Disclaimer: Falling Skies belongs to TNT, Robert Rodat and Steven Spielberg.

Part one of a trilogy about the Mason brothers after Tom vanishes at the end of season 1. Just some nice brotherly bonding :) The other two in the trilogy are almost finished and I will post them once they're done.

As for those who are reading Two Sides of the Same Coin – it's part way done! It's a very action-filled chapter so it is taking a little longer than normal. Hopefully should be up within the next few days :)

Just in case you wanted to know – the other two ficlets in this trilogy are these:

In Absence of a Father - Ben falls sick. Hal steps up and becomes the father figure to take care of him.

In Absence of a Brother - Matt feels isolated as his brothers go off and fight and he's left all alone.

Please read the dedication written at the end of the chapter!

IN ABSENCE OF A MOTHER

DancerInTheDark101

Set before Season 2. Everything comes crashing together and Ben feels it's all become too much. Desperately missing his mother, he turns to the next best thing: Hal.

"Ben?"

The sandy-haired teen looked up from his hiding spot on the roof to see his older brother standing above him. He'd been so deep in thought he hadn't even heard Hal arrive.

Looking away again, Ben went back to staring at his hands which were interlocked and lying in his lap. He'd been up on the roof for hours, just staring at his hands – hands that had help a weapon; hands that had killed.

"What's up?" Hal asked again and Ben heard the scraping of shoes against the tiling as Hal came closer. He felt the thud as he sat down beside him. Ben didn't answer. He honestly didn't know what to say. There were so many things on his mind and any other time he probably would have opened up a little. But this was different. There wasn't much Hal (or anyone else) could do about this.

So they sat there, on the roof, in the middle of the night, for almost an hour. Neither brother spoke. They just sat there in each other's company, thinking.

Ben continued to stare at either his hands or the ground below. A few times he wondered what it would feel like if he slipped and fell; what it would feel like when he hit the ground. What did dead feel like? Did it hurt?

Had his mother hurt when she had died?

Hal's arm shot out and grabbed his own, halting his movement. Ben snapped out of his thoughts and found himself staring straight down. Somehow, during his thoughts he'd started to slide towards the edge of the roof and had almost gone over.

Gripping his brother's arm tight, Ben let himself be hauled back over the edge where he immediately collapsed against the tiles.

"What the hell is going on, Ben?" Hal demanded. Ben opened his mouth to reply, but found himself unable to. Instead – to his horror – he felt himself break.

Tears welled in his eyes and fell freely down his cheeks. A low sob escaped and Ben immediately brought both hands up to cover his mouth. He felt Hal wrap his arms around him and throwing his pride to the wind, he leant in and let himself be embraced.

"C'mon Ben…" Hal whispered into his ear as Ben cried into his shirt. "What's got you all upset?"

Truth was he'd been feeling down for a while, due to several things – but at this particular moment, it was just the one.

"… I miss Mom," he admitted in a whisper as he wiped away the tears. Ben heard Hal's sharp intake of breath and felt him tense. It wasn't something that was talked about very often and Ben could still remember clearly the day he'd been told what had happened.

Ben had only learned about the death of their mother less than a month ago. He'd been taken by the Skitters the day of her death and had never known. Hal and Matt had known for at least six months, so even though it still wasn't easy for them, Ben knew that they forgot he'd only known for a little while. To him, his mother had died only weeks before. It still hurt.

"Mom?" Hal whispered back. Ben nodded.

"I don't know what to do…" he replied. "Mom would've known what to do…"

Pulling out of Hal's embrace, Ben plucked up the courage to look at his brother. Hal was staring at him, his eyes shining with unshed tears. He was worried.

"Oh, Ben…"

There was another interval of silence, in which Hal reached forward and brought him back into a hug. Ben could feel the warmth of his brother and it reminded him so much of the warm hugs he used to get from his mom that he almost broke down in tears again.

"It's just so hard," the younger boy confessed. "I'm treated like a freak; I get teased and harassed and I just don't know what to do!"

The secret was out.

He hadn't told anyone of the hassles he was getting from some of the other kids and adults in the Second Mass. He hadn't let anyone know how their nasty remarks and constant pushes were getting to him. He'd kept it to himself for the better part of a month.

But everyone had their breaking point. And it just turned out that today was that day. After another horrible taunt about his family, Ben had snapped. He'd been trying so hard to prove himself, even going as far as asking Weaver to be a fighter.

He didn't want to be different. He didn't choose to be different. He hadn't stood in his friend's house and asked the aliens to take him. But why didn't anyone see that? Why didn't they see that he was just as much of a victim of this war as they were?

That's why the death of his mother had hit him so hard. A mom was the one person a child could always count on to be on their side. They loved unconditionally and Ben knew that if his mom were still alive, she wouldn't care about the alien spikes protruding from his spine. She wouldn't care that he had abilities no other normal human had. She would protect him from the nasty remarks and taunts. She would know what to do.

But she wasn't there, and she couldn't protect him from everything. She wasn't there to tell him what to do.

And his father was gone – disappeared on an alien ship in an attempt to save his life.

So he turned to one of the last people he had left.

He turned to Hal and begged him.

"Please… help me…"

Hal pulled him in, hugging him tightly and said:

"You're not alone anymore, Ben. Don't forget that."

And for the first time in a long time Ben actually believed that.

DEDICATION: This is dedicated to my own mother, who has been battling continued illnesses and depression for many, many months. I have been going through my own trials and tribulations as a result of moving country and I know I couldn't have done it without her guidance and love, even though she has had her own things to worry about. And I am just grateful I have my mum to help me through hard times, as I know there are plenty out there who do not have that luxury. So to all the mums out there, thank you.

I don't know whether I like the way it ended or not... I dunno, it just feels a little off. But oh well. Let me know what you think,

Please review! I love hearing from you all. And watch out for the other two fics coming soon :)