Author's Note: Not gonna lie, the first part of this chapter was a little difficult for me to write. I have a clear vision of where I want this to go, but I'm not sure if I conveyed it properly in this case.

I'm going somewhat with canon on the whole Flood thing, excluding my AU settings and dates and all that. Thus, I didn't really feel the need to do a full-on exposition on how/why the Flood are on Earth, because I think it's been sufficiently hinted at in many of the previous chapters (especially Ch. 17), and I'm sure most Halo fans know about the Portal/Ark in Africa and everything already. If, however, you feel this chapter is like wtf out there, let me know and I'll edit it to provide some additional clarification. Remember, though, that I'm only loosely following canon, as my story is AU-ish in many ways. And, of course, more of this plotline will be developed as the fic continues, as well; some things have been left out only for the moment to be touched upon later.

Also, just as far as my characters go, I left the "how" part of Flood taking over the ships in space purposely ambiguous because none of my characters can possibly know about Dr. Halsey's research/the Halos/what the Spartans discovered. Very technically the Flood were first encountered (by humans) on the initial Halo ring John-117 and the Pillar of Autumn landed on, but I'm going on the assumption that the general populace, be it military or civilian, don't know anything or know very little about this. So that's why Operation Everest has suddenly become so important in this installment of my series.

Anyway, all that said, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Five: The Ties That Bind

0354 Hours, January 30, 2553. Near the City of St. Louis, Missouri. "The Bust," Planet Earth. Day Sixteen of the Fate of Humanity

They'd been at this for three days now, and only now had everything finally come together.

Analyzing large banks of data between two people was no easy task, but Mark Cooper was experienced. His work with ONI, besides the standard field ops and the parts he couldn't talk about, had involved generous amounts of looking over, interpreting, and filing documents such as military reports, figures, and CSVs for the Office of Naval Intelligence. Now, he scanned through a number of research notes, lab reports, and firsthand accounts from the field---all on the parasite---with practiced ease.

Some of the latter, he noted, were his sister's, from humanity's first contact with the Flood during Operation Everest---those had been the easiest to find, as Natalie's after-action reports had been frequently flagged by their mother. Others were from higher-ups who hadn't encountered the parasite personally, but had done the same sort of analysis and intelligence-gathering that Mark was doing now. One of these was his brother-in-law's CO, Major Erin Collins. Because of Hawk's direct involvement in the mission Mark's younger sister had headed, Collins's reports were often more complete than the others'.

But what really struck Commander Cooper was how much effort ONI had quietly put into figuring out the source of this parasitic invasion. His mother hadn't been the only top scientist to look into the issue, not by a longshot. Sixteen of the greatest minds worldwide, along with their respective teams of assistants, had poured through samples and data and evidence and experiments and reports on the Flood. Not all of it, of course, was accessible to Mark, even with his relatively high clearance level, but he was able to at least tap into most of his mother's notes and findings, and that had provided enough information for him and Willis to get a very good idea of what was going on.

Now drained of energy, however, the two men found they couldn't even celebrate their monumental accomplishment.

Setting down his datapad at last, Willis let out a long sigh as he rubbed his eyes. "Jesus, man. You spooks do a lot more work than anyone gives you credit for."

Mark grinned. "See? No one likes to trust us, but fact is, without our information cache, this entire war would've been lost years ago."

"You have to show this stuff to your CO today, Mark. I can't believe these ships...these parasite ships are everywhere. There's tens of tiny little pockets where those Flood bastards managed to land."

I was right about them, Hawk thought to himself. I knew the second I flew over that diseased ship in Holland that something just wasn't right. They were trying to land invading ships dirtside. To infect all of us.

Mark ran a hand over his face. "Yeah. But at least now we know where their central hub is, and what the Covies are after. We'll have to get the local Marine units to destroy all the scattered Flood-infested ships the bastards took over from the Covenant in space, the ones that are crashed in the specific areas we identified. Then, we've immediately got to start planning an op with the Elites to take out the parasite's collective in Kenya."

Willis thought about that for a minute before he replied, "I guess that means we're all going to Africa soon, then?"

"Yes."

"Holy shit."

The captain couldn't quite believe all they'd been able to piece together in just a short amount of time. With their help, the rest of humanity would soon know the location of what could possibly be the very last battle of the Human-Covenant War.

Hawk and his brother-in-law tried to go inform the ONI building's acting commander right away of their discovery, but the man was nowhere to be found. Instead, they were assured by an aide that he would be available in a few hours, and that in the meantime, the two men should get some sleep.

"Captain Hawk, sir?"

Willis jerked awake, startled by the voice, but it was more the smell that forced him to open his eyes. The aroma coming from the steaming cup of coffee under his nose was more than his caffeine-deprived body could handle. Going on just three hours of sleep after finishing up research with Mark on his mother's files, Hawk figured he could definitely use an artificial boost to his alertness this morning.

"Thank you, Ensign," he said to the aide as he took the cup. Before he took a sip, though, he glanced up to see that it was the same aide who'd told him where Gabe was a few days earlier.

"You're welcome, sir," she replied. Then, giving him a small smile, she added, "And don't worry. Commander Cooper has vouched for you, so you won't be getting a summons anytime soon for unlawfully bypassing our security. However, my CO would like to see both of you at your earliest convenience, Captain."

Willis took a drink of the hot liquid, already beginning to feel invigorated by it. Slowly, the muddled haze of sleep dissipated and his mind started to work again. "He wants to talk about the commander's findings, I'm guessing?"

The ensign shrugged. "Didn't say anything to me, sir. You'll have to find out when you get there."

"Got it. Carry on then, Ensign."

"Sir!" The young woman saluted and left.

Once she was gone, Hawk straightened himself in his chair, having slumped over it in sleep, and took another generous drink of coffee. He checked his watch after rubbing his burning eyes, then glanced over to the cot beside him to see that his little boy was still asleep. Twice during the night, Gabriel had woken up crying from the pain in his arm, and an orderly had had to come over to give him another dose of pain medication. It had been a hard thing for Willis to watch, but he took comfort knowing that at least his son's injuries were on the mend.

The captain took a deep breath and sighed, taking a moment to collect himself. He knew he'd have to gather up his squadron soon and direct them all to evacuate the civvies they'd rescued. He'd kept in near-constant contact with them the past few days, so he had a good idea of where they were and how long getting everything together would take. He also knew that the longer they all stayed here, the greater their chances of getting trapped inside the devastated city would become. They had to return to Denmark with the civvies soon, preferably today.

And somehow, in the middle of all that, he was supposed to take care of Gabe, too.

Never a dull moment when you're in charge, Hawk thought to himself.

"Daddy?"

Though he certainly hadn't expected his son to awaken quite yet, Willis leaned forward in his chair and gave his little boy a weak grin. "Hey, buddy. How're you feeling?"

Gabe let out a yawn and snuggled against his father's arm before answering. "Ok."

Willis's grin slowly grew wider. "That's good, kiddo. I'm glad."

For a moment, Hawk thought things were fine. His son's arm, though still in a cast, was apparently causing him little pain now because of the meds, and Gabe was also trying to fall back asleep now that Willis had lent him his good arm for comfort. It was only a minute later that the captain realized that his son wasn't sleeping, but sniffling. When Willis moved his arm from beneath Gabe's face, he saw the tear streaks all over his uniform sleeve.

"Hey, hey. What's all this about, huh?" Willis asked as he gently pulled his son up from the cot. "Why're you crying all of a sudden?"

Gabriel looked up at him with his mother's fierce green eyes, and Hawk understood.

"I m-miss Mommy," Gabe said in a small voice. "I like it better when you and Mommy are bof home, so I don't have to miss you."

Though Gabriel's injuries made it difficult, Willis leaned in closer and carefully wrapped his son in a hug. "It's ok, Gabe. I miss your mom, too. But you know what? I bet she misses you even more."

Gabe sniffed into his father's chest. "Really?"

"Really. And you know what else?"

"What?"

"She loves you so much, kiddo, just like I do. I know she'll be back as soon as she can to see you - and maybe this time we can all be together like we were last summer, remember?"

Willis felt another tear moisten his shirt. "Yeah. But what about now, Daddy? Grandma say we don't got a house no more."

Hawk sighed, glad that his son hadn't had to witness the slow deterioration of Cooper's mom like her brother had. Willis was sure his son had seen enough already, just from having been indirectly injured by the bombings and having to live in an underground bunker for days. He wasn't even sure that Gabe quite understood the fact that his grandmother was gone forever yet.

"That's ok, too, kiddo. Daddy's going to take you to a new house, one far away from this one. And there it'll be just me and you, little buddy, until your mom gets back. That sound good?"

Gabe pulled away from his father for a moment to look up at him. "What about Uncle Mark?"

"Uncle Mark's got work to do, Gabe, like your mom. I'm going to have to leave for work sometimes, too. But we'll always be back for you, son, don't worry."

Or at least that's what the hope is, Willis thought to himself. We will always do everything we can to get back to you, Gabe. But sometimes trying isn't enough.

Gabriel was still clinging to his father's shirt when Natalie's brother walked into the room. Gabe and Willis both glanced up, but the little boy didn't let go of his dad. Instead, he rested his head on Hawk's shoulder to see what was going on.

"Hi, Uncle Mark."

Though his expression had looked grim as he'd approached, Commander Cooper grinned back at his nephew. "Hey, Gabe. How's it going?"

"Ok," Gabriel answered again.

Mark nodded before giving Willis a look. "Mind if I borrow your dad for a minute?"

"You're not going to take him 'way?"

"Nope. Me and your dad are just going to go outside for a sec. He'll be back soon, kiddo."

Gabriel's grip tightened around Willis's neck for a moment. Hawk hugged his son back and kissed his hair before letting go of him.

"No..." Gabe whined, his bright green eyes glistening with tears again.

"It's ok, buddy. I'll be right back. Promise."

Once Willis was able to convince Gabe to stay put without making a scene, he and Cooper's brother stepped out of the makeshift medical wing and into the hallway.

"That kid thinks the world of you, you know," Mark said as they walked. "When you had to head out to contact your squadron the other day, he wouldn't stop talking about how excited he was to have you here."

Willis couldn't help but grin to himself. "Yeah. But I think Mom's still number one in his mind. He misses Natalie a lot." His smile quickly faded. "Last night when his arm was hurting him pretty bad, he started crying for her."

"Poor kid. You have any idea when my sister might be back?"

Captain Hawk shook his head. "None. I don't see anyone getting leave anytime soon, even if she can't really fight right now."

They reached the commander's office shortly. After getting cleared by two MP lieutenants at the door, they were finally let in.

"Sir!"

Both men saluted and stood at perfect attention in front of the senior ONI officer's desk. The older man looked them over once before speaking.

"At ease, boys. Cooper, I want to hear what you've found in your mother's files in a second, and I'll ask Captain Hawk here to step out for that." He released a sigh. "Unfortunately, though, first I've got some bad news for the two of you."

Oh, no. Hawk felt like a crushing weight had just been driven into his chest. He knew exactly what the older man was going to say.

"Sir, what---" Mark tried to interject, but the ONI commander silenced him.

"I don't have any specific details yet for either of you, so I apologize in advance for the lack of information. But I've just been notified that a couple of weeks ago, the area around Portoviejo in Ecuador was attacked and overrun by the Covenant, including the base." He paused, feeling for both of the stunned officers standing before him. "And, according to early estimates, it appears that very few were able to make it out alive."