Chapter 1: recovery

Hal inhaled deeply, the wind and rain whipping his hair back, as his motorbike roared down the street. It had been almost three months since weaver had returned to the school, with the news of Tom boarding the alien's ship. The Second Mass had reunited with the children, who were safely outside of the school and were slowly making their way away from the city to avoid alien activity. The Skitter patrols had tripled after Weaver and Tom had taken down their structure.

Hal was patrolling ahead with Maggie and Tector, to make sure there were no Skitters or mechs lurking in any of the houses ahead. The further from the city they went, the larger the houses were. Most of the houses were large enough to accommodate majority of the second mass, with the remaining civilians pitching tents on the large gardens. Especially since the battle the Second Mass encountered in Fitchburg, where they lost one hundred people.

It was Hal, Maggie and Tector's job to raid the surrounding houses for useful items while also checking for signs of Skitters. The Skitters came through on the first wave of the attack, clearing the houses of people, but haven't appeared to be back since, most likely because of the isolation of the area.

Hal, Maggie and Tector parked their bikes at the front of a three story wooden farm house before Hal opened the door and allowed Tector and Maggie to enter with their guns at the ready. After a quick sweep of the house, Hal found 3 backpacks in a closet and tossed them to Maggie and Tector.

'Fill these with whatever you can find, meet back here in ten minutes?' Hal asked.

'Sure thing', Maggie and Tector responded in unison, used to the routine by now.

Maggie trotted into the kitchen, Tector wandered into some kind of study and Hal climbed the stairs into a bedroom on the second floor. Hal rifled through some draws before pulling out a book for Ben, Harry potter and the Deathly Hallows and some coloured pencils for Matt. Just before leaving the room, Hal spotted a small brown teddy bear on a shelf. He pulled it down for inspection. It was fluffy and wearing a lopsided smile. Hal considered the bear for a moment before shoving it in his bag, planning to give it to Maggie as a gift.

Hal hadn't realised how much he actually liked Maggie until his dad disappeared. Ever since she had tackled him and held a knife to his throat he had been fascinated by her in many ways. He would always learn something unexpected about her at the most random times. Like how she could use a crossbow, the day she taught him when they rescued Ben; or that she could cook with almost anything when they were on patrol and ran out of food (she made jam by soaking a tin of dried apricots they found in water before mashing them and mixing them into some stale, dry muesli). When Karen was taken by the Skitters, she had been sympathetic towards Hal, but had been the only one who made him feel like they hadn't given up on her.

He had been partnered with Maggie for patrols for some time now and so he knew her better than everyone else and yet, he knew barely anything about her. She never talked about herself and if a conversation headed that way she subtly changed the subject. She was so mysterious about her past. The only thing Hal knew was that she had been abused by Billy and Cueball when she was with Pope's gang. He often heard rumours of the terrible things that happened to her there floating through the second mass, but he didn't want to believe they were true and he didn't dare ask her about it.

He and Maggie had been lightly flirting for some time now, only joking around, and with the recent disappearance of his father; Maggie, Ben and Matt, were the only people that Hal would find himself spending time with. Hal found that the sympathy of the second mass only seemed to make him feel worse, like he was choking. Maggie didn't act like that though. She sympathised, but didn't carry on about it every time she saw him. They found themselves together almost all the time. They had patrol often together, so they would also eat together and practice their shooting together Even the second mass had noted the closeness between Hal and Maggie, leading to Hal being teased by his friends and fellow fighters. Hal chuckled at the memory of a conversation from about 3 weeks ago with Dai.

'I'm going to get some soup, you coming Dai?' Hal asked.

'Oh I think I'll leave the two of you alone,' Dai said with a wide smile.

'The two of us…?' Hal asked, confused.

'Well, I just figured you would be asking Maggie to join you for dinner tonight, Hal, as she's not on patrol.' Dai retorted. Dai laughed out loud at the blush that crept up Hal's neck.

Hal sighed quietly to himself. The only problem was that Maggie wouldn't open herself to any of these feelings. He confronted her about it once, but she just said that the last thing she wanted was a relationship at the moment.

Hal wandered into a bathroom, tossing bottles of painkillers, bars of soap and toothpaste into his bag before heading back downstairs. Maggie was already sitting on a large wooden table, her bag next to her stuffed with canned foods and cooking utensils.

"Find anything good?" Hal nodded towards her bag.

Maggie reached into her bag with a cheeky grin on her face before pulling out an unopened bag of gummy bears.

"Are you serious?!" Hal asked, a smile spreading across his face.

"They're still good," Maggie replied, tossing Hal the bag.

Hal opened the plastic bag and plucked a small green lolly from the packaging. He popped it in his mouth and sighed as the taste of the sugar spread over his tongue. He chucked the bag back to Maggie who chuckled and placed a purple bear between her teeth. She shoved the lollies back into her bag and rolled her gummy bear in her mouth with her tongue, enjoying the flavour.

"It's been a while since I've tasted sugar," Hal smiled, as he sat next to Maggie on the table. She wriggled at his sudden closeness but remained where she was sitting. Maggie sat in silence as they waited for Tector to return. She found the silence comforting, but Hal was feeling slightly awkward. She noticed his fidgeting and looked around the room they were sitting in. It was large, with the big oak table in the middle. Vases spotted the shelves and cupboards around the room, all of them containing flowers that had wilted away a long time ago.

"I used to live in a house like this, you know, pre-invasion," Maggie said casually trying to ease Hal's discomfort.

"Really?" Hal responds, surprised that she decided to strike up a conversation. Maggie was always happy to sit in silence.

"Yeah, my mum, dad, brother and I all lived together south of Boston until…" Maggie trailed off with a sad expression on her face.

"Until what?" Hal asked looking down at her.

"Nothing." Maggie replied, completely zoned out. "We should hurry back. We need to rest up for tonight." Maggie sighed as she snapped out of her reverie. Hal jumped off the table just as Tector came back, his bag stuffed. Weaver had planned an ambush on an alien convoy that were slowly making their way towards them so everyone had to rest up to be on full alert. The trio made their way back outside and jumped on their bikes before roaring back to the Second Mass.

Hal dismounted his bike and waved a hand in greeting to Weaver, who was striding over to where the group was unloading.

"Anything?" Weaver asked in his rough voice as he surveyed the full backpacks.

"No Skitters, but we got a few supplies." Hal said as he stretched and ran his hand through his hair.

"Okay. Go rest up, we move out in three hours." Weaver swept another look over the group before walking off towards the house where the Second Mass was currently stationed.

Tector hitched his bag over his shoulder and made his way to the mess tent. Hal watched as Maggie pushed her bike in a space beside the others and balanced it on its bent kickstand. "You wanna get something to eat?" Hal asked.

Maggie gently shook her head before replying. "Nah, I'm just gonna drop this stuff off and get some sleep." Maggie explained, gesturing to her bag. Maggie picked up the overstuffed bag when the strap promptly snapped, causing the bag to fall to the floor and spew cans of soup, tuna, vegetables and fruit across the floor. Hal burst out laughing at Maggie's bemused expression but quickly regained his composure when she shot him a dangerous look.

Maggie stared down at the mess, considering the option of leaving it there, before sighing and bending down to scoop up the cans. Maggie heard someone picking up the cans behind her and turned around to see Hal walk past her to stuff the cans back into the broken bag. Maggie thanked him; put her own cans in the bag and cradling it to her chest, so as not to let anything spill again, headed inside the large house to where the kitchen was.

Maggie lugged her bag into the kitchen and started to stack the cans into a large pantry that was fairly well stocked. She allowed her mind to wander as she neatly stacked the cans on top of one another, taking her time. She didn't realise that her thoughts had turned to Hal. She stacked the cans slowly, not concentrating as her mind flittered from one memory of Hal to another, like a confused butterfly. He always seemed to know what she was feeling, despite the fact that she carefully hid her feelings from others. Whenever Maggie wandered off to be alone, Hal could always find her.

Maggie would never admit this to anyone, but she was secretly happy every time Hal sought out her company. With news of Tom's disappearance, Hal become very withdrawn. For a week, Hal wouldn't speak to anyone except Weaver, Ben, Matt and herself. Weaver, understanding the loss of his second in command, gave Hal, Ben and Matt two weeks relief of duty. Ben, however, resumed his duties after three days, claiming that the activity kept his mind off his father. Maggie found that helping Hal with his problems also distracted her from her own, giving her a few moments of blessed peace.

Maggie thought about the things that annoyed her about him, like the way his messy hair used to continually fall into his eyes. She had reasoned with him for days about how dangerous it would be if he suddenly found himself blinded in combat, but still he refused to let her cut it for him. Maggie smiled to herself, remembering their friendly argument from so long ago.

"Hal, would you stop being such a baby and let me cut your hair already!" Maggie huffed, following Hal into the shed that served as their makeshift armoury. Hal picked up his hand gun, and made a beeline for the shooting range. It wasn't much, really. Just a bunch of trash cans with targets painted on them. "Why does my hair concern you so much Maggie?" Hal questioned.

Maggie considered for a moment before replying, "because none of the girls can see your beautiful eyes if your hair is covering them," she teased. It was a well-known fact that at least a dozen girls in the second mass had a crush on Hal. Hal considered Maggie for a second before shaking his head and turning his attention to the closest target which was a large bin, only 30 feet away. Hal aimed his handgun, hoping to impress Maggie with his improved skills. Just as Hal was about to pull the trigger his hair flopped in his face, causing him to fall back slightly. He pushes his hair away before seeing that he had completely missed the simple target. He turned to Maggie who was staring at him, her mouth a small 'o'. Maggie started to giggle, then chuckle, until she was laughing so hard that she fell flat on her ass. Hal laughed at Maggie, sitting on the floor, until she quickly jumped back up, dusting the dirt from her jacket. "So, I'll see you in my room in an hour then?" Maggie asked, walking away, leaving Hal standing at the target range.

Maggie heard a knock on her door, and was confused until she opened it to find Hal leaning against the wall. She couldn't help it; her heart quickened its pace ever so slightly.

"So…um, I heard long hair was no longer in fashion and I was wondering if you could help me." Hal asked.

Maggie folded her arms across her chest before stepping to the side, "come in, then."

Maggie dragged a chair in front of the mirror on the wall and after a moment of consideration, taped one her shirts onto the mirror, covering its surface.

Hal sat down, "so…you know what you're doing, right?" Hal asked apprehensively.

"Shut up and sit still," Maggie smirked, retrieving a pair of scissors from her bag. After a few minutes of quiet snipping, Maggie spoke. "When I was in hospital, one of the nicer nurses taught me how to cut hair."

"Really?" Hal asked, remembering when she told him about her cancer so long ago at the school, "Did you want to be a hair dresser?"

"No, but there wasn't much to do at the hospital, I would eventually get bored and was always looking for something to do. She used to sneak in these mannequins that had hair for me to practice on; she even let me cut her hair for her…" Maggie trailed off with a smile playing on her lips at the memory. Hal reached forward to pull her shirt off the mirror. Maggie leaned over and quickly slapped his hand away, "no touching!" she playfully scolded, "You don't get to see until I'm done." Hal leaned back in his chair with a fake pout on his lips. Maggie continued to tilt his head this way and that, constantly snipping.

Hal could feel his head getting lighter as more hair of his hair was cut away. Maggie stepped around the chair to stand in front of Hal. She leaned forward and started cutting the hair away from his face. Maggie took a step back, ruffling his hair slightly before bending forward again to cut some more.

As Maggie stepped forward she slipped on some of Hal's hair that had fallen onto the hardwood floor. Maggie dropped the scissors as she fell forward and Hal quickly grabbed her hips to try and stabilise her while she put her hands on his chest to catch her fall. Maggie's body crashed into Hal's as the chair toppled over and they were both sent crashing to the floor. Maggie landed on top of Hal, who still had his hands on her hips and her hands were still on his chest, wedged between their bodies. It was at that moment that Anne (who was sharing the room with Maggie) walked in.

"Oh my…! Um…sorry!" Anne stuttered before quickly shutting the door again. Maggie looked down and realised what Anne had witnessed.

"Fuck"! Maggie cursed, under her breath, as she jumped up off Hal. "I'll be right back," Maggie told Hal as she ran out the room. "Maggie! What are you…?" Hal called, but she was already gone. Hal sat, confused, in the middle of the floor, rubbing his head.

Maggie saw Anne disappear down the staircase. "Anne…ANNE!" Maggie yelled. Anne turned and waited for Maggie to catch up. "Maggie, I'm sorry, I didn't realise you two were in there or even that you were seeing each other…" Anne apologised.

"No Anne, it's not what it looks like, I was just cutting Hal's hair, but then I slipped and we both fell and…" Maggie paused, trying to catch her breath.

Anne looked at Maggie for a while before admitting, "I did hear a loud bang, that's why I came in."

"Yeah," said Maggie, nodding, "that was the chair falling over."

Anne looked at Maggie for another minute before nodding her head, "that makes sense I guess, well, I'll see you at dinner then." Anne said, walking off.

"Yeah, see you," Maggie called after her.

Maggie finished stacking the cans and sat down on the floor against a wall, away from the few civilians that were cooking or cleaning. She involuntarily began to also think about the things about Hal that she liked. Like his leadership, his strength, his courage, and his eyes. Those deep chocolate brown eyes that were always watching, always listening and taking in everything…

"Maggie. Hello, earth to Maggie. Come in, Maggie."

Maggie jumped out of her reverie to find Sarah waving her hand in front of her face. "Hey, are you alive or what?" Sarah asked with a small smile. She reached down with her free hand to help pull Maggie up, her other was cradling her month four month old baby, charlotte. "Hey Sarah, what's up?" Maggie asked.

"Nothing really, I just saw you sitting there, looked like you were on another planet?" Sarah questioned.

"Nah, just thinking about some stuff."

"Hmm, wouldn't be anything to do with Hal would it?"

Sarah and Maggie had gotten quite close, and Maggie often found herself talking about the awkward position she was in with Hal. She knew he liked her but she didn't want to let herself feel those things. She didn't want to make a mess of things, she didn't want to hurt him.

"Nah, just thinking. How's charlotte?" Maggie turned her attention to the baby. She stroked charlotte's hand and charlotte grabbed Maggie's finger in her tiny fist, smiling. Sarah chuckled. "Charlotte's fine, I just wish she wouldn't keep waking me up every night!" Maggie smiled.

Charlotte, being the youngest member of the second mass, was always the centre of attention. All the women took turns to help Sarah look after her, charlotte was loved by everyone. Maggie waved goodbye and walked off.

She walked to her room on the second floor but stopped outside the door. She could hear soft crying on the other side. Anne had told only Maggie and Lourdes about Tom's departing kiss and sometimes cried over the loss of Tom when she was alone and having a rough day. Everyone knew the two were very close. Maggie had walked in on Anne crying before, and she didn't really know how she could help. Maggie decided to give Anne some privacy to mourn and instead went to find an empty room she could rest in.

Maggie didn't realise how much everyone's lives would change on their next mission in less than three hours, as she found a room and laid on the bed. Her knife comfortingly in her hand as she welcomed the darkness.

4 hours later, Maggie was standing at the top of an abandoned apartment block, wide awake and with adrenaline coursing through her as she fired and blew a mech that was on the ground to smithereens. She nodded to Hal beside her as the shooting below ceased. So far the ambush had been a success as bodies of dead Skitters were strewn all along the road. Maggie, Hal, Ben, Dai and Jimmy were above in the building while Weaver, Pope, Anthony and the berserkers were on the road below, catching the Skitter patrol in crossfire. The air was ringing in the absence of the load noises the variety of guns had made as the team heard Weaver call from below.

"Ok, we've got about eight minutes until those beamers are spot! Let's wrap it up!"

"Jimmy, stay close!" Maggie called as they group started to exit the building.

"I've got one still moving!" Ben yelled as he raised his gun again.

"Just leave it!" Hal commanded. They needed to get out of the building as soon as possible.

"I can't get a clear shot!" Ben responded as if he didn't hear Hal.

"Ben!" Hal yelled but was too late. He watched as Ben jumped onto a roof below and dropped three stories to land easily on the balls of his feet. Hal rushed out of the building behind the others and came outside just as Ben threw the dead skitter on the floor, his arm and knife running red with its blood.

"Okay, come on Ben. Let's go!" Hal yelled angrily.

"There's another," Ben said with a determined smile, "I can hear it."

Hal stood stunned as Ben raised his rifle and stepped forward, watching as a large Skitter wriggled oddly from behind a wall. Hal watched helpless as he heard Ben shoot, but at the same time the Skitter fell, revealing a dark figure stooped over. Hal heard Ben make a choking sound.

"Dad?!" Hal stood confused for a moment before realisation hit him and he ran forward. He caught Tom just as he was about to fall. Hugging him and supporting him at the same time. By now the rest of the group would be with Weaver back at the vehicles, waiting for him and Ben.

"Dad, we have to go! C'mon!" Hal yelled as he grabbed under his dad's arms, Ben grabbing his legs. Hal heard Tom wince and looked down to see a red stain spread through his dirty shirt. He looked at Ben, who was wearing an expression of horror.

"We have to get him back Ben!" Hal commanded, as the two brothers lifted their wounded father and hurried to the truck around the corner.

"Weaver, incoming, we gotta go!" Hal yelled as they came into view.

"Tom…Tom!?" weaver shouted when he saw the fallen man.

"Quick, put him in here." Maggie said standing in the tray of the truck. As Hal pushed his dad gently onto the truck, Pope looked up from on his bike.

"Mason?! Where the hell did he come from?!" Hal shot him a look and jumped to sit beside his dad and Ben as the truck squealed and raced towards the safety of the Second Mass.