*Hal, Ben, and Matt meet up before they leave for mission*
"Thought I told you to be careful." Ben turned around at the sound of Hal's voice, who was standing by the back of the jeep that Ben was putting a bad of supplies in.
"I try, but it's kinda hard to do that in a war zone." Ben answered. Hal came over to him, put his hand under Ben's chin and lifted his head up, inspecting the cut and bruise on his face.
"I'm fine, it's just a scratch. The spikes are already healing it." Ben tried to assure his big brother, who then lowered his hand from his face.
"Good." Hal looked like he was about to say something else, but a voice interrupted him, "Hey Mason?"
The brothers turned around to see Maggie little ways away, looking straight at Hal.
"You coming?" The woman asked, giving the older brother a smile which Hal immediately returned.
"I'll be right there." Hal responded. Maggie nodded and continued her to the vehicle she would be traveling in. When she left, the two boys saw their younger brother watching them. The two older brothers locked eyes, then headed over to Matt.
"Hey buddy, what's going on?" Hal asked, crouching down so he was eye level with Matt.
"I want to come with you guys, but Dad said no." The curly blonde answered dejectedly.
"I know, but this is going to be a pretty dangerous mission Matt. It's safer for you if you stay here." Hal explained. Ben nodded, completely agreeing with his older brother. He may have agreed for Matt to learn to fight, but his little brother was no where near ready for a mission this dangerous.
"But what about you guys?" Matt questioned, suddenly looking scared and worried. Ben gave him an assuring smile.
"Don't worry about us, we'll be okay." Ben told him.
"You promise you'll come back?"
"We promise Matt." Hal replied, then wrapped his arms around Matt's small shoulders, while Matt threw his arms around Hal's waist. After a minute, they pulled away from each other, and Ben took his turn hugging his younger brother.
All too soon, the order to move out was given, and Ben let go of Matt. Together, the oldest Mason sons headed to the vehicles while Matt stood still. He didn't head back inside the building until well after the 2nd Mass fighters were out of sight.
*Right after the 2nd Mass destroys the weapon*
"Anne!" Tom cried out while he and Ben lowered Hal to the ground by the truck. Maggie fell to her knees beside her boyfriend, holding his hand tightly in both of hers. Tom and Ben also kneeled beside Hal, while Anne made her way over to him.
"He won't wake up." Maggie told the doctor as she sat down beside the fallen soldier. Anne gently tapped Hal's check, trying to rouse him, but it was no use. He was completely out cold, and Anne didn't know why.
"Did Karen do anything besides kiss him?" Anne asked, wondering if Karen had done anything else that was causing him to be unconscious that she didn't know about.
"Not that I could see." Maggie answered, anger filling her voice at the memory of Karen forcing her lips on his.
"Is he gonna be okay?" Ben inquired. He had seen what Karen had done, and was beyond worried about what was happening to his big brother. He remembered their conversation back under the bridge by Charleston.
"Just be careful, okay?" Hal asked Ben, his arms holding Ben tightly in his embrace.
"Yeah, you too." Ben replied.
You were supposed to be careful too Hal, Ben thought to himself, looking at his brother's laxed face.
"I have no clue what's going on. We should get him back to Charleston. I can get a better idea once we get him into their infirmary. They have a lot of hospital equipment we can use." Anne decided. Tom and Ben lifted their fallen family member and layed him down on a stretcher in the back of the truck and prepared for the long journey back to Charleston.
*Telling Matt about Hal*
"Of course, I'm staying. In fact, I was thinking we should get a killer game of monopoly going, if you think you can beat me." Ben told Matt.
"You know I can suckerfish." Matt responded with a smile and hugged his brother again. Ben looked up at his Dad, knowing that there was going to be a slightly confused but happy expression on his face.
"Wait, where's Hal?" And just like that, Tom and Ben remembered why they had come to find Matt in the first place. Matt didn't know what happened to his big brother, and Tom didn't want him to find out from someone else.
"He's been taken to the infirmary." Tom revealed. Matt's curious expression fell into one of fear as his face paled.
"What happened? Is he okay?" Matt asked, his small voice filled with panic and worry.
"I'll explain on the way, let's go."
Ben walked quietly beside his little brother while their Dad, who was on the other side of Matt, told the youngest family member of all that happened on the mission. Matt took it all in silence, almost as though he was in too much shock to respond and Ben instinctively grabbed his brother's hand.
Soon, they reached the infirmary. They found Maggie off to the side, pacing in front of a door that they could only assume Hal was on the other side of. The soldier stopped in her steps when she saw her boyfriend's family approach.
"Any news?" Tom asked, and Maggie shook her head.
"No, they're still running tests." Maggie answered. It was at that moment she noticed Matt, pressed against his other brother, holding his hand tightly and eyes full of fear for his oldest sibling.
"Don't worry Matt, Anne's a good doctor. She'll take good care of him." Maggie tried to assure the kid. Matt nodded in response, but didn't move from his spot by Ben, nor did the fearful expression leave his face.
An hour later, they were still waiting. Matt was sitting on a chair between Ben and Tom while Maggie stood against the wall staring at the door, as if she was trying to force it open with her mind. After an half an hour of pacing, a nurse had come over to her and asked her to stop because she was seriously about to wear a hole in the floor.
Then, the door finally opened, and Lourdes came out. Tom, Ben, and Matt jumped to their feet and headed over to the young doctor along with Maggie. Lourdes held the door open, giving them permission to enter. The first thing they saw was Anne standing by the bed which Hal was lying on.
*Ben, Matt, and Maggie after they leave Hal*
The minute she left the room, Maggie headed to the nearest bathroom. Once she was alone, she let her tears fall freely. Maggie lifted her hand to her mouth, trying to muffle her sobs so no one would hear.
Her boyfriend, her best friend, the man she loved, appeared to be in a coma, and they had no idea how to wake him up. They didn't know what exactly Karen did to him. He could die from whatever she did. The thoughts caused Maggie's crying to intensify, and she slid down to the floor against the wall.
When Matt came out of the room, he sat back down in the chair he was sitting on earlier. He wanted to stay as close to Hal as he possibly could, just in case something were to happen. Ben sat down beside him, also not willing to leave his big brother just yet. He had no doubt that Anne and Lourdes would take good care of him, but he still felt better staying close by.
Their Dad was talking to Anne, probably about the baby, which reminded Ben that Matt still didn't know that he was soon going to have another sibling. Ben wondered if he should say something, prepare Matt for that bombshell, but decided it would be better for Tom to tell him.
Soon, their Dad made his way over to his two youngest and kneeled in front of them.
"It's late, maybe you guys should get some sleep. I still have to go meet with Manchester." Tom suggested.
"No, I want to stay here." Matt responded, not looking at his eyes, instead staring at a spot on the floor. Tom wanted to argue, but he personally wanted to stay with Hal too, and he would if he didn't have to go deal with the now, former leader of Charleston.
"Okay, just until curfew though, okay? You guys still need your sleep." Tom relented. Matt and Ben nodded as Tom stood up and left the infirmary.
A few minutes later, Maggie exited the bathroom with her eyes red and faint tear tracks on her cheeks. Without saying a word, she sat down on the other side of Matt, and joined in their silent waiting.
As the time passed, there was no change. Anne, Lourdes, and even a few of the other nurses took turns going into Hal's room to check on him every 10 to 15 minutes. Even though it was late at night, the workload in the infirmary never seemed to lessen.
Ben later got up to go check on their Dad, thinking that he should've been back by now, while Maggie decided to go get something to eat. She tried to get Matt to come with her, but he refused. Maggie quickly realized that Matt was as stubborn as his brothers and instead decided to go get food, but to bring it back so Matt will at least eat something.
Matt was all alone when he felt the building start to shake. It was slow at first, but then got faster, and louder. Dust started to fall from the ceiling, and the people still in the infirmary started screaming. One person actually yelled, "Earthquake!", but Matt didn't listen.
The youngest Mason was getting off his chair and running for his big brother's room. He had seen the nurse leave a few minutes earlier and knew Hal was alone, and unprotected.
Matt burst through the door, and ran to Hal's side. He threw his small body over his brother's head and chest, trying to protect him as much he could. The shaking of the building continued to get louder and harder. He could hear the ceiling start to creak under the pressure, and the dust fell harder over top of the two brothers.
The shaking luckily, didn't last very long. As soon as it stopped, Matt slowly pulled himself off of Hal, who hadn't even flinched in response to what was happening. He was still unconscious.
It was at that moment Matt made a promise to himself, and to his brother. He would not let his Dad, or anyone make him stay on the sidelines anymore. He would learn how to fight, not just to help end the war, but also to be able to help protect his family.
"You spent your entire life protecting me and Ben," Matt whispered to his comatose brother, "now it's my turn. I'll do better Hal, I promise."
AN – And this concludes the first chapter of missing scenes. There will be more, and if any of you have any episodes that you want more scenes from, or just a scene expanded please let me know and I'll see what I can do. Next chapter will be missing scenes from 3x06. See you guys soon!