Chapter 7:

"They should be back by now." Matt's little voice broke through the silence, "They've been gone forever, has something bad happened to them?" Rebecca's heart clenched in fear at the thought. She was sitting on the sofa, watching the door reflected in a mirror on the wall, anxiously looking for any sign of movement outside, with Matt's head resting in her lap. Tom and Hal hadn't really been gone that long; she doubted they'd have even made it to Nick's house yet. But she couldn't stand that she was just sitting here waiting, with no way of knowing if they'd ever make it back to her.

"Do think something bad happened to them mom?" Matt asked in concern, sitting up a little, and Rebecca felt a guilty as she realised she'd ignored his previous question; she was too consumed by her fear and worry, and she had no idea how to answer Matt. She couldn't say "No, I'm sure they're fine", because there was no way to guarantee that, and she didn't want to lie to him about something so serious. But she also truly believed that they would make it back okay, because things seemed quieter now and she couldn't envision a future in which her family wasn't together and safe. Although the last few hours had thrown into doubt that once unquestionable future. What could she say to Matt that wouldn't be a possible lie, but that would still comfort him?

"Mom?" Matt was really worried now, and Rebecca was instantly angry at herself for not answering sooner. She decided to be as honest and as hopeful as she could.

"I really hope not, sweetie. It sounds quiet out there, and we both know how capable your dad and Hal are. But it's going to take them a while to get to Ben. They have to be careful and that means going slowly." She stroked Matt's hair away from his face soothingly, "We just need to stay here, and to stay calm, and they'll find their way back to us."

"But what if they never come back?" Matt asked, sitting up a little more, "What do we do if they don't come back and we're all alone?" He was really starting to panic now, and with the fear that his words provoked Rebecca had to struggle not to join him. She felt tears well up in her eyes at the thought of Tom and her two eldest boys not making it home, that she might never see them or hold them again. She pulled Matt into an embrace, trying to keep from losing all hope.

"They'll come back," She assured him, holding him tightly, "You know your dad and your brothers, they'll be fine." She spoke forcefully, feeling herself start to believe it a little more as she did, "I can't promise you that we're all going to be fine, but I can promise you that right now I believe it with all my heart. Our family will be okay."

Matt pulled away, giving Rebecca a small smile, "I believe you." She smiled back, giving his arms a squeeze.

"You should try to get some sleep." She suggested, "It's been a long night."

Matt shook his head, "I can't, what if something happens?" His eyes were wide and scared, and Rebecca felt a rush of anger that her children were being put through something as terrifying as all of this. The anger was quickly replaced by fear as she realised that things might not get better for a long time, and that this new frightening world might be all her sons had to grow up in. She promised herself that she would do all she could to make sure they had a normal childhood, a normal life; especially Matt. She would do all she could to make her boys feel safe, and loved, and to stop them from having to grow up too fast. She knew without a moment of hesitation that she would die for her family, if that's what it took to keep them safe.

"Just try to sleep for me, sweetheart?" She urged Matt, "If you manage to sleep, they'll be back before you know it!" Matt gave a little nod, and settled back down in her lap. She stroked his hair gently, forcing her mind to focus on the son she had safe with her, and not the ones facing unknown dangers out there.

"I love you mom." Matt whispered with such forceful sincerity that it brought more tears to Rebecca's eyes.

"I love you too sweetie, I always will."

…

"Can we get Ben now?" Hal asked impatiently, standing up and going over to the door. Once they'd made it back to Harris' house, he'd checked Hal's head with shaking hands, and shone an annoying light in his eyes, before pronouncing that Hal seemed to be okay.

Tom raised his hand, motioning for Hal to wait, "You're sure he's fine, Michael?" He wanted to be completely certain; they'd delayed getting to Ben partly so Tom could be sure Hal was okay and he didn't want to rush away, making this detour a complete waste.

"He should be; I can't see anything seriously wrong. He might have a slight concussion, but nothing serious. Obviously I can't do a head scan," Harris gave a shaky laugh, "but I can't see any sign that he'd need one." Tom nodded and muttered a thank you, before turning to join Hal at the door.

"Just make sure to check in with me if anything seems to change, Hal." Harris said, almost on auto-pilot, like this had been a normal check-up.

"Will do, doc." Hal replied sarcastically. He'd said his head was fine in the first place, and since they'd been back Harris had seemed to forget his supposed life threatening ankle injury. It was so frustrating; Harris lived next door, meaning that they were right back where they'd started, and no closer to Ben. It had all been a waste of time, and for all Hal knew it could have serious consequences for Ben. Tom went to open the door, when Harris called his name to stop him.

"Thank you for helping me," Harris sounded genuine, and a little guilty, "You saved my life, even though it slowed you getting to Ben. Thank you for not leaving me out there." Tom could tell Harris' gratitude was heartfelt, and combined with the sudden realisation that he'd acted a little selfishly in the face of danger. Tom gave him a small smile.

"Don't mention it! I know that if it had been me, or one of my boys, or Rebecca lying there, needing your help, you'd have done the same thing. It's the right thing to do; you can't just leave someone lying injured in the street, especially not a friend." As worried as he was about Ben, and as apparent as it was that Harris had just been scared, not injured, Tom didn't regret helping him. He was sure that Harris would return the favour one day, if the situation was reversed and it was someone from Tom's family needing Harris' help.

"You're a good man, Tom Mason, and an even better friend." Harris smiled, walking over to give Tom a hug, "I owe you."

"Dad, we need to get to Ben!" Hal opened the front door, eager to get going, "There'll be time for hugs and 'thank yous' once we've brought Ben home!" Tom nodded, and began to follow Hal out of the door, before stopping again, prompting a "Dad, come on!" from Hal.

"Michael, could you stop in on Matt and Rebecca, make sure they're okay? I'd do it but we need to find Ben. Rebecca injured her ankle-" Tom paused for a moment thinking of Harris' injury and a look of slight shame crossed Harris' face, "So I'd really appreciate it if you'd look in on them."

"Of course, as soon as it dies down out there." Harris agreed, with a shaky smile, as though the thought of going outside again terrified him.

"It has died down!" Hal exclaimed, "And they're only next door!"

Harris went to reply, but Tom spoke before he could, "That's fine, thank you." He was tired of all of this; he just wanted to get to Ben. Once his family was all together he could rest, and maybe all of this would start to get better. Surely it couldn't get worse.

As they walked down the steps and back onto the street, Hal grumbled, "He's such a jerk, can you believe him?"

Tom shook his head, "He's just scared, and alone. People act strangely in times like these, you just have to be patient, and trust yourself to make the right decisions."

"Whatever." Hal muttered, still angry at Harris for delaying them finding his brother.

"Hey, you never know, it might come in handy soon, having a doctor next door." Tom tried to joke, but as he spoke the truth of his words hit him; things were so bad that one of his family might be so injured in the near future that they urgently needed Harris help. The thought sickened Tom, and Hal seemed to have the same idea, as he quickened his pace.

"No more delays, we need to bring Ben home."

A/N:

Once again, thank you to my lovely reviewers, cubelixa1, Bluestarshine, FallingSkiesxxxHalMason and ChocolatteKitty-Kat – it always make me smile to get a review and I love to know what you think :)

Also thank you to anyone who is still reading this, despite the hiatus and my massive delays in writing… I'm still going, slow and steady wins the race :)

I know this one's a little shorter, and it might seem like ages since they left to go get Ben; in my original plan they made this journey all in one chapter, but as I wrote it it stretched out into this many :) But the story's on track to where it needs to go :)