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To scienceficfan24 – Thanks for your review! It's getting closer to when Hal reveals what happened. Hope you like this chapter!
Enjoy!
As Hal walked out of the building his room was in, he instinctively moved to scratch his hand but stopped himself. While the gloves covered the new cuts on his hands he got when he was cleaning up the glass from the light-bulb in his room, the fabric irritated them. Scratching them though would most likely cause them to bleed again and that could draw some unwanted attention. It was another reason he put his gloves on. If he didn't, it wouldn't take long for someone, most likely his brothers or Maggie, to notice the scabbed cuts on his hands.
He hadn't told anyone about what happened with the light-bulb in his room shattering into hundreds of pieces. He knew that he was probably being paranoid, but he didn't want anyone to know. It could lead to a lot of unwanted questions and while he could probably come up with a reasonable explanation fairly easily, it was safer if he just kept what happened to himself. He had enough attention on him already, he didn't need any more.
Despite the people who were outside stopping whatever they were doing to stare at him, Hal continued on his way, trying to appear calm, cool, and collected. The members of the 2nd Mass were slowly getting used to him being there, though he knew that they still didn't feel very comfortable due to the circumstance of his sudden reappearance, but he sure it was only a matter of time, except for a certain former criminal and his gang. After all, Pope had made it no secret how he felt about Hal, nor had he kept quiet on his thoughts and theories.
The young man did his best to ignore it, but it was getting a bit harder as whenever Pope or his Berserkers were around, they always watched him and didn't stop until he was gone. It was like they were waiting for him to make a mistake so they could use it as proof of their suspicions. And sometimes, they'd actually follow him around a little. Remembering how they jumped his Dad when he returned to the 2nd Mass after walking onto an alien spaceship and being gone for three months, he knew that they could very easily try and do the same to him. It was one of the reasons why he forced himself to stay among the crowds even though he hated it.
As he walked through the group now though, he felt worse than he did the last few days. Hal was pretty sure it was mostly because of his exhaustion, only getting about two to three hours of sleep a night was taking its toll on him, but today, it felt as though literally every eye was on him, and that they were seeing right through him. The feeling caused his body to completely tense, the hairs on the back of his neck and arms to rise and his heart to pound. The dark-haired young man tried to force himself to calm down, hoping that no one could see how panicked he was becoming, but he couldn't. He had to get out of the crowd.
So that's what he did. Hal did his best to continue looking like everything was normal as he walked through part of the crowd and towards the closest alley that would hopefully take him somewhere private, all the while acting like that was what he had planned to do from the start. Luckily, the place was completely deserted and with the buildings around him, hiding him from anyone's view, he finally felt himself start to calm down.
This was really getting annoying. For the most part, Hal had been doing pretty well in staying calm despite the tension, the suspicion and the constant eyes around him. But then there were times like this, where he'd suddenly feel closed in, and like everyone was watching him. When that happened, he did his best to get away from everyone. He didn't want anyone to see, nor did he want to continue staying there and risk what could happen if his heart continued to pound and adrenaline continued to run through his body.
Hal moved to stand with his back against the wall of the closest building and as he leaned against it, he raised his fist and punched it in frustration. He was so tired of doing this, tired of going through this. While he loved being with his family, he didn't have to worry about this when he was off on his own. As he punched the wall again though, he heard a quiet whistling sound followed by the sound of something else hitting the wall beside him. His brown eyes snapped open and he found an old brick that had been lying in a pile on the other side of the alley was now on the ground beside him, and there was a hole in the wall that wasn't there before.
"Sh*t." Hal cursed under his breath before looking around, hoping that no one was around to see what he just did. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that there were no witnesses. The young man wasn't sure what he'd do if someone had seen what he had done and was in no hurry to find out. It was better, safer, if everyone was kept in the dark.
"Hal?" Hal visibly jumped and immediately turned around to see who had snuck up on him. He tried to relax when he saw that it was just Maggie, but couldn't fully. What were the odds she had seen him move the brick without actually touching it?
"Hey Maggie." Hal said, forcing a smile in an effort to hide his fear. Maggie stared at him with a worried expression, causing Hal to believe that she had seen what just happened, but then she asked, "What are you doing over here?"
"I'm just, looking around is all. Is that a problem?" Hal questioned, letting his defenses rise a bit. He knew that in the long run, it would only make Maggie more suspicious than she already was, but for now, it might get her to back off which was what he needed right now.
"No, just curious." Maggie answered, instantly picking up on his defensive tone.
The blonde had no idea why he had suddenly got defensive, but then again, a lot of his behaviour had been strange since he got back and she didn't know why. She had her theories and she was sure everyone in the 2nd Mass did too. While most were probably that he was working for the Espheni, she knew that wasn't true. At least, she hoped it wasn't. Maggie personally thought it was because Hal had spent so much time apart from them, as well as time completely alone, he wasn't used to having people all around him anymore, and she was sure with some members of the 2nd Mass constantly watching him when he was in their area of sight wasn't helping.
At the same time though, she was sure that there was something else going on with him that they knew nothing about. And from the way he was holding himself back from his friends and family, she knew he wanted to keep it that way, which was only going to make it harder for her, and everyone else to learn what was going on. Even back when they were together, Maggie had known that when it came to anything personal that he was dealing with or if something happened to him, talking to him about it could be very tricky. She was never fully sure if he would open up to her, or if he would push her away.
Hal seemed to relax though when he saw that she wasn't going to push for answers right now. Instead, he gave her a small smile, started walking towards her and said, "Okay then."
Maggie waited for him to reach her before she questioned, "So, what are you up to today?"
"Nothing much. Sentry duty after lunch for a few hours, then that's it." Hal replied as they started making their way towards the courtyard, then asked, "You?"
"Sentry duty in the evening." Maggie answered. Hal nodded, but didn't say anything else.
For the next few minutes, the two walked in silence, neither of them knowing really what to say. It had been like this ever since Hal came to Chinatown. Actually, it started before that, when Karen released Anne and Lexi and Hal stopped her from killing the human Overlord. Maggie was angry, and hurt that he still apparently believed that Karen could be saved in spite of everything she had done, and pushed her boyfriend away. And now, now she had no idea where they stood.
She still loved him and she wanted to be with him, but she had no idea how exactly to tell him that, nor did she know how he would respond. Before, he had always been fairly open about his feelings towards her, and his family, but now he was so distant. She felt like she was walking on eggshells around him.
"Hal, you know you can always talk to me, about anything, right?" Maggie finally broke the silence just before they reached the edge of the courtyard, not wanting others to overhear them.
"Yeah, I know." Hal answered, then stopped in his tracks and turned to face her, "Why are you asking me that?"
"You've just seemed, a little, distant is all. From everyone. I just wanted to make sure that if there's something going on,"
"There isn't." Hal suddenly cut her off, then gave her his reassuring grin and said, "I'm fine. Don't worry."
"Okay." Maggie responded, though she kept staring at him worriedly, making it clear that she didn't believe him.
Beginning to feel as though the blonde's eyes were seeing right through him, Hal then said, "I'm going to go, see if there's something that I can do. Hate being useless you know."
"Yeah, I know." Maggie told him with a nod.
"I'll see you later." Hal didn't really wait for her response before he started walking away, not really caring about which direction he was going in, just as long as it took him away from the one person who could read him like an open book.
Maggie didn't try to stop him. She simply stayed in place and watched him leave. As much as she wanted to get him to talk to her, to yell at him to stop keeping all of his problems to himself and open up, but she knew that that wouldn't work, not now anyways. But soon, they'd have to talk about it. He'd have to talk about it.
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Once Tom and Weaver finished their meeting, having been working on plans for more weapons and food runs as well as the possibility of doing another attack on another Espheni base most of the morning, they walked out of their office building towards the courtyard. The former history professor had been planning on meeting up with Anne for lunch while the Colonel was going to check on Jeanne, who had been helping out in the infirmary lately. As the two approached the building though, Tom spotted his youngest son sitting on the steps, looking a bit dejected and deep in thought.
"Hey Matt, how's it going?" Tom asked, moving to stand beside the boy.
"Fine, I guess." Matt answered, not even trying to sound convincing. Tom stared at Matt for a second, then sat down beside him while Weaver stood off to the side, not wanting to intrude, but also wanting to know what was going on.
"What's wrong?" The father asked.
"Hal." Matt said. Tom nodded, immediately knowing what his son was about to say. Since Matt didn't see it though, he continued, "He just seems, different, you know? He doesn't seem to really want to spend any time with anyone."
Tom put his hand on the boy's shoulder as he replied, "Well Matt, we still don't know what all happened to him when he was gone. Whatever it was, he's probably trying to deal with it. Once he does, he'll start coming around."
"I was separated from you guys too. I was on my own. When you found me and brought me here, I never wanted to leave your guys' side again." Matt was quick to point out, turning to face his Dad, "And besides, we're his family. Whatever he is dealing with, he shouldn't be doing it on his own."
"I know Matt, I know. But that's just who Hal is. He doesn't really like people fighting his battles or taking care of his problems, no matter how much we want to." Tom responded, keeping his voice calm and reassuring even though he was just as worried and frustrated with Hal as Matt was.
"It sucks." Matt complained, looking down at the ground.
"Yeah, it does." Tom agreed, moving his hand so his arm was now completely wrapped around Matt's shoulder. They sat quietly for a few seconds, then the father said, "For now though, let's just try to be patient with him, okay?"
Matt didn't look happy with that suggestion, but he nodded as he replied, "Alright."
Tom then moved his hand again to give his son a gentle pat on his back before he said, "I'll see you later, okay?"
"Okay." Matt quickly responded. Then, he stood up and walked away, leaving his father to stare after him before he himself got up on his feet.
"What was that about?" Tom immediately turned around to see Anne standing the doorway of the infirmary entrance. He hadn't noticed that she was there, and from the looks of it, has been there for a while.
"He's worried about Hal." Tom answered as Anne walked over to him, "Apparently, I'm not the only one he's being distant with."
When he looked over at Anne, and saw Weaver from the corner of his eye, he saw they both had nervous and concerned expressions that immediately put him a little on edge. Part of him wasn't sure if he wanted to know what was going on, but he knew that they were probably going to tell him anyways, so he turned fully to face them both and said, "What?"
"Tom, you remember how I told you that it's possible Hal could have PTSD?" Weaver asked, a little more slowly than normal.
"Yeah." Tom answered, starting to feel a little defensive as he realized where this conversion was about to go.
"Well, I don't think giving him more time alone, is going to help with that in the long run." Weaver told him. Before Tom could respond to the Colonel's opinion however, Anne chimed in.
"There's also the possibility that it's something else entirely. We still don't know even a quarter of what happened to him. Karen could have done something to him."
Tom's head snapped to his girlfriend when she said that. Despite the obvious change in Hal's behaviour, the father refused to believe that the aliens somehow made him into a spy like they did in Charleston, and with a defensive tone, he asked, "What makes you think that?"
"The fact that Hal was taken at the exact same time from the same place as you, Ben, Weaver and the others were but he was put in a different ghetto. And the fact that Karen, well, seems to have put a lot of attention on him." Anne explained. When she saw that Tom was staring at her with guarded expression, though his eyes were hard and cold, she added, "You have to admit, it's possible."
For a long moment, Tom didn't say anything. He didn't even really look at Anne or Weaver. He knew from the very beginning that something was off with Hal. The first clue was that he didn't join up with them until they found out that he was there. Then, he noticed that Hal wasn't being as social as he normally was, nor did he really smile as much as he used to. Then, the father saw that his son wasn't trying to get back into the fight. But other than that, he seemed okay, and Tom knew, could feel just from that that his son wasn't a mole, nor was he some sort of clone or anything. However, he did know that his boy definitely went through something bad, something traumatic, and that terrified and concerned him.
"What do you guys want me to do? I just got my son back. The last thing I want is to push him away by trying to get him to talk about something he's not ready to. I haven't even told anybody what happened when I walked onto that Espheni spaceship nearly two years ago. If he went through anything like that," Tom broke off, suddenly feeling very sick at the idea that his son he was tortured and manipulated like he had been.
"Tom, we're just concerned about him, that's all." Anne said with a more gentle tone, putting her hand on his shoulder. Even she still didn't know much about what Tom went through on the Espheni spaceship, but she could easily see that whatever it was, it was bad enough that he was terrified that Hal might've gone through the same thing.
"Look," Weaver started, causing the other two adults to look over at him, "neither of us can tell you what to do Tom. Only you can decide what to do. You're his father, you know him best. It's completely your call on what to do right now."
Tom resisted the urge to correct his best friend about what he said about him being the one who knows Hal best. It was Rebecca who knew him best, she was the one he was the closest to, the one that could talk to him and actually get him to talk back. He couldn't do that before, he still couldn't now, but he knew he had to try. He was his father, that was his job, a job he had been failing at recently. He wasn't going to do that anymore.
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Lexi looked out from her spot outside by the corner of the infirmary towards Hal, her oldest brother. He was sitting alone at one of the farthest tables in the cafeteria area, a cup of, what she assumed to be coffee, in front him. He was about as far away from everybody as he could get without actually not being there. He didn't seem to mind though, nor did he seem to mind that some of the people around were actually looking up at him every couple of minutes.
The youngest Mason child had no doubt in her mind that Hal had picked that spot on purpose. Lexi may have not really spent anytime with her brother, but she had spent the last 10 days observing him, taking note of his habits and how he communicated with others. During that time, she had seen him be friendly to most people, particularly his family and Tector and Anthony, and keep his distance from others, especially Pope and anyone associated with him. While he had been kind to others, and seemed to be okay with spending time with them, she had also noticed him going off on his own.
Being the newest person to join the Mason family, as well as actually being under a year old despite her appearance, Lexi didn't know much about her oldest brother. The little she did know came from memories of them being together for two weeks before being separated again, and from what her other brothers and parents told her. For the four months her family was apart, her mother was more than happy to tell her about her father and half-siblings. When they were reunited, except for Hal, her father and brothers answered any and every question she had about her missing sibling.
After Karen told them that Hal had died however, all of that stopped. Lexi felt a pain in her chest at the knowledge that she would now never know her oldest sibling, and regret that she didn't spend more time with him when they were together, even though she knew it wasn't anyone's fault. Except for the Espheni that is. And what made it worse, was that she no longer felt she could ask Ben, Matt, or their Dad about him. She could see the grief and pain in their eyes whenever his name came up or they seemed to be remembering something about him and she didn't want to make it worse.
However, the news of Hal still being alive and his return to them changed all that again, for better and worse at the same time. Lexi could see how happy her Dad and brothers were that their other family member was alive and back with them, but soon, that happiness was replaced with concern. She had been told that Hal was extroverted, athletic, good and light-hearted, and a person who hated sitting around doing nothing. This man that had joined them, didn't seem to be any of those things.
She hadn't really spent much time with him since he came to Chinatown, the few times she had their other siblings were around, nervous about how he would react to her with her being a hybrid and now looking the same age as him even though he was nearly 20 years older. However, in those times together, and the times she watched him, Lexi saw that he seemed far more distant than what she had been told was normal, and he had shown no desire to get back into the fight. The hybrid could only assume that whatever he went through during the five months he was gone were to blame for his change in behaviour.
Her other family members and Weaver all seemed to agree, very aware that something was wrong with Tom's oldest child. She knew they had all raised their worries and suspicions to her Dad, but since she didn't know Hal very well, no one asked her opinion, and therefore, she felt no guilt for not telling any of them her observations, or how she just felt in her gut that something was different about him. She had no idea what it was or why she felt that there was more to Hal than meets the eye, and until she did, she wasn't going to say anything.
Instead, Lexi decided it was high time that she actually got to know her oldest brother from more than short memories from months ago and stories told to her by Ben and Matt. So, she forced herself to walk towards Hal, hoping that he wouldn't mind some unexpected company.
"Hi." The young man was broken out of his reverie by a soft, slightly nervous voice. Moving his head to the left, where the voice had come from, and saw Lexi slowly approaching him. He had been lost in thought for who knows how long and didn't notice her until now.
"Hey." Hal greeted her with a small grin. She looked a bit nervous, like she wasn't sure if she should come talk to him, or wasn't sure if she was welcome. Hal didn't like that. While he didn't know her all that well, as he didn't spend much time with her when she was a baby and they were only together for about two weeks before they were separated, Lexi was still his little sister. Of course he wanted a relationship with her and it appeared she wanted the same thing.
"Would you like to join me?" Hal offered when she remained standing in her spot. Slowly, Lexi beamed at him, then nodded eagerly as she sat down at the table across from him.
The two half-siblings, both immediately realizing that they weren't sure what to talk about. Even though Hal had seen her around and they had been together with Matt and Ben, and other group settings, they had never been together by themselves before. It was a lot more awkward and nerve-wracking than either of them thought it would be.
"Looks like the two of us together attract a lot more attention than when we're apart." Lexi commented, glancing at the people around them. Hal then looked around and saw that she was right. Before, there had only been a few people watching them. Now, everyone was.
"Perks of being a hybrid and," Lexi paused when Hal turned his head back to face her, then continued, "being late to joining the group."
"No kidding." Hal responded with a half-smirk, though his mind was starting to race. How much did Lexi know about what happened to him in Charleston? Did she know that Karen put a bug in him? Did she know everything that Karen made him do?
"You don't get in any trouble with anyone because of that, do you?" Hal questioned, beginning to feel guilty about what his little sister had gone through. Though Karen had somehow managed to change Lexi's DNA before he brought his sister and Anne to the human Overlord, he still felt bad about the part he played.
"Not really. It's more like, getting a bunch of distrustful looks and the occasional comments. I try to stay out of their way. Not sure if that helps or not though." Lexi answered, looking down at the table.
"It'll pass, eventually." Hal told her, remembering that even though it did take a while, people did forgive him and slowly started to trust him after word got out that he had been under the aliens control.
Lexi didn't say anything to that. She just looked up him with a hopeful glance, causing her oldest brother to smile reassuringly. Soon, the two were engaged in another conversation. Any remaining tension or awkwardness melted away while the two siblings started to catch up and learn more about each other and slowly, people stopped staring, except for one.
Tom Mason stood several meters away, though he had a clear line of sight of his oldest and youngest children. Ever since he learned that Anne was pregnant nearly over a year ago, he was nervous how Hal, Ben, and Matt would take the news. They took it pretty well, which made him happy, but with everything that happened afterwards, Hal being bugged, Anne and Lexi being taken by Karen, Lexi's alien DNA and her aging at a much faster speed than normal, their months of separation, he was worried about his kids getting along. He soon learned that Ben and Matt were okay with their sister and got along fine. Hal on the other hand, had been keeping his distance from everyone, including Lexi.
He had been planning on talking to Hal, privately so that he wouldn't have to worry about anyone listening in and so the dark-haired young man hopefully wouldn't be so guarded, but stopped. Tom didn't want to interrupt Hal and Lexi's conversation, especially if it was leading to them getting closer as siblings and maybe his son's willingness to open up again. Maybe his first thought was right, that Hal just needed some time, and he could come back and talk to him later when he was free.
With that in mind, Tom turned and walked away, letting his son and daughter get to know each other.