Hey everyone! This story is set after the season 3 finale, so it's AU from then on.

Disclaimer: I don't own Falling Skies or its characters. There would be many more seasons if I did.

Hope you enjoy! Reviews, as usual, are always appreciated!

Chapter 1

He barely registered it when the bullet ripped through his abdomen. The sight in front of him was more shocking than the pain.

He stood in place, staring directly ahead of him, at Karen, who was supposed to be dead. Karen, who he had watched die. Karen, who had used him and played with his head in so many ways. Karen, who was not the girl he'd dated so long ago. Karen, who was taken by the Espheni when it could have been him.

It could have so easily been him.

But it wasn't, and he'll never understand why.

People didn't truly realize why Karen was such a difficult topic for him. Some thought they did. Yes, he dated Karen. He really liked her. So naturally, he was upset that she was taken. But it was more than that.

It could have been him. That brainwashed, shell of a human being could have been him.

Maybe he never truly gave up on her because he hoped that no one would have given up on him. He hoped that someone, somewhere, would try to get the old him back.

Karen didn't have that hope, besides Hal. So he tried. He tried for as long as he could, but he could only try for so long.

His Karen wasn't coming back.

But he saw the girl in front of him, a gun in her hand, and he knew that was her. This was the real her. The real Karen. His Karen.

And she had shot him.

He was on the ground now, lying on his back. His stomach was bleeding, but he still couldn't feel it. She walked up to him and knelt down. Lowering her head, she stared into his eyes. He felt like vomiting.

Her voice was low, quiet. "You left me, Hal." She said. "You let her kill me, when you could have saved me." She got up. "You could have saved me!" She screamed at him, anger dripping from her voice. "You killed me, Hal! You. Gave. Up!" The gun was being pointed at him again, this time at his head. "Now you will now what it feels like to be betrayed." She pulled the trigger.

His head jerked back, and he saw no more.

Hal woke up in a cold sweat wanting nothing more than to retch, the feeling of pure panic still playing at his gut. Running from his tent, he reached the edge of the camp site and dry-heaved. It was still dark, and only Tector and Maggie were up. They sat together on the other side of camp for night watch, and if they'd heard Hal, they didn't show it.

Hal sighed. He wanted nothing more than to talk to Maggie about the dreams he'd been having, but ever since the incident with Karen four weeks ago, they hadn't been getting along.

And for four weeks, Hal had been having nightmares. Even in death, Karen still haunted his dreams.

They were different than the others, the one's he'd had with the eye bug. In the others, Karen was using him, telling him how much she loved him, telling him to betray the Second Mass and Charleston. But in these nightmares, she was killing him, and if they continued, that's exactly what they would do.

These dreams were slowly bringing him down. He hadn't had a proper nights sleep in ages, and it was starting to take its toll on his body. He was nodding off during watch, and during patrols he would get distracted. He was becoming a danger to those around him. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if his carelessness got someone hurt, or worse.

Taking a swig of water from his bottle, he decided to talk to Anne in the morning about getting some sleeping pills. They should work. However, there was no way he would be getting any sleep now. Taking a deep breath, he made his way over to Maggie.

She got up from her spot. "Hal."

"Hey Maggie." He cleared his throat. "Ah, I couldn't sleep, so I could take over your post, if you want."

"I'm fine, Hal."

"Look, if you say no, I'm just gonna ask Tector, and I know he'll say yes, so this is your last offer to get some sleep before everyone wakes up." He stared at her.

Maggie paused. "Fine. I'll tell Tector you're taking over." She walked passed him without a second glance.

Hal sat down on a large rock and stared into the trees, his ears and eyes more attentive than they'd been in weeks. Maybe it was the air, or the clear night, or the nightmare, but for some reason, he was more awake than he had been in a long time.

He glanced up at the sky, where the stars twinkled brightly. The moon was full and bright, casting a light glow on his surroundings. He brought his eyes back down to the trees in front of him, but quickly glanced back up, noticing something that looked wrong.

His eyes widened when he realized what it was.

The moon.

It was on fire.