The Flying Paladin (ITS THE SEQUEL)!!

10: A Christmas miracle?

Lance

When I was in the third grade, mi papa was in a car accident. The driver was drunk and was driving on the wrong side of the road. Papa wasn't able to get out of the way fast enough. The driver hit him dead on.

The drunk driver suffered minor cuts and bruises, but mi papa... he was in the hospital for almost a month.

For the first week he was in a coma. The doctors told us he might not come out alive. When he did, the doctors claimed it was a miracle.

Then he had to attend physical therapy and wasn't allowed to work for six months until his legs and arms were deemed safe to use.

That was the hardest time of my life.

Without papa's extra money, our family's debt plummeted. We had trouble paying bills on time, and the amount of food we could afford was minimal.

We barely pulled out alive.

But we did.

And it made us stronger.

--------------------------------------------------

"LANCE!!!" Pidge cried, shaking my shoulder roughly. I didn't want to respond, my head was killing me.

I slowly blinked open my eyes, squinting at the harsh light.

Why was I on the floor?

Then the memories hit me like a truck. I gasped and sat up quickly, looking around my kitchen. It was as if no change had occurred. The sweet smell of cookies wafted throughout the room, and the light joyous christmas music still played in the background.

It could be just as it was.

But it wasn't.

"J-Jack?" I croaked out. Pidge looked at me sadly and nodded.

"He called me the second you stopped responding." she said. "Hunk's with him, calming him down."

"And... my f-family?" I asked, my heart aching. Pidge looked away from me for a second before her eyes returned to mine, tears clouding them.

"We heard," she said. "Allura and Coran are there right now. We were on our way when we got the call from Jack."

I started to get up. "Thanks for coming Pidgey." I mumbled. "I... I'm okay now."

"No you're not." Pidge said grimly. "None of us are. But we will be."

"What do you mean?" I asked dumbly.

"Well Shiro is in surgery right now, something was wrong with his leg. Keith was unconscious when they found him, but he's apparently up now, with a broken leg and fractured wrist. Christie has a concussion and is currently under observation and Nessa is..." Pidge trailed off and I felt the pit in my stomach clench.

"Pidge?" I asked. "What happened to Nessa?"

"The car that hit them, it hit them on Nessa's side. Nessa got the worst of it." Pidge whispered. Tears began to flow again. No. Not my baby girl. "She's... she's in a coma."

My.

Heart.

Stopped.

"W- what?" I asked, still trying to figure out why it felt like a giant hole had just been punched in my chest.

"Lance..." Pidge said slowly. "It's okay. It'll be okay."

"No it won't!" I yelled, my voice shaky. "My baby! My husbands! My family! They're--" I cut myself off, trying really really hard not to break down into a fit of ugly sobs.