AN: Finally, we have reached the end of season 3! I am so excited to move onto season 4! And on that note, I'll be continuing to update Catharsis, and not creating a sequel.

On another note, I'm afraid this chapter might be something of a filler. I apologize, but I can't really deviate much from the scenes in the final episode. I tried not to bore you all by describing what you have already seen on the show too much, but the events of the finale are very important to Mara and Cochise's developing relationship, so I needed to write how she reacted and what she did. Don't panic! The story is far from over.

Spoilers for season 3, episode 10 follow!

Disclaimer: Alas, the only things in this fic I can claim as my own are Mara Schrader and Michelle Jefferies. I don't own Falling Skies.


Catharsis

The sun, while weak, still felt pleasantly warm on her back as Mara leaned on the railing of the flat barge taking them north to Boston. It was beautiful landscape, at least between the decimated, blackened towns, but far too quiet everywhere. The trees and brush stood lone and silent, without any sounds of life. To her it felt like the whole world was holding its' breath, waiting for the end of the war. Or she was simply projecting her own feelings onto inanimate objects. Maybe one day they would look back at these last few years of war as just another footnote in human history, like other wars, but at the moment it felt like it stretched on forever and there was no way past it. Mara just heaved a sigh and shifted her weight to her other foot.

With the quiet, synthetic sound his suit made when he moved, Cochise came up beside her, lifting his long arms to rest them on the railing as well, mimicking her pose. The human glanced up at him for a moment to find him looking at her. "What are you thinking about, Mara?" he asked when he had her attention, tipping his head to the side.

"How quiet it is," she answered, gesturing to the shore they slipped past with only the whisper of slow water over rocks. "We've been so busy just trying to survive, we have no idea how the animal and bird species have been effected by this invasion. Entire ecosystems may never recover," she wondered aloud with a shrug. "Perhaps too much damage has already been done to Earth, and we won't be able to survive even if we do drive the espheni away. I wonder if we even have any biologists left who can determine how much damage was done." She heaved a sad sigh.

The volm lifted his gaze to look study the shore line as well. "Unfortunately, yours is not the only world this quiet," he told her sadly. "I have seen many planets the espheni have invaded, and the silence is sometimes the only thing similar about all of them." He turned back to her to find the human woman staring at him in amazement, mouth slightly open. "What?"

She immediately shook it off and snapped her mouth shut, fighting back a smile. "Nothing. That was just...very poetic," she complimented him, turning to face him fully and leaning one hip on the railing. Neither of them said anything for a moment. He lifted his hand and set it on top of hers. Mara turned her hand over and squeezed his fingers. "Let's talk about something less depressing. What's about to happen?" she asked quietly.

"Nothing," Cochise said, giving her his best estimation of a smile, but his eyes flicked away from her at the last moment and her brow furrowed slightly. "Everything will be fine. You'll be safe. I promise," he swore, speaking more confidently, and he pulled her in for a hug. Something about the way he spoke set her on edge, but she hardly noticed it for more than a moment, distracted by his nearness. She took heart in the words, closing her eyes and listening to him breathe.

"I want you to take this," Cochise spoke again suddenly, holding out his other hand palm up in front of them, a small, plain sphere resting in the middle of it. She eyed it warily for a moment and then glanced up at him again, searching his face for a clue as to his intentions.

"What is it?" she asked warily, still not entirely trusting of alien technology.

"A communication device," he answered simply, "albeit a very simple one. It will light whenever I need to speak to you—or you may use it, to contact me. I gave one to Tom Mason as well." At that, she gingerly reached out and took it, lifting it to eye level to inspect it, but she couldn't see any controls. It was certainly made of metal, however. Pulling another identical one from a secure pocket, the volm demonstrated to her how to use it until Tom Mason's youngest son came up to tell the volm his father needed him.

Mara turned her attention back to the shore slipping past, fingering the sphere in her pocket thoughtfully. What did it mean? was the thought foremost on her mind. If Cochise was leaving within the next few days, why did he give her a way to call him if they were separated? Mara doubted it would work or do her much good if they were lightyears apart. And why had she accepted it from him? That one, at least, she knew the answer to, even if she wasn't ready to admit it to herself yet: she hoped that he would stay close enough for her to count on. Cochise made her feel safe, with his knowledge of the enemy and his technology, she couldn't deny that. And the man himself was a breath of fresh air in this post-invasion world, with his polite manners and intelligence. She would miss their conversations perhaps the most. She still had many questions for him.

"Hey," said a voice from behind her and Mara turned her head quickly to see Jeanne coming up beside her, dropping the sphere back into her pocket hopefully before Jeanne noticed. She wasn't sure she should tell anyone that she had it yet, since she had heard nothing about Tom having one. With all this talk of espheni spies, she didn't know who she could trust—and she didn't want to give people yet another reason to be suspicious of her.

"Hey, Jeanne," the blonde woman replied to the younger girl, genuinely smiling for the first time today. The shorter girl smiled back at her, although not as brightly, and crossed her arms as she stood at the railing beside Mara. "Your dad will be back before you know it," Mara offered.

"Oh, I know," Jeanne said so quickly she almost cut Mara off. "Sorry, but everyone keeps telling that. I know he'll be fine." They smiled reassuringly at each other, and lapsed back into comfortable silence for a few minutes. "What do you think is going to happen when the volm get here?" the girl asked slowly, leaning forward to look at the water.

"You mean, has Cochise told me anything that no one else knows," Mara rephrased, suspecting her real question, and Jeanne shrugged sheepishly. "He says that everything will be fine and we'll be safe," the blonde continued with a grin, not really insulted. Jeanne was her friend, even if she was younger than herself or Michelle. It wasn't like she had unlimited choices of people to talk to anymore.

Weaver's daughter turned to look at her straight in the eye for the first time. "Do you believe him?" Mara searched her face for a moment and then looked back at the water flowing past.

"Yes, yes I do," she admitted slowly, to both herself and Jeanne, letting out a long breath. "I know that we shouldn't trust aliens, and I agree with Tom that we should handle our own battles, but the volm have given us knowledge and resources to fight the espheni, and we can't ignore that," she explained to Jeanne slowly. "I know a lot of people don't trust the volm, but Cochise has given me no cause to doubt him. And...my gut tells me he's here to help. So I do believe him."

Jeanne simply watched her the whole time, and then smiled, her shoulders seeming to relax. "Thank you for telling me that, Mara. I feel better now," the dark haired girl said. She patted Mara's shoulder and then walked away. Mara watched her for a moment and then dropped her head into her hands, hoping she hadn't just made a big mistake, that Jeanne's trust in her would not prove misplaced. Everything she had said was true, of course, but it was different when only she was counting on it, and not when other people were depending on her.

XXXXX

Finally, the barge slipped into the Boston Harbor, and their mission began in earnest. Mara's job was mostly done, and so she remained at the railing with Jeanne, out of the way as the control panel for the gun was rolled out. The people better at fighting than her readied their guns, including the huge anti-air gun that had taken an hour to load. Mara had never been to Boston before, but there was little to see of the city besides rubble now, and the tower looming over Boston in front of them drew everyone's attention as they strained their eyes from the deck, trying to spot any signs of resistance. And for the first time, she was glad it was eerily quiet—as Ben Mason described, their decoy plan led by Colonel Weaver to Chicago had clearly worked. The espheni were not expecting them to come here.

None the less, once their danger was realized, it did not take the invaders long to organize defenses, and the anti-air gun that had taken so long to load proved its' worth as the oldest Mason boy used it to defend their barge. Mara simply ducked out of the way with Jeanne, clutching the pistol she had been given. She wasn't confident in using it yet, but it did make her feel better to have a gun with her. The blonde turned her head to look over her shoulder at Cochise, but he was too busy working the control panel with Dr. Kadar to notice her at the moment. It was best if she stayed out of the way and let them work. She was out of her element here, on a battlefield.

Glowing bright as the sun and full of iridescent colors, Mara thought the firing of the volm cannon was the most beautiful thing she had seen in years—although more because of its' effect than what it looked like. However picturesque the shimmering lines of energy were, it wasn't as nice as watching the tower crumbling and falling to pieces. Mara threw her fist in the air with the rest of the crew in celebration as she hugged Jeanne excitedly. Perhaps they truly could beat the espheni, with the volm's help. Certainly this was a victory! She looked over her shoulder at the volm again, grinning widely, but his face was turned upwards expectantly, and he didn't return her grin. Her heart sank, her grin slowly fading as she watched Cochise. She had been around him enough to recognize the hope in his gaze, the way his eyes skimmed eagerly across the sky, scanning for any sign of a ship between the clouds, the way his shoulders weren't weighed down by grief for the first time in over a week. He was more happy than he had been in days, she could see it in every fiber of his being. And he was about to leave her forever.

With a roar that reminded her exactly of the NASA rocket launches she had watched on television years ago, all eyes on the barge were immediately drawn to a second sun burning brightly in the sky above them—and drawing quickly closer. Very soon it proved to be a flat space ship with six evenly spaced sections, and not a sun at all. Mara couldn't hide how impressed she was as the enormous craft landed, watching open-mouthed as it crushed the remains of the tower they had just destroyed, and from the silence of everyone else around her, she was sure they felt the same. Now was the time when they would hopefully get some help, and some answers about the war and their enemy. They had allies able to resist the espheni now. They could turn the tide of the war in humanity's favor.

XXXXX

The barge was docked on the shore, as close as they could get to the volm ship. Everyone had disembarked from the vessel, and set up camp in the shadow of the giant space ship, pitching tents and starting campfires. Night had fallen, and someone had broken out bottles of alcohol and a guitar and they were throwing a grand party. Everyone was in high spirits, singing and dancing and sharing the booze willingly, celebrating their success. It was nice to see people relaxing and letting their guard down a bit, after the rush of the last week.

Mara had joined in the celebratory toast as the whiskey bottle was passed around, but otherwise she hadn't consumed anymore liquor. It wasn't that she wasn't pleased that their plan had worked, it wasn't that she didn't feel relieved and safe for the first time in weeks, maybe months—because she did. But the question of What now? weighed heavily on her mind. The moment the barge had docked, Cochise and Professor Mason had practically bolted off the barge, she assumed to send help to retrieve Colonel Weaver's brave decoy team, and to secure the perimeter. Tom had been around since then, helping to organize people, and now she knew he was likewise avoiding the party, still pouring over their maps and the information they had brought to share with the volm. But she hadn't seen Cochise since then, and the image of him striding hurriedly away kept replaying in her mind's eye. She certainly didn't blame him for rushing to his kin; surely he had people and friends whom he was concerned about, and he doubtlessly needed to report on what had been going on over the past months, if the volm military was anything like theirs. Mara just prayed he was kind enough to say a proper good-bye to her before he vanished. She thought she deserved that much, at least.

The blonde woman tipped her head back against the wall she leaned against, staring up at the underside of the looming ship. To her annoyance, she found tears pricking at the back of her eyes, and she hurriedly blinked them away. It was her own fault, after all, for falling for an alien, of all people, someone who didn't even have ties to her planet, much less the same city or state. That had been a problem that had driven her and her ex-husband apart, he had wanted to go live up north, and she had been perfectly unwilling to leave the Carolinas.

Several times in Charleston, men, some of them attractive, had shown interest in her, but she had never encouraged it, until Cochise. Why hadn't she? Her actions baffled herself. And now all she could do was call herself ten kinds of idiot and try to move on.

After that thought, she was one of the first to seek her bed, no longer in the mood for any sort of party, and she slipped away from the party, heading to the tent where she had stowed her gear earlier. She kicked off only her boots and burrowed into her sleeping bag, pistol in easy reach. Mara drifted off to sleep listening to the sounds of the party, muffled by the distance. She slept restlessly, tossing and turning and waking several times for no reason, until finally she gave up shortly after dawn.

XXXXX

The next time she saw Cochise, he had a squad of volm at his back as he brought orders for them to lay down their weapons.

Mara felt numb, her mind trying to process what she was hearing, a sensation not helped by the protests of people all around. Colonel Weaver had returned minutes ago, without Tom Mason, in an uproar and shouting for everyone to get up and ready to leave, because if they stayed here the volm would take them to Brazil. On one hand, it made sense, if they left the fighting behind they would be safe, as Cochise had promised her. And suddenly she remembered the suspicious way he had glanced away while telling her that. She sucked in a breath through her nose and swallowed hard. She had asked him, point blank, what was going to happen, and he'd blithely replied "nothing". He had lied. She had trusted him, and he had lied. Immediately she felt her face grow warm, feeling as if everyone around her was staring at her, though in fact, they weren't. They were rushing forward in an uproar, demanding explanations and answers, and instead Mara backed away, and then turned and left the scene, walking faster with each stride as she returned to her tent.

Hands shaking, from what she wasn't sure yet, she quickly started to pack her things, kneeling on the floor of the tent. It seemed to be the only productive thing she could do, because no matter what happened they weren't staying here, and she refused to leave her things. She owned very little, and she had brought all of it when leaving Charleston, not wanting to risk losing it. Suddenly she was aware of someone stopping behind her, just outside to open tent flap, and her hand went to the holster on her hip.

"Mara?" Cochise called gently, his deep voice rolling across her ears, making her heart pound when he said her name. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. He knelt down just outside and moved the tent flap aside with a hand so he could see her. He reached in to touch her but she shoved his hand off her and kept stuffing her things into her backpack. She hadn't worked everything out yet, but she knew she didn't want to talk to him right now.

"Mara, please," the volm started again, retracting his hand. "I do not understand why you all reacted so violently. We are just trying to keep you safe. This is what we do on all the planets we reach. We move the populations away from the espheni."

"Then why did you tell me that "nothing" was going to happen?" she cut him off quietly, finally turning her head to look over her shoulder and glare at him. After all these months, she could tell he was nervous and unhappy, but she ignored it, because at the moment she didn't really care.

"Go to Brazil, I beg you. You'll be safe there," he implored. She had never heard such desperation in his voice, but at his evasion of her question anger finally solidified inside her, the only one of her swirling emotions she was certain of at the moment.

"'Safe'?! From who?" she exploded, turning to face him fully. "The espheni? What about the volm? You lied to us! This isn't about being safe! This is about you lying, when I trusted you! You were supposed to free us from the espheni, not take their place! We want to be left alone on our own planet, that's all, and not be told where to go and trapped. I don't want to go to Brazil, it's half a world away! This is my home, this is where I live, where my family lived, and I want to stay here, and find them. Why can't you just protect us here!?" The volm held up his hands, trying to fend her off, but now that she was started, all of the feelings she'd born over the past weeks came to the forefront.

Mara pushed herself out of the tent and to her feet, Cochise backing up before her as she pointed an accusing finger at him. "What happens if you volm fail? What happens to us, then, if we're half a world away from the territory we know? You've been fighting the espheni for how long now, and you still haven't defeated them? Maybe you can't protect us as well as you think you can, and then where does that leave us?" she demanded. His back met a wall and her finger stabbed at his chest. Suddenly she felt tears rising in her eyes and all she could do was shake her head. "I trusted you," Mara admitted. "I risked everything for you, I alienated myself from the rest of the humans for you. They thought I knew everything, they trusted me not to stab them in the back. And now this happens. Do you know how they will look at me now? They'll think I knew about this, that I just went along with it and didn't warn them. I told Jeanne yesterday that everything will be fine! Now you want to strip us of our only defenses and drive us from our homes? How could you? How could you!" she finished, voice rising until she screamed the last line at him and tried to beat his chest with her fists.

Cochise caught her wrists as soon as she moved to attack them, holding fast even when she tried to pull away. "Mara, Mara listen," he plead until she quieted. "Please, please go to Brazil. I want you to be safe. I promised you would be safe, and you will be. Trust me just a little longer," the volm begged, but he had the feeling his words fell on deaf ears. She stopped fighting and he slowly let her go. Mara turned her back on him and walked two steps away, wrapping her arms around herself.

"It doesn't matter if I trust you or not. I don't have a choice about going now, anyway," she muttered, and his shoulders slumped at the defeated tone in her voice. It tugged at something deep inside him, wrenched at his heart. He had always liked how carefree Mara was. But he had no more words for her, because he knew she was right, about everything. He knew humans were different, he knew he should have told her the truth yesterday, on the boat. It had been bothering him that he had lied to her. But he'd had strict orders to follow, orders that hadn't taken into regard affection for a native, or the unpredictable nature of humans. He drew a deep breath through his nose, even more sure now that this was the wrong path, and determined to convince his commander of that. Mara was right, after all: what happened if they were unable to defeat the espheni, and the humans were left without their weapons? He wanted her safe, and while it had seemed that sending her to Brazil was the right choice, now he wasn't so sure.

"I have to go," he said quietly, silently begging her to forgive him before he left, but she waved a dismissive hand over her shoulder flippantly.

"Don't come back," she spat out harshly, and stalked back to her tent. The words hit him like a knife in the throat, cold and cutting, and his breath paused for a moment. He could not even find it in himself to be angry, because she was justified in her anger, in her accusations and feeling of betrayal. Doubtlessly Tom felt the same way. He had failed, and all he could do was watch her hurt turn to hate. And he deserved it. He turned harshly on his heel and stalked purposefully away. He had to speak with the commander—his father. He had tried once already, but now, seeing their reaction, he knew he had to try again. He owed his human friends that much, at least. It could not end this way.

XXXXX

The night was cold enough that they could see every breath. Standing with the rest of the group, Mara crossed her arms and shoved her hands under her arms for warmth as they prepared to leave. At least in Brazil she wouldn't need to worry about finding a new pair of gloves, she thought gloomily. The volm said they would be loaded onto transports as night fell, after all. She closed her eyes and tried to fight off shivers not solely caused by the cold, but also by a sense of fear and unease that she hadn't known in a long time. She regretted some of the words she had said to Cochise earlier, but her anger was still too fresh for her to want to apologize yet. They were friends; maybe she should have talked to him more and tried to convince him that this was the wrong path to take, like an intermediary. But who was she fooling? Obviously this had been the plan from the beginning, and from what she knew of the volm, they did not change plans.

Finally, the waiting ended and the line began to move, leaving the shadow of the ship, and Mara filed out with the rest of the people, keeping her head down as she had been all day. Only there was no transport waiting for them, only the cold, open road with stars glinting overhead, and their pile of weapons laid out and offered back to them. Confusion was rampant, but the message was quickly passed around: "take a weapon, and go". She snatched up the first pistol passed to her and started to hurry away, but a scene caught her eye: Tom Mason was standing off to the side, speaking to Cochise, being handed a huge volm weapon.

The blonde woman froze in her tracks. She would know his figure anywhere. So they weren't going to Brazil. What had changed, then? Had the volm actually changed his mind? Listened to her? She was surprised, but she had no words. The sting of his betrayal still stuck in her ribs. Perhaps he had seen the error of his ways, but it meant little. He had still lied, the volm had still proven they were no better than the espheni, trying to herd humans like cattle. The emotions warred inside her, anger and relief, as Tom turned away from Cochise and hurried past her, after the rest of the humans and she and Cochise made eye contact. He moved to lift a hand and step towards her but she was out of reach. Still...

"Thank you," she said sternly, words carrying in the chilly, silent night, because she was glad he had listened and Mara always fair. Not forgiveness, but acknowledgement. He was letting them go. It felt better, to know she was still free, but the anger was still burning fresh, and everyone else had almost disappeared. She turned and fled after the others without another look back at him, afraid to be left behind, but her heart ached all the way back to Charleston.


AN continued: I'm sorry it ends on a rather sad note, but don't panic! They will be back together again soon, I promise. Next chapter begins the events in season 4. Reviews are loved!