{ CHAPTER 99! Holy hell we're so close to 100 I can taste it!}

It had been an all out scramble once they'd heard the news. It was just a matter of not trampling each other to get to their cars. Lance and Keith were safe! Not to mention, they were alive after all that time! Camila and Abuela had nearly fainted once they figured that out, and Veronica was sobbing as Acxa helped her to the car.

Shiro hadn't even spoken on the whole drive to the hospital. His eyes had just been wide the whole time, and everyone just sort of knew where they were going. Matt had reached over and taken his hand from the passenger side, and Hunk, Pidge, and Shay were all silent in the backseat.

Lotor was driving Romelle separately, since Shiro's sports car couldn't fit everyone on that day. He was trying to stay calm, but how could anyone stay calm when their girlfriend was having a meltdown in the passenger seat? It was all out insanity, and he could only pray that when she saw her brother and Lance, it would be better.

And while all of this was going on, crowds had gathered outside of the hospital and were waiting for Lance and Keith to come out eventually. Cops had come to try and make sure the crowd remained peaceful. And even in the middle of this, there were anti-Allura protestors outside of the back parking lot.

" When can I see Lance...?" Keith asked a doctor, and his arm was currently being stitched up. The cut hadn't struck any arteries, so he was lucky.

" He's getting x-rays right now and they gave him a CT scan, too." The doctor explained. Since Keith was Lance's omega, he could tell him. " He has a concussion from what we can tell, but it happened a few days ago. And we're guessing his ankle is broken, but we have to make sure where exactly the break is and figure out how we're going to treat it."

Keith stared at the wall, and he was just still in shock about everything that was going on. So he and Lance had been captive in James' basement for however many days, Allura was on the run, and their families had thought that they were dead? Wow, this would make a great novel someday, but for right then, Keith just wanted to see Lance and everyone else.

For a while there, he'd thought that they'd never make it out, but now he knew that he was safe. James had been detained and there was no way they'd ever let him loose again.

" Alright... let me just put some bandages on and you'll be good. Your vitals were fine and the other tests we ran don't show that you're hurt in any other way... would you like me to escort you to Lance's room?"

Keith nodded, and after his upper arm was wrapped up, the doctor took him to the room. The bed was currently missing, as Lance had probably been wheeled out on it. He thanked the doctor and sat down, waiting. He would've called and talked to Shiro, but he knew that he didn't have his phone. All he could do was wait for the others to arrive, which he was sure that they would.

It was about fifteen minutes later when Lance was wheeled back inside, and there was a cast that started at the middle of his calf and encased his foot, only letting his tan toes poke out. That was definitely not a good sign, but Keith had been expecting that much.

He got up, coming over and holding Lance's hand as he stood at his bedside.

" Hey... we made it..." Lance smiled a tad, looking up at his omega and squeezing his hand back. The nurse hooked up his IV while this was happening, since Lance had been dehydrated. They just had to get some fluid in him.

" We did..." Keith said, running his thumb on his palm. " I love you..."

" I love you too, KitKat..." Lance said, then looked over to the nurse and thanked her. But still, she wasn't done yet. " Um... can you unlock the safe in here? I want to give it to him..."

Keith was confused as he watched her pull out her keys, getting something out of the patient lockbox in the room. That was until he realized that Lance had tucked his ring away for the time being, and it was finally safe for him to have it back.

" He didn't manage to take this away..." Lance said, sliding the red and black ring back onto Keith's finger, tearing up.

" Don't start crying... you're gonna make me cry, too..." Keith sniffled, wiping his eyes. He looked down at the ring and tried to keep himself together, but it was difficult. They'd been through so much together.

Lance chuckled a tad, and he pulled Keith over toward himself. It had felt like so long since he'd wrapped his arms around him, and it was a breath of fresh air when he was finally able to do it again.

Keith leaned down and pressed his forehead on Lance's gently. If he had a concussion then he had to be careful with him.

" Let's go home... as soon as we can..."

" Don't do this to me... you know Tokyo Ghoul fucked me up..." Lance joked. Keith didn't even realize what he said until after he'd said it. God damn... the troubles of being a weeb.

" Sorry." The omega laughed slightly, blinking back the last of his tears. That was when they heard a commotion in the hall, and both looked toward the door.

" Sir, you can't run in this wing-"

" Where is he?!"

" Sir-"

" Shiro, hey-"

That was when Shiro flung the door open and saw his brother and Lance. His face sank in relief, and Matt stopped trying to hold him back. He was pregnant and shouldn't have even been moving that much anyways.

Keith felt really emotional, but he rushed over and hugged his brother, nearly being lifted by him. Shiro was trembling really badly as he held him, and he was so overcome with relief that he could hardly even function.

" Easy..." Keith felt over his arm and winced.

" Sorry..." Shiro pulled back and looked down at him, and Matt and the others started to funnel in as well. They basically had a mob of family and friends that had pushed through the other wings of the hospital to get there, and the hospital staff had basically been forced to embrace it and let them all in.

Krolia and Kolivan were hugging Keith soon enough, and Camila and the rest of Lance's family were at his bedside, hugging him and crying.

" I'm alright, Mamá..." The alpha assured, but she just kept shaking her head.

" Keith..." Krolia sniffled, pulling back, and Romelle nearly knocked Keith over as she rushed over to hug him.

" I thought you were dead!" She sobbed, and Keith rubbed her back.

" I'm not... hey... just breathe, alright? I'm okay, Lance is okay..." He told her, and it took a fair amount of time before she was calm enough to let go of him. Pidge and Hunk, as well as Shay, were the last ones that got to see Keith and funnel inside of the room.

" I can't believe you're safe..." Pidge said, hugging her friend, and Hunk was a mess of tears as he hugged him as well.

To think that they'd been locked in some sicko's basement for so long was nauseating, but at least they were safe now.

After Lance's family was done with him for a second, Luis rushed over and hugged Keith.

" Keith!" He exclaimed. " Are you gonna have a cool scar now?"

Keith looked down at his arm and rubbed it.

" I guess, yeah..." He mustered a smile for him. After all, Luis was just a kid. He could never understand the implications of what happened until he was older.

" You both are so amazing... anyone else would've given up..." Hunk wiped tears from his eyes. " How did you even get out?"

" It's... a long story." Lance scratched the back of his neck.

" We have all the time in the world." Pidge said, and just as Keith was about to say something, a nurse knocked on the door and walked in. She wheeled in a cart with food on it for Lance, and it was high protein high carb.

" The doctors recommended a special diet for you..." She explained, then pulled out the tray above Lance's bed. " Try and eat as much as you can, alright?"

" Will do..." Lance said, and as he looked down at the food, he realized how much he'd taken things like that for granted.

" That reminds me." Marco said, looking down at his brother. " Did he even feed you guys?"

Keith was sure there were going to be a lot of questions like that, so he decided to take a seat and pull his chair up to Lance's bedside. They'd been kidnapped and locked up for days, so he should've expected that much.

" Well... he fed Keith. Not me. Keith managed to sneak me some of his food, though..." Lance explained, and he was stretching the truth a little as not to worry his mother and everyone else. The last thing they needed was that extra added stress on top of the current situation.

" Bullshit..." Keith shook his head. " You lived off of a waffle and some bacon for what... however many days."

" It was 4 days..."

" It felt way longer than that..." Keith looked down, then grabbed Lance's hand, circling his thumb around the other's palm. To think they could've lost each other... it was a nightmare. He couldn't even picture his life without the alpha in it. He'd completely changed his outlook and showed him what life could be when it wasn't filled with depression and fear.

" I'm sure it did, but you both are so brave and strong..." Shiro said, then put a hand on Keith's shoulder. " I just hope we can get you both home as soon as possible..."

" How long do you have to wear the cast for?" Luis asked Lance.

" About 6 weeks..." Lance groaned and stared at the ceiling, but Camila nudged him to remind him to eat.

" That fucking sucks, dude... but we're all here if you need anything... literally anything." Pidge said, and Romelle came up behind her and nodded. That left Lotor standing there and feeling awkward. He knew that he had to say something, since he really wasn't as close to Lance and Keith as everyone else in the room was.

" Um... if I may..." He began and approached the bed, extending his hand for Lance to shake. " I know we've had our differences and misunderstandings... but I'm really sorry this happened to you... I wish I would've been able to do more..."

Lance glanced up at Lotor, and though there was a juvenile part of himself that wanted to purse his lips and smack his hand away, he took a deep breath. This situation needed compassion.

Shaking his hand back, Lance mustered a smile.

" Thank you for saying that... but I really don't have any feelings of hate toward you anymore. She's the bad guy, not you..." He said, and Lotor felt his heart sinking in relief. That was good... since he was dating Lance's future sister in law. Things could've gotten awkward pretty quick.

Keith stared at them both and smiled. There were so many things to think about right then, but he just enjoyed the simplicity. Forgiveness was good, but he knew that forgiveness wasn't in the cards for the people who'd done this to them.

...

All the money in the world could definitely help hide someone, but not forever. Once her parents heard that she was on the run, they'd made the choice to inconspicuously help her. It was either that, or see their pregnant daughter go to jail.

She'd made it into the woods of northern California by then, and while her parents made the arrangements to send her out of the country, she was camping. Yes... literally camping in a tent.

" I hate myself..." Allura murmured to herself over and over again. She had lost James to the police... he wouldn't be able to help her raise the baby. Meanwhile, the cops were looking for her as well. She couldn't use the baby for clout once it was born, and it was basically going to be confiscated if she gave birth in prison.

Her hands were essentially tied. If she had any hope at raising the baby and remaining free, she had to stay in the shadows and escape America. Luckily for her, her parents owned businesses worldwide, so she could integrate basically anywhere.

But her life as she knew it was over.

Was that what she deserved? Was karma finally catching up to her? Lance and Keith were assholes and everything, but maybe they'd taken it too far. She figured that imprisoning someone in a basement was pretty bad, but what came after that?

...

Remarkably, Lance and Keith were allowed to leave the hospital and head home. Lance was on crutches, but still, it was better than not going home at all. Shiro had taken them, and the others who'd been uprooted from their seats rode with Romelle and Lotor.

" Home sweet home..." Lance said as he stared up at the mansion, then looked over at Keith. He leaned onto the crutches heavily and held his omega's hand.

" We made it..." Keith smiled back, and he almost couldn't believe it himself.

When they came through the door, they were greeted by barking. Keith's eyes lit up and he saw Kosmo rushing toward the door, and he sank down, grinning and opening his arms up. The husky nearly tackled him, but he hugged him and stopped him before he could knock Lance over as well.

" Hey, buddy!"

Kosmo barked and was restless, running around after that and slipping on the hardwood, flailing into walls and doing laps around the inside of the mansion, then returning to Keith. He licked all over the omega's face, then tried to hop up on Lance.

" I missed you, too..." Lance said, and Keith helped make sure he wouldn't get pummeled. His balance on crutches wasn't really the best.

Everyone was eager to help the couple get settled back in after the scary ordeal that they'd been through, and that much was clear. They made sure that everything was attended to, and Keith was shocked to see that they'd been cleaning the house while they'd been gone. Maybe it was just so they wouldn't drive themselves nuts.

" What do you say we order some food to celebrate you both being home?" Shiro asked, looking down at them as they sat on the couch. Of course everyone would have to go back to their own houses, but still, they all wanted to stay together right then to make sure Lance and Keith were cared for.

" Hell yeah." Keith said. " I'm starving... but what would we get?"

" Chipotle? Pizza? Burgers? Chinese?" Lance asked, then wrapped an arm over Keith's shoulder. Holy hell... it felt amazing to do that at last.

" How about all four?" Shiro asked.

" Can we even eat all that food?" Matt raised an eyebrow.

" Don't underestimate me..." Pidge smirked and her glasses gleamed, making her brother gulp. For just a moment he'd forgotten how much she could eat. Not to mention... they had a lot of people there.

" We'll all figure out what we want while you guys think about what you want to order..." Shiro said, and he ushered everyone into the other room. Lance and Keith needed at least a little privacy to take this all in.

Kosmo curled up on both of them, and Keith leaned against Lance's shoulder. This was all just so crazy. But they'd lived, and now it was time to get back to normal. 

{ They lived bitch. 

Sorry lmao. I had to.}