Katie Holt, I presume

The long walk back

Pidge POV

I hate the cold. I hate rain. I hate the cold. I hate the rain. I just repeated this mantra as we walked back to camp. Each step made my wet feet drag because my shoes were so waterlogged, my pants scrape against my inner thighs uncomfortably, and I can just bet that I catch a cold after this. The temperature had dropped when the storm started and while the wind had calmed down, it was still cold, it was still raining. The poor kid was shivering, I was shivering and while the kid had stopped crying, I felt like I could just pick up where he stopped.

I sighed and realized that I really had slowed down a lot. I was barely shuffling along at this point. Keith still had an arm around me and was trying to block the wind and rain but what could he really do. I looked up at him and sighed again.

"Keith, go on up ahead. I'm dragging and will meet you there."

He shook his head no. "Pidge, why won't you let Cosmo just pop you over?"

I replied, "I don't think it's a great idea to pop this guy repeatedly. I think he was practically frozen the first time and in shock. But now he is more awake and I don't want to scare him."

Keith says "Ok, but do you think that maybe he will let me carry him for you? Let me try again."

Keith reaches over to take him, when the little cry starts crying again and hugs me tighter. I look at Keith and shake my head. "It's ok Keith. I don't want him to suffer any more. We have no clue who his parents are and he's scared. It's ok, I got it. It's not much farther right?"

Keith nods but looks like he's thinking. "Hey, let's see if he would ride Cosmo, that way you won't have to carry him." He pulls Cosmo closer and the little boy instantly is enthralled. Again he reaches out to pet him and Pidge starts to lower the boy to him. Pidge keeps her hand on the boys arm and he seems content. He's babbling away and occasionally she can understand a few words, 'doggy', 'ruff', 'nice'.

Pidge looks over to Keith, "Good idea there!" Suddenly a shiver wracks her body and Keith takes a step closer to her and wraps his arms around her.

"Hey, you did great out there! We will get you into some dry clothes in no time! I don't know what we are going to do for the little guy though, I think even your clothes will be too small for him!" He squeezed her at that to let her know he was teasing her! Dork.

They continued on at a snail's pace when Keith turned and said, "Jump on my back! You could still hold his hand and you won't have to walk."

At first, Pidge declined but after a wordless conversation with Keith, she relented. She really was tired and wet and she was so cold. She finally nodded and Keith bent down so she could get on his back all while still holding the little guy.

Keith POV

Finally, she agreed. He so badly needed to help her. He knew she hated being cold, but being cold and wet! Not a great combination. And he really needed to feel like he was helping her. Especially since the little boy wanted nothing to do with him.

He bounced Pidge up and said, "What do we want to call him?"

Pidge looked at him blankly. "Didn't we already name him Cosmo?"

I huff out a laugh, "Not Cosmo, the kid?"

Pidge replies with a laugh, "OOOOOHHHHHH, haha, yeah um, not sure? I haven't really thought what we would name our kid yet!"

I reply without thinking, "Well, I have, what about Percy, you like those books right? Or Harry?"

Then I feel her tighten her grip on my shoulders with the arm she's got around me and say, "Oh so you've thought about our kids names, have you?"

I could feel myself flushing but I don't take it back. I jerk out a nod at her question and keep moving. I feel her relax against me and her one hand is stroking me where it rests. Finally we make it back to camp. It looks like a disaster! I slowly settle her down and she instinctively picks up the boy and holds him close. He looks nervous again with the noise and addition of more people. I feel Pidge maneuver so she is leaning back against me again and I put my arms back around her.

Instead of looking around the camp at the damage, I feel my eyes look down at Pidge and the little boy. With my arms around them both, from this perspective, I feel like this is a flashback or a memory of some sort. This feels right to me. I never really thought about kids or being a dad. In fact, I actively resisted the thought. But now, in this moment of cold and the unknown, I could envision myself as a dad and Pidge as a mom. I could envision how our teamwork would then translate to parents. Honestly, I don't think I even realized what a great mom Pidge would be. But now I can. And now that I can, I can't stop thinking about it. Wanting it. I hold her close for a minute and try and resist the urge to kiss her. Instead I close my eyes, breath her in and come up with a plan. Because this feels right. I want her to depend on me, trust me, not just as a paladin. But anyways. I want that role. We used to joke, sword and shield. But then I left and came back. But I don't think I could do that again.

Shit.