Hi! Just wanna say a quick thanks to everyone who has read/reviewed etc any of my Falling Skies fics. It's always hard to break into a new fandom, but you guys have been awesome and make me want to write even more. Since I have started writing in this fandom, I have written more than I have in years, so THANK YOU. I hope to be able to write many more fics for you all to enjoy.

-Rachel

TWISTER

DANCERINTHEDARK101

It's the little things that make all the difference.

-FALLING SKIES-

Tom Mason looked at the scene before him and couldn't help melting inside a little.

It had been a rough week for the 2nd Massachusetts militia group. They had been forced to move from their current position as a Skitter group had come dangerously close to discovering their temporary hide-out. After a tough and long battle the 2nd Mass had prevailed, but once again, they had to pack up and hike another long journey to the next secure location.

Several of their fighters had been killed in the skirmish and make matters worse, they hadn't had time to do anything other than bury them in shallow graves with a single wooden plank sticking out of the ground to mark their final resting places.

But the scene before him made all the despair, worry and fear vanish as he looked on with a small smile on his face. A sound penetrated the air and Tom felt his breath catch in his throat; it was something he didn't think he would hear for a very long time.

Before him were a circle of children and teenagers standing around; Hal, Ben and Matt included. They were all looking at a smaller group in the centre of their huddle, who were distorted into the most unimaginable shapes.

"My turn!" Matt called out as the small bundle of children collapsed. They all stood and shook themselves off before merging into the circular line spreading around a medium sized white mat on the ground.

Tom watched on as Matt, Ben and Hal looked at each other and nodded; a mischievous glint in their eyes as they made their way forward to the mat

"Tom? What's going on?" Turning his head, Tom saw Anne Glass, Captain Weaver and Maggie standing beside him, looking on in interest.

"Just watch," he said, glancing back to his boys.

As the three Mason kids positioned themselves on the edge of the mat, another teen stood beside a small white box that had seen better days. The boy put his hand in the box and spun something before yelling out a command.

"Right hand – blue!"

His kids dove down, all placing their right hand onto a vacant blue spot.

"Left leg – red!"

And once again his kids twisted themselves into position so that their left legs could reach a red spot.

Several calls later, Tom had tears streaming down his face as he watched his children contort themselves into what must've been painful shapes as they tried to out-so each other. He could feel Anne trembling beside him as she struggled to contain her laughter.

Currently, Matt was beneath his brothers, a grin spreading across his face as undoubtedly the thought crossed his mind that he might actually be able to win. He was spread out rather normally, no extra twists and turns needed.

Hal however, was twisted and turned like a pretzel. He was above Matt, but partially under Ben; his right arm twisted backwards while his legs attempted to do a distorted form of the splits. He was also attempting to manoeuvre out of the way of the gun that Ben had somehow forgotten to remove from across his back.

And Ben seemed like he was having the time of his life. A huge smile was plastered across his features as he twisted and turned with flexibility Tom knew his son hadn't possessed before being harnessed. He was crammed in between his brothers, but his arms and legs were semi-straight. Tom knew then and there Ben was going to win. It was only going to take one wrong move…

His kids collapsed. Hal's arms having taken too many twists to be stable enough to hold his weight and he fell, moving his body out of the way so that he didn't smack into Matt. Like a domino effect, Matt went crashing into the ground also, leaving Ben the last man standing – uh, twisting.

Laughter spilled from the mouths of his children and the other kids gathered around as Ben stood up and raised his arms high, loudly claiming himself as the Twister King.

Tom couldn't help but let out a bellow of laughter as Hal piped up that Ben wasn't the Twister King, but instead the Twisted King. One playful smack later and Hal was back on his ass on the ground, eliciting another round of laughter.

Feeling Anne slip her arm around him, Tom smiled and looked towards the adults that had gathered to watch the children play. They all had smiled adorning their faces, laughter erupting from usually sombre mouths.

Despite all the hard-ships, death and terror they had all felt over the past months, the scene before Tom reminded him of why exactly they were fighting.

Looking back to his children, Tom locked eyes with Hal, Ben and Matt. Their grinning faces would be etched into his memory for a very long time. No matter what happened, these moments were to be cherished.

It was these kinds of moments – the little things, like laughter – that made all the difference. And nothing, not even war, would take that away from them.

There you have it. It's quite short, but I don't think making it any longer would benefit the story any. I hope you all enjoyed this little snippet. It's not something I normally write as it's primarily based on happiness, as I'm generally an angst writer.

Please review and let me know what you thought. Oh, and if you've seen the latest episode or next weeks promo, let me know what you thought of them! Personally, I loved it and can't wait for the next episode!