Author Note: This is my first foray into the most excellent television series on TNT – Falling Skies! I think Captain Dan Weaver is one of the most complex characters and despite the obvious attraction between Tom and Dr. Glass – Dan Weaver deserves a story of his own. This is a little one-shot dedication to the captain of the Second Mass.
TWISTED WHISKEY NIGHTMARE
Captain Daniel Weaver's eyes were gritty and burning from lack of sleep. Another night of shooting skitters and blowing up mechs did not lend itself to a date with his cot. The ringing in his ears was still painful and that was his fault – he stood too close to Pope's grenade launcher which had a defective grenade.
"Shit! Run!" Pope's arm pushed the captain off to the left as Pope jumped off to the right. The grenade, which should have shot out with a "poof!" actually fell out of the end of the launcher and exploded a few feet ahead of the Second Mass unit. The explosion was deafening and shrapnel flew in a 360 degree direction causing some minor injuries among the tired assemble.
It was the captain's fault. Weaver would take full responsibility for that. The men and woman of the Second Mass unit had been fighting tirelessly as they slowly plowed forward on their way to Charleston. Weaver rose up on one elbow and scoffed softly, "Charleston…" Everyone was all agitated about that woman pilot, what was Blondie's name? Churchill! Avery Churchill. She just flies into their camp with promises of civilization and hot showers and now his soldiers couldn't concentrate on anything but showers.
His little talk with Tom Mason about staying on the trail or hunkering down for the winter was just a waste of time. What if Tom had some little piece of alien still stuck in his head – just like his son Ben had remnants spikes left from that harness on his back…there's no telling what could set Tom off and if bringing him to some kind of society…... shook his head at the thought and lay back down on the cot. The entire unit's safety rested on this captain's shoulders.
Weaver ran a hand over his stubbled beard and tried to relax. Dr. Glass kept insisting on giving him something to sleep but the nightmares never seemed to leave. Sophia. His baby girl Sophia fell victim to the skitters in the first wave of attacks and as much as he tried to remove her harness….she still died. In his arms, he held Sophia's dying body and he cried. The rough tough captain cried like a little boy as he felt his baby girl's life force leaving her body.
Relief was short-lived when the captain discovered his older daughter, Jeane, was still alive. Dan had given up hope and it was only by chance that he had learned that Jeane was an acting parent for other orphan children trying to hide and survive the invasion.
Dan reached down into a pocket of his camo pants and pulled out a flask. Screw Dr. Glass and her sleeping pills….a nice swig of Jack was all he needed to take the edge off.
The silver flask was slipped back into his pocket and Dan rolled in his side trying to get some rest. His subconscious was running a mental inventory of ordnance and C4 still on hand. Did Pope make enough ammo for those modified RPG's? Why couldn't his fucking brain shut off? He groaned and sadly thanked the heavens he didn't have sons to watch over like Tom did. God forbid that Jeane was obsessed with skitter fighting!
The odd rumble of a patrol truck passed in the distance, the sound was comforting and familiar and if he tried hard enough he could almost remember the days before the invasion. Eventually, Weaver's breathing slowed and the cot was starting to feel comfortable as the whiskey did its magic. But no sooner had he caught 20 winks then some soldier from his squad was pushing his shoulder.
FS
"Dad….dad, you have to wake up!" An urgent voice was summoning him.
Dan wiped his eyes and squinted as Hal's face loomed over his. "Hal? Son? What are you doing in here? I thought you were out on patrol."
Hal squatted down next to the cot. "Dad, its Captain Mason. The Berserkers were scouting that ridge by the tracks and it was a skitter ambush. Pope killed a couple of 'em but Tom Mason is messed up."
Dan blinked. What the hell was going on? "Where's your brother?" Where was that damn kid with the spikes?
Hal shifted his rifle to the other shoulder. "Ben took Matt back where the other kids were. He said he'd get some more ammo and meet us back at the trestles." Hal stood up and ran his fingers through his greasy hair. "Dad….they ambushed us! We didn't even have clue! The scouts that went on ahead gave us the all clear – what were we supposed to do?"
Weaver was puzzled why Hal kept calling him "dad" when he was Tom Mason's son. Hell, Ben with the spikes and little Matt were all Tom had left of his family. Dan looked at Hal who seemed to be talking but Weaver couldn't hear him. Shaking his head he blinked and asked the dark haired boy, "Where's Tom now?"
Hal was busy stuffing shells into his pockets as he replied, "Jeane took him to see Dr. Glass and Lourdes is helping to stop the bleeding. Captain Mason wants to debrief with you. Dad, you need to go."
Jeane? What was Jeane Weaver doing with Tom Mason? Where was Diego? Daniel stood up on shaky legs and looked at his reflection in the remaining broken panes of glass. He was still his stubby unshaven self but what was going on?
FS
Tom Mason's face was a ghastly shade of pale. Lourdes was wiping the blood from Tom's cheek with a soothing motion. She looked up when Dan stepped into the med-bus. "Lieutenant?" she said in a questioning tone?
Dr. Glass brushed past Dan and smiled softly. "I don't think he'll last the night. Lourdes, can you check on Jamil while I talk to Lt. Weaver?"
Lourdes nodded and slipped through the privacy curtain. Weaver looked at the fragile beauty that served as a militia doctor. Anne touched his arm, "Dan….I missed you last night."
Dan's eyes blinked. What?
She continued," I know we're not supposed to….what's the word…fraternize? But this war – look at Tom. I don't think the captain's going to make it though the night. I've done all I can do…"
Suddenly Jeane pushed her way through the curtain, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Daddy!" Anne reached for the young girl, but Jeane jerked away. "You have to save him!
Tom's eyes slowly fluttered open and his voice was raspy. "Jeane…honey…let me talk to Lt. Weaver."
"Oh daddy…I was so worried!" After seeing that Tom Mason wasn't yet on deaths door, Jeane allowed Dr. Glass to lead her off the bus. Weaver pulled up a chair. "Tom, what happened?"
Mason swallowed hard and managed to utter, "Red Eye…he's….he's a traitor. Warn your boy…warn Ben for me okay?"
Weaver nodded. He never trusted Red Eye to begin with, but Tom's affirmation that the alien skitter wasn't an ally after all didn't surprise Dan at all.
Tom grabbed his arm. "I know Ben's your kid but those spikes….the unharnessed kids have this connection – I can only think of it as a form of telepathy."
Ben was Tom's son. Why would Mason think otherwise? Tom began to cough hard and Dan noticed a wet sheen of sweat covering his face. "Are you going to make it Tom? We're only a few hundred miles short of Charlotte…"
Tom's hand went to his gut shot stomach and came away wet with fresh blood. "No." he whispered. "Promise you'll look after Jeane for me?"
Dan grasped his friend's blooded hand. "Don't you die on me Mason! We're gonna make to the capitol city. We ain't gone this far for you to die on me."
Tom closed his eyes for the last time and Dan Weaver felt that familiar sorrow pain in his gut. Just like Sophia….now he had to tell Tom's sons. Dan dropped his head in his hands and closed his eyes. How many more soldiers was he going to have to bury? Would this nightmare ever end?
FS
Something nudged his shoulder and he opened his eyes still full of grit. "What now?" Dr. Glass was smiling down into his face. "How are you feeling Dan?"
Weaver struggled to lift his head but that only brought a round of nausea. "Like shit. What happened?"
Anne sat down on a stool next to Weaver's cot. She turned on her little flashlight and shone the light into his pupils. "Remember that Korean market the scout team got our last rations from?"
Dan attempted to smile but it looked more like a grimace. "Yeah…Jimmy filled my flask with some Jack Daniels…." He missed little Jimmy something fierce!
Anne laughed softly. "Well Dan Weaver – just so you know, all that thrashing and shouting about Tom Mason dying was just a hallucination. You were drinking some bad alcohol." She touched his forehead, "You'll feel better when it wears off."
"So I'm still the captain?" he asked almost stupidly. His daughter was still Jeane? He wasn't dad to Tom Mason's boys? What a relief!
Tom's face appeared from the doorway. "Who else would we want running this army of survivors?" He straddled a chair backwards. "Captain – that must have been one helluva bad dream."
Dan rose up on an elbow as the bile rose up in his throat. "Son – that was a twisted whiskey nightmare."
The End