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Hal, sitting on the observation table had his head turned to Anne, who was currently looking into his eyes. Tom and Weaver stood behind the doctor, watching her exam him. Ben was sitting in the chair by one end of the table, while Matt stood beside him. Maggie stood on the other side of the table, right by Hal.

"Well, they're not glowing now. They'll probably only do that when you're connecting to an Espheni." Anne concluded, stepping away from Hal.

"But, he's connected with the skitters before and his eyes never glowed." Matt pointed out.

"Well, he's never connected that strongly before to anyone with spikes or Espheni DNA." Anne responded.

"What I don't understand, is why Karen just gave up." Maggie said.

"Hal beat her. The rebel skitter said that he'd probably be stronger than her, now he just proved it. She couldn't control him, and she knew that she couldn't get very far, not with all of our new soldiers and new Volm weapons." Ben answered.

"But that's another thing. Karen wouldn't make Hal stronger than her. Not on purpose anyways. So how did that happen?" Weaver questioned.

"Can you guys stop talking about me as if I'm not in the room?" Hal asked, completely irritated by the way everyone was acting. His throbbing headache didn't help either.

Everyone in the room turned to look at Hal. He had his elbow on his leg, and was resting his forehead in his hand. He looked exhausted, and considering everything that happened only an hour ago, no one blamed him.

"Sorry." Weaver apologized.

"Weaver does raise a good point Hal. Karen wouldn't make you stronger than she is, wouldn't let you be able to push against her control the way you did. Do you have any idea what happened?" Tom asked. Hal's only answer was the shaking of his head.

"Think hard. Was there something that they were doing that seemed off to you during those five months?" Tom pushed. Hal had been back for almost six weeks, and he still knew next to nothing about what happened to his son.

"Dad, everything they did seemed off to me." Hal answered, not even bothering to hide his annoyance.

"Is there anything that you saw, while you were taken there, or escaping, that looked different? Anything at all?" Weaver asked.

Hal tried his hardest to remember what he could, despite the fact hat he had spent the last six weeks trying to forget. He hadn't been very successful at that though. Every time he closed his eyes, the memories played over in his mind on a constant loop, and they were so vivid, it was like he was completely reliving them.

So, forcing himself to remember was something Hal really didn't want to do. Not to mention he was still trying to figure out what really happened, and what was just hallucinations from the drugs Karen kept injecting him with. Hal tried to focus, but all he could think about was how Karen tried to control him, and how his eyes apparently glowed blue, like Ben's spikes, and that's when Hal remembered.

"There was something. It was when the Volm were attacking the outpost, when I was able to get free. There was something in the room that I didn't see until I was heading to the door." Hal revealed.

"I don't know what it was. All I could see was that it was glowing, very brightly. I couldn't even tell what it was, it was so bright. It was glowing blue, the same blue that Ben and Deni's spikes glow." Hal told them.

"Well, what happened then?" Tom asked.

"I wanted to see what it was, so I walked towards it. But the closer I go, the harder it was to look at it. It was worse than staring straight at the sun." Hal remembered, then went on, "When I was only a few feet away, I heard a whistling noise, and the place exploded. Next thing I remember, I was running through the woods." Hal explained, then let out a small groan as his headache started turning into a full-blown migraine.

"Are you alright?" Maggie questioned, moving closer to the young man.

"My head is killing me." Hal answered.

"Yeah, connecting with an Overlord, especially when you're fighting, causes quite the headache. It's normal." Ben informed his brother, rubbing his own temples while his head throbbed.

Anne looked at the two older brothers and said, "I'll get you two some ibuprofen. Then I want you both to get some sleep. It's late and you guys had a long day." Hal and Ben both looked like they wanted to argue, but Tom cut in.

"Boys, listen to Anne. The two of you look like you're going to pass out any minute, and doing that on a bed is more comfortable than a floor. We can talk about this tomorrow."

Reluctantly, Hal and Ben nodded. Anne gave them the painkillers, and they left the room, heading for their separate bedrooms with Maggie and Matt. Anne, Tom, and Weaver were left alone.

"So, what do you think Hal saw?" Weaver asked Tom.

"It sounds kind of like a power source of some kind. It's just, why would the Espheni have something life that? We know that the Mechs and Beamers need fuel to function. If they possess a power source, why wouldn't they use it to power their technology, instead of stealing ours?" Tom wondered.

"Sounds like something we need to talk to Cochise and Kadar about." Weaver said, and Tom nodded in agreement.

"At least there is one less thing to worry about." Anne told the men, who turned to look at her in confusion.

"Hal is stronger than an Overlord. I don't think we need to worry about him being controlled and used as a spy." Anne explained. Weaver turned back to Tom.

"She's got a point. And given how strong Hal is, and his ability to get into the skitters heads so easily, he's probably the best chance we have at destroying Karen." The Colonel told the President.

"I know, but we don't have any idea where Karen is, and I don't want her anywhere near Hal, or any of my kids." Tom replied.

"And I understand that, but I don't think you have a choice in that. He's our best shot Tom, like it or not. I think he should be back in the fight, especially when we do finally fight Karen. But, you're in charge, it's your call." Tom didn't have an answer to that, not yet anyways.

FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS

Hal and Maggie made their way to their bedroom in silence. Maggie was squeezing Hal's hand so tight that it hurt, but he didn't care. It was a nice distraction from his pounding head.

Once they got to the door to their room, they went inside and Hal sat down on the bed as Maggie let go of his hand. He kicked off his boots and was about to lie down on the mattress when he noticed that Maggie was standing by the foot of the bed staring at the floor.

"You okay?" Hal asked. Maggie nodded, but didn't look at him. Pushing himself back to his feet, he walked over to her, wrapped his hands around her arms gently, and turned her to face him.

"What's wrong?" Hal wanted to know. While her body was turned to him, she kept her eyes on the carpet.

"Nothing." Maggie finally answered, her voice quiet. Hal placed two of his fingers under her chin, and moved her head up so he could look at her.

"Maggie, tell me." Maggie didn't say anything, but did pull away from him and walked to the corner of the room. Hal was about to follow her, when she finally spoke.

"Hal, I know that I can't even begin to imagine what you went through during those five months, but you have no idea what it was like here either. For your Dad, your brothers, for me. For all we knew, you could've been dead." Hal could tell Maggie was trying to keep her voice steady, but she was failing. Then, Maggie turned around to face him, anger, frustration, and fear in her eyes.

"Then you come back, and everything seems good, except you won't tell anyone what happened, and I get that. But then, we find out what she did to you, that she's trying to take you away again, and you are more than willing to throw yourself into danger. To risk your life without even thinking about how it effects others." Maggie told him. Hal moved to stand in front of her and placed one hand on her shoulder, another on her cheek.

"I never said it back." Maggie said miserably.

"Never said what?" Hal asked, his voice low.

"You asked me if I knew you loved me. But I didn't say it back." Maggie explained, as a tear started running down her cheek.

"Maggie."

"I was terrified that I wasn't going to see you again, that you didn't know that I do, I do love you." Maggie revealed. Hal pulled her close and pressed his lips against hers. Maggie instantly returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck as he slipped his arms around her waist.

"I know." Hal said, as he pulled back for air. Lowering his forehead to hers he repeated, "I know."

"I don't want to lose you." Maggie whispered, her tears falling more freely.

"As long as I'm breathing, I will come back to you. No matter what, I will come back." Hal responded. Maggie pulled his head back down so his lips met hers. Everything else seemed to disappear for her. The man she loved was here, with her. And that was all she really needed.

FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS

"Goodnight Mommy." Lexi whispered as Anne pulled the blankets over her.

"Goodnight sweetie." Anne said, and gave the little girl a kiss on the forehead. Tom stood watching from the doorway with a smile on his face as Anne tucked their daughter in, remembering when his boys were that age. Once Anne finished, she stood up and made her way to the door while Tom moved over to his daughter.

"Daddy, can you read me a story?" Lexi asked.

"Your Mom already did, and it's way past your bedtime honey." Tom answered her as he sat down on the edge of her bed.

"But I'm not sleepy." Lexi protested, just as she let out a yawn.

"Sure you aren't. I'll try to be back earlier tomorrow night and read you a story then, alright?" Tom offered his only daughter.

"Okay." Lexi responded as her tired eyelids closed. Tom bent down and gave her a kiss on her forehead just like the girl's mother did moments before.

"I love you." Tom whispered.

"Love you too Daddy." Lexi replied sleepily.

Tom stood up and headed to the door where Anne was waiting. Together, they left the room and entered their bedroom. After Anne and Lexi got to back to Charleston, Tom had a door put in between the two bedrooms so Lexi would still be close to her parents, yet they would have their privacy.

"So, how are you doing?" Anne asked as she sat down on the bed. Tom took off his coat and put it on the couch in the room.

"Confused as to what's all going on, worried about all the things that could happen. I don't want Hal anywhere near the aliens, not if he's becoming this much of a target." Tom answered.

"We can't control everything Tom. And to be honest, I actually agree with Weaver." Anne told him. Tom looked over at her.

"If it was anyone else's kid, I would too. But, he's been through too much. I don't want to put him in any more danger. If any thing happened to him, I don't think I could handle it. I know I couldn't handle it." Tom revealed, sitting down beside the doctor.

"Some things are out of our hands, and this one of those things. I think you should let Hal make his own decision and trust that he'll make the right one. And trust he'll be strong enough to see it through. The only other thing you can do is be there beside him, and help him when he needs it." Anne told him.

"I'll think about it." Was the only response Tom gave.

As the couple got into their bed, Tom considered her words. He knew she was right, but he also knew what Hal would choose if the father let him decide, and Tom hated it. The only thing he wanted was for this war to end, so his children could live in peace, live the life they were supposed to live. Never did he think that in order to gain that desire, he would have to put his children in such danger.