Making sure his military uniform was fitting perfectly, he walked over to the bed. He kissed the sleeping Allura on the forehead and whispered in her ear, "I love you and the twins. The reason I’m doing this is so we could be a family." Then he left the room and headed for Coran’s study.

Admiral Lawler and Space Marshall Graham meet Captain Rick Flair at the landing dock of the castle.

"Did you have a good flight, Captain Flair?" the Admiral asked.

"Yes I did, sir. I’m ready to take over the Voltron Lion Force. When do I meet the team?"

"We decided to introduce you to the team later," Graham replied. "You already know all of them since you were in the same graduating class. This way you’ll have a chance to go over any new rules you may have and how you’ll expect things to get done. Let’s head to Coran’s study where the meeting is taking place. Keith is expected to bring Black Lion’s key with him to give to you."

In Coran’s study, King Ian, Prince Todd, and Coran were waiting for the others to get there. They rose as the men finally arrived.

"Coran," Lawler said, "I would like you to meet Captain Rick Flair. He will be taking over for Keith." As others arrive in the study. Admiral Lawler said Coran I would like for meet Captain Rick Flair. He will be taking over for Keith."

Coran reached out to shake the man’s hand. "It’s nice to meet you, Captain Flair. I hope you serve Planet Arus well and her Royal Highness Princess Allura."

"Well, I do like my women experienced. I don’t want a virgin. But I will keep it in my pants."

Little did he know these words would come back to haunt him.

"Well," Captain Flair continued, "Captain Keith Armstrong finally got himself in trouble. I can’t believe he slept with his supervisor and got her pregnant. What was he thinking?"

Prince Todd added, "I can’t believe she became pregnant by a commoner and not someone by her stature. Princess Allura is a bad influence on Planet Arus’ people and the Galaxy Alliance. She’s thinking with her heart instead of her head. It’s hard to believe that she is the daughter of the great King Alfor who invented Voltron."

"Now, now, gentlemen," Coran interrupted. "This isn’t what we’re here for. Captain Flair, your highness," he nodded to the two men, "please keep your opinions to yourself. Allura may have made some bad decisions, but she’s not dumb by any means."

Just then Keith walked into Coran’s study in his military uniform.

"Ahhh, good morning, Lawrence, Coran smirked.

Keith snapped his head toward him. "Please don’t call me Lawrence. You have no right to call me by that name. Only my family and Allura do."

"Really," Coran replied. "And why does Princess Allura have that privilege?"

"Because she is my significant other." And soon she’ll be my wife he thought to himself.

"I see. Are you planning on marrying her and making the heirs of Arus legitimate?"

"I will get married when I’m good and ready to."

"Are you ready to leave, Captain Keith?" King Ian asked. "We take off right after this meeting."

"No, sir, I’m not," Keith replied. "I’m not taking over your fleet. I’m here to officially hand in my letter of resignation. From this moment on I’m no longer an officer of the Galaxy Alliance."

Everyone else in the room gasped in shock. Space Marshall Graham could not believe that Captain Keith Armstrong was resigning from the Galaxy Alliance. Even if he was to be disciplined for violating the Galaxy Alliance code of conduct.

"B-ut y-you can’t resign from the Alliance," Graham stuttered. "Your military years aren’t up yet."

"That’s where you’re wrong, sir," Keith replied. "My term is ending this Sunday. I will not re-enlist in the Alliance. Also, I’m staying here on Arus. I have to resign so the Alliance can no longer have control over my life. I don’t want to be sent on any missions that will take me away from my family. Like I was recently. Allura and I were back form Planet Anzo for only a few days when the Alliance decided to send me on the search and rescue mission for Princess Emily.

They acted like only a few select soldiers were good enough to go in and rescue the princess. Well, they were wrong. That are plenty of quality soldiers who could have done the job. I didn’t appreciate being forced to go on the mission. My god! Allura has stopped flying Blue Lion and Sven had to take her place until the Galaxy Alliance sent a replacement. I can’t deal with it anymore. I’m handing in my resignation and making it official as of today. I’m staying on Arus to raise my twins and be a father to my kids. Also, I’m planning on helping Princess Allura rule Planet Arus."

"No, that’s where you’re wrong, Captain Keith," Coran said. "You’re not a knight and your are not of royal blood."

Keith grinned. "Whatever you say, Coran." He wasn’t ready to play his trump card. Wasn’t ready to reveal the fact that King Alfor had given him permission to marry Ally and that he was already Sir Keith Lawrence Armstrong.

"Keith," Coran began, "are you willing to be around when the news of the twins wears off and Princess Allura decides she doesn’t want to play house anymore? She doesn’t make the best decisions in the galaxy. She’s still immature."

Keith’s face lit up with anger. "Do you have so little confidence in Allura, Coran, that you don’t think she can rule Planet Arus and be a mother to her children? She tries to treat her people fairly and is willing to put her life on the line for her planet. That’s the woman I fell in love with."

"That’s my point, Keith. She’s willing to put her life on the line. She had made a lot of wrong decisions that almost cost her her life. Each time she should have stayed inside the castle where it’s safe"

"Like when Lotor broke into her bedroom after you and Nanny locked her in there for neglecting her studies?" Keith growled. "He almost kidnapped her. Almost took her to planet Doom to make her his wife and out her in his harem. That was real safe. Maybe we should be talking about your decision making."

"We all make bad choices. And we learn from our mistakes. But I don’t think Allura has learned her lesson quite yet."

"Don’t worry, Coran. I know Allura will be able to stand by her children and rule her planet. And I plan to be there every step of the way to help her. I’ll help with the twin’s feeding, changing diapers, and chasing away their nightmares. And I’ll help her with any royal matters she needs me for. I won’t follow the example Dad and my brothers have set. I believe a man should support his woman and be there for their children. I give my word, Coran, that I will treat Allura with respect, give her love and support when she needs it, and stand her by in any crisis. She will do the same by me."

"That’s all well and good, Keith," Graham said, "but are you willing to throw away a perfectly good military career to be a civilian again? That would mean giving up being Captain of the Voltron Force and being a space explorer."

Keith grinned. "Who said anything about giving up piloting Black Lion or being a space explorer? I’m still planning on flying that ship and I can still be a space explore by going to help people in the galaxy. I’ll just won’t longer be a member of the Galaxy Alliance anymore and I won’t have to follow their orders. My decision is final. I won’t be changing my mind."

Graham pondered this for a moment. Finally he said, "Very well, Keith. However you are still an officer in the Alliance until Sunday. I will let King Ian come up with a suitable punishment for you for disregarding Princess Emily."

All eyes turned to the king as he tried to come up with a suitable punishment for Keith.

"I feel that Captain still should go to planet Steamer and make a public appeal to the people there for not rescuing Princess Emily."

"I agree with that decision," Graham replied.

Keith looked at them wide-eyed. "But that’s not fair. I didn’t do anything wrong. I refuse to appeal."

"No, Captain Keith, you will," Lawler replied. "Your last act as an officer of the Galaxy Alliance will be to appeal to the people of Planet Steamer on Sunday like King Ian said."

"Fine. I’ll go to Steamer on Sunday. But I don’t have to like it."

"I’m not satisfied with that punishment," Prince Todd interjected. I think it’s too light."

"You will keep quiet, young man," his father replied. "I think it’s the right punishment for the situation."

Prince Todd glared at his father and looked away. He decided he would get back at Keith for leaving his sister on that hot desert planet on his own. Without his father’s permission. He stepped back to begin forming his plan.

"Id like to add something to that punishment," Graham said. "No cheesecake for four months, tops. That means you cannot have any of Princess Allura’s birthday cheesecake. Just any of the other cakes at the party."

Keith replied, "But that’s not fair! I love cheesecake!"

"I know. That’s why I added it on top of King Ian’s punishment. I know your weakness for cheesecake."

Cheesecake?! Prince Todd thought from his corner of the room. Yeah, like that will redeem my sister!

"Well, since my resignation and punishment are out of the way, I would like to talk about Captain Rick Flair being the replacement for Blue Lion if he will accept. We need him on a permanent basis since Allura will not resume flying after the twins are born. She will only be a back up in case any of us gets hurt.

"I didn’t know Allura was retiring from flying the Lions permanently," Coran said. "I thought flying the Lions meant everything to her."

"Well, Coran, I guess that just goes back to how much you really know Allura. You never take the time to listen to her hopes and dreams. Or even when she just needs someone to talk to. Allura and I may not agree on some issues, but we always focus on what’s best for planet Arus. She will stop flying the lions to ensure her safety, acting as a ruler and a mother.

"Now, Captain Flair, are you willing to follow orders and be a member of the Voltron Force? Do understand that you will fly Blue Lion and take Sven’s place. That’s what I’m offering. If you’re not willing, then we’ll find someone else."

Captain Flair pondered this proposal. Until now, he’d been sitting quietly listening to the conversations taking place. He wasn’t sure if he still wanted a commanding position in the odd situation on this planet. He realized now that he didn’t have to worry about that. He wouldn’t be Captain of the Voltron Force but a member of the team. But he would have to take orders from Keith. Well, if Lance could do it, so could he. He got a chance to be a part of the prestigious Voltron Lion Force. Some of his fellow Alliance officers would accept that in a moments notice without hesitation. And just think, he would have servers to cook and clean for him.

"I accept the position to fly Blue Lion and be part of the team."

"Good," Keith replied. "I’m glad you realized that not many people get this chance. We’ll set up train sessions for you and Sven will go over the controls. We are giving you the benefit of training in the lions themselves before you go into combat with them. We didn’t have that option when we first came here several years ago. I’m letting you know right now that I will not take kindly to any of those daredevil stunts you’re known for. You will be severely punished if you try them here, especially if they endanger people’s lives."

"Aw, now, Keith, I think you’re coming down too hard on me. I mean, what about Lance?"

"Lance may be a daredevil but he never endangers other people’s lives like you do. Also, lion practice is at noon."

"Noon? You’re know all over the universe for your early morning practices. Why so late?"

"Allura and I won’t remember what a normal morning is. And after the twins are born it will only get worse. Consider yourself lucky that you came in at a time of late practices. But once the twins start sleeping through the night, we’ll go back to 5:00 am practices. Do you understand your responsibilities, Captain?"

"Yup, sure do."

Just then, Keith’s father, Bruce, and five year old BJ (Bruce junior) walked into Coran’s study. BJ hurled himself at Keith.

"Unca Keif, when can I wide in Bwack Wion?"

"When your dad gives you permission to."

BJ jumped out of Keith’s arms and ran yelling for his daddy. He moved so fast that Bruce barely got a chance to yell, "No running in the castle!"

Bruce turned to Keith. "Peter isn’t gonna like it if your take BJ up in the lion."

"I know," Keith grinned.

"Good morning, gentlemen," Bruce acknowledged the other men.

"Bruce, could you please try to change your son’s mind about taking command of the Sharpshooter fleet?" King Ian asked.

"Sorry, can’t do that. My son is his own man."

"Did you know he was resigning from the Alliance?" Graham inquired."

"Sure I did. We had a long father and son talk about it. I laid out the pro’s and con’s of the situation. But I let him make up his own mind. I told him I’d support any decision he made and be there for him."

"Bruce, did you know he was sleeping with Princess Allura?" Coran asked.

"Coran!" Keith exclaimed.

"It’s OK, son," Bruce said. To Coran he replied, "Yes I did. But I don’t interfere with my children’s love lives. Especially when they have a good solid relationship and appear to have found their soul mate. My son is and excellent captain, has a great woman in his life who is pregnant with his twins, and he and his friends have helped Planet Arus become one of the most powerful allies in the Galaxy Alliance. He’s succeed where other Alliance officers would have failed. I think you should be thankful that they restored Planet Arus to it’s former glory, Coran."

"Yes, of course I am. But he should do the right thing and either marry Allura or leave and let someone else do it."

Keith’s face started turning red and his eyes narrowed to slits. His father put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Now, Coran, I told you I don’t interfere in my children’s love lives. I won’t force my son into marriage or out of it. He will commit when he’s ready to."

Bruce smiled thinking that he was playing his part to a tee. They didn’t suspect a thing. Allura would be truly surprised by Keith’s performance tonight Not many people knew that his boy could sing.

"Well, I think we have covered all the issues we needed to this morning. If there’s nothing more to add, perhaps we should call this meeting adjourned.

The men agreed and started to leave Coran’s study to go to their other plans for the day. Keith and Bruce walked out together.

"You did good son. I’m proud of you."

"Thanks, Dad."

"You handled yourself very well in there. Now go wish your girlfriend a happy birthday."

"I will, Dad," Keith replied and headed off to wake up his love.