

"Ah, I see, good idea," Coran said with a nod, "but I don't quite understand why you need a shovel?"

"Earth expression," Hunk replied, "although, on that note, you can just add that he would have to deal with me too."

"Guys," Keith said as he buried his face in his hands.

"Agreed, here," Lance said as he raised his hands. "I'm the only one that's allowed to annoy Keith. It's one of my many claims to fame."

"You should also mention he would have to deal with me," Allura stated firmly, "and I'm fairly certain the mice would insist as well."

"Seriously," Keith grumbled as he glared at them. "I'm not some helpless kid!"

Shiro laughed as he patted Keith's shoulder. "Relax, no one has to give Thace the shovel talk."

Keith's shoulder dropped as the others gave disappointed looks. Leave it to Shiro to be the sane one in the group.

"Because I already did it," Shiro simply stated. "Made it clear he would have all of Voltron after him if he did."

Keith's eyes widened as he paled. "You what?"

"Nice," Pidge said as she gave a thumbs up. "I highly approve of this."

Keith's jaw dropped as he buried his face into his hands. "Arrg, Shiro why did you have to go and do that?"

Shiro laughed as he ruffled his hair. "Because, like it or not, we are family," he replied, "and that means we watch each other's back."

Keith raised his head and peeked through his fingers. He glanced up at Shiro and then at the others who were all grinning at him. He managed a small crooked smile as he tried not to blush.

"Thanks," he muttered softly.

"It's what we're here for," Hunk said as he shrugged. "With that said, do you think Thace knows many Galra recipes? I want to know if they have more stuff I can work with."

Pidge gave a look of utter disbelief. "Seriously? That's a priority?"

"Hey, I'm with Hunk," Lance said, sharply. "Anything that we can have over the space goo is a big goal for me."

Coran gave a huff. "My cooking is just fine! You Earthlings just don't understand proper Atlean cuisine."

"Oh, we understand it," Hunk replied with a nod. "We just don't like it, there's a difference."

Allura laughed as the debate began and all Keith did was sit quietly and watched them. For better or for worse, they were all here together and he was glad he could count on that.

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It seemed once it was official the group declared they were accepting the rebels terms, things moved rather rapidly. Allura, and Shiro were in a conference with Leah for what seemed like a good couple of hours, but Allura came out of the meeting smiling.

"Once their base is more settled, Leah will meet us in person to began some proper plans of attack," Allura explained. "However, we now have an official alliance with the resistance."

When he heard that, Keith's body slumped feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. It was a relief to say the least.

After that, there were a few more calls back and forth, and a good number of them was Lance chatting with Xenia promising he would visit her soon, but it wasn't long before it was time for Ford and Oberon to return to the base.

Keith kept to the sidelines as he watched Thace say his goodbyes to both of them.

"Take care of yourself," Thace said.

"You too," Ford said as he shook his head and glanced to Keith. "Do me a favor, Kid, and try to keep him out of trouble for me will ya?"

Keith arched an eyebrow. "You know I'm not exactly known for staying out of trouble, right?"

Ford chuckled. "Yeah, but you got a giant robot lion to bail you out," he pointed to Thace. "He does not."

Thace scoffed as he crossed his arms. "Nice to know you have so much faith in me."

Oberon grinned in amusement. "To be fair, it's because you do have a knack for it Thace."

"I rather not hear that coming for you," Thace remarked, darkly.

Oberon laughed and Lance choose then to approach him with a large box.

"Here!" Lance said as he handed out the box. "The kids should have a blast with these crayons."

Oberon raised a curious eyebrow as he opened the lid. "I'm certain Xenia will be thrilled," he frowned. "Am I mistaken or is there no green?"

Pidge coughed. "Uh, yeah, that's because I've yet to find a green material to use that won't explode when pressed too hard."

"Yyyeeaahh," Lance said as he held up his green coated fingers. "I'm still trying to wash that stuff off from that experiment."

"I did warn you two the yenaick rock was a bit unstable," Coran said as he twirled his moustache.

"Yeah, yeah, we know," Pidge grumbled.

"Well, thank you, anyway," Oberon replied as he tucked the box under his arm and patted the lid. "This will be a nice gift for the children."

"Let us know if you run into any trouble on your way back," Shiro said as he crossed his arms.

"Will do," Ford said he turned to enter the ship. "I've survived this war this long, who knows I might actually have the pleasure of seeing Zarkon fall."

"We all hope for that," Thace commented.

They then all said their final goodbyes before Oberon and Ford boarded their ship, and took off back to the base.

"Well, they're gone," Hunk said as he rubbed his neck. "What should we do now?"

"Now, cleaning," Coran declared as he brought out his tablet. "It's Pidge and Hunk's turn to help me clean the cryo-pods, and I also believe everyone is long overdue for a room inspection."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Really? Didn't you just inspect them like five days ago?"

"A tidy ship is a well run ship!" Coran happily declared as he shook his finger. "Got to stay on top of things."

Thace raised an eyebrow. "But you're not a ship, you're a castle."

Coran frowned as he crossed his arms. "Well, yes, we are technically both a castle and a ship, which only makes it even more important."

"But are you first a ship or are you first a castle?" Thace asked as he shrugged. "I've been rather confused about the matter."

Coran grasped his chin as he scratched his head. "Huh..I'm...not sure actually," he said, "I suppose a ship."

"But you, Allura and the other Alteans lived here," Keith said as he tilted his head. "So, isn't it a castle first?"

"Keith has a point," Hunk replied as he pointed to him.

"Yeah, but it turns into a ship, which we are in now, so therefore it's a ship first," Pidge replied.

"Anyone else starting to feel like we're getting into a 'the chicken or the egg first' debate here?" Lance asked.

Allura blinked. "What do chickens or eggs have to do with flying ships?"

"It's a metaphor and that's enough of that," Shiro interjected. "Just go clean guys, okay?"

Lance raised a hand. "For the record, I'm with Keith's opinion here."

"Noted, Lance," Shiro replied as the group began to head out of the hangar. Keith shook his head and went to move, but paused when Thace touched his shoulder.

"If you can spare a moment," he said in a soft tone. "There's..something I should give you."

Keith pursed his lips and found himself nodding. "Uh, okay. What is it?"

"In my room," Thace said as he lead the way. "It won't take long, I promise."

Keith raised an eyebrow, but followed Thace regardless. When they entered Thace's room, he spotted the space mice napping sleeping in the middle of his bed, with Platt barely opening an eye before rolling onto his side to snore again.

"The mice like you?" Keith asked.

"I have no idea," Thace said as he reached into a small pocket on his suit. "They just tend to appear here, so I just leave them be."

That makes sense, Keith thought. The mice do tend to just do what they want.

He noticed Thace brought out a thin case and held it out to him.

"What's that?" Keith asked as he took it.

"It is one of the photos your mother gave me before I left," Thace explained, his voice thick with emotion. "This was my favorite, but I want you to have it."

Keith paused, not certain if he should take one of the few reminders Thace had of his mother. However, Thace didn't give Keith a choice as he gingerly placed it into his hands.

"Open it," he instructed.

Keith wasn't sure if he wanted to, but found his fingers moving on their own. A family of three stared back at him from a dogeared picture. The tallest was Thace, looking years younger. A younger version of his mother stood next to Thace smiling as her head only made it up to his shoulders, and Thace had wrapped and an arm around her. In his mother's arms, was a baby who looked quite confused at the whole ordeal and was tilting his head at the camera.

Keith swallowed as he found himself needing to sit. "So..the baby is me?"

"Yes," Thace said as he sat next to him. "It was quite a task to get you to stay still long enough." He gave a half smile. "I was ready to give up, but your mother insisted we should have at least one family portrait together."

Keith fingered the photo of his mother. It had been so long since he saw any photos of her. She still had the same vibrant smile he remembered her having.

"I will admit, I'm glad Amy insisted I take it," Thace continued. "There had been dark moments and that photo reminded me what I was fighting to protect."

Keith held the photo carefully las if merely looking at it wrong would break. "And you're certain you want me to take it?"

"Yes," Thace said, "because now you are a part of this war, and I feel it's only right for you to have this..my son."

Thace patted his shoulder, and Keith stiffened only to find his body relax after a moment.

"Is that everything?," Keith said, afraid he couldn't take this many emotions at once.

"Just one more thing that I have been meaning to tell you," Thace said as he gave Keith's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Your mother would be very proud of you."

Keith held his breath as he felt tears welled up in his eyes, and hastily used his sleeve to wipe them away.

In his heart, he knew his mother would be proud, but there had always been the lingering doubt she wouldn't have approved the choices Keith had made. To hear that from..his father, it felt like he got a part back he'd been missing.

"T-thank you," Keith stammered and he wiped his tears with the palm of his hands. He squeezed his eyes shut to calm himself down before standing and pocketing the picture inside his jacket. "I should get going before Lance starts to think I'm trying to get out of cleaning."

"Go on then," Thace said with a nod.

Keith headed straight to the door, but halted at the doorway. He gripped the doorframe as he looked back at his father. "Do you...suppose later you we could tell me more about Mom?" he asked. "There..are still some questions I have."

Thace gave a warm smile in return. "I would be more than happy to do so."

Keith gave a nod of thanks before he headed off towards the direction of his room. He found his hands clutching both his dagger and now the photocase that he now carried with him. Keith wasn't quite certain how it would all play out from here, but somehow deep in his heart he could hear his mother saying everything was going to be just fine.

The End

Author's Note: So this story is now complete and, except for a couple of possible one shots, this will be the last major story for this series. Thank you all for reading this and joining this wild ride with me. I hope you all enjoyed this series as much as I did writing it. ^_^