Disclaimer - Still own nothing.
Enjoy!
Tom stood in the doorway of the hospital room, looking at where Hal was lying on the bed, still out cold. They knew instantly that Karen was dead when the skitters tried fleeing. They didn't make it very far before they were killed. Once the skitters were taken care of, Tom had Tector and Anthony check on the Berserkers while he, Weaver, Matt, and Maggie went to find Hal and Ben.
Upon finding his sons, and Ben telling him what all happened, he immediately contacted the Volm, who picked them up in the same transport ship they traveled to the city on, and took them back to Charleston. Once they got back to the city, Hal was again rushed to the hospital.
"You're sure he's going to be okay?" Tom asked, looking over his shoulder at Anne, who was standing in the hallway, a chart in her hand.
"It appears that the fluid in his system has sped up his healing, just like Ben's spikes do. He'll have to wear a brace on his wrist for a little while, but even now, you can't tell how badly it was broken before. And according to the scans we ran, there's no sign of brain damage, but I can't find a reason why he apparently had a seizure. We'll probably need to wait until he wakes up to find out what happened, but other than that, yes, he'll be okay." Anne explained.
"And Ben?" Tom questioned.
"He's fine. A few cuts and bruises, but no concussion or broken bones. Lourdes and Deni are with him right now, though he's really worried about Hal. Once Lourdes has cleaned him up, he'll probably make his way here." Anne told him.
Tom nodded, then entered the hospital room. Maggie was curled up in a chair beside the bed, and Matt was slowly nodding off in his own chair on the other side of the bed. Coming to his youngest son's side, Tom knelt down, and gently shook the boy's shoulder, getting his attention.
"Hey, why don't you go to your room and get some real sleep?" Tom suggested as Matt sat up straighter in his chair and looked at his father.
"No, I'm fine here." Matt responded.
"Matt, he's going to be okay, and he'll probably be out for while yet. Besides, you have school tomorrow." Tom reminded his youngest son.
"I'm not going anywhere." Matt insisted.
"Matthew." Tom warned, and Matt looked away from his Dad to his brother. Tom rubbed Matt's shoulder comfortingly.
"He's going to be okay. There's not much you can do here, and you know he'd want you to get some sleep too. Tell you what, you go get some sleep, and the minute he wakes up, I'll have someone come and get you. Even if you're at school, I'll pull you out. Okay?" Tom offered.
Matt turned his gaze back to his father, then again to his brother. He knew that was probably going to be the best deal he'd get in this situation. Tom had already shown that he was upset at how many times he ditched school to help out on missions and patrols. So, reluctantly, Matt nodded, and headed back to his room.
Tom moved to sit in the chair that his son just vacated. Looking away from Hal's laxed face, his gaze found Maggie. She hadn't woken up at all during the exchange he just had with Matt. She continued sleeping soundly, though he knew her neck and back would be stiff and sore in the morning.
He was only in the room for a few minutes when he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. Tom looked to the doorway and found Pope of all people staring at him. The Mason patriarch stood and headed over to the ex-criminal, leading him away from the door.
"What is it Pope?" Tom asked once they were in the hallway.
"16 people died in that mission Mason. Eight of them were my Berserkers." Pope informed him, disapproval and anger in his voice. Tom knew what he was getting at.
"Karen has been a thorn in our neck since pretty much the beginning. She needed to be taken down, and she has. Now, the Espheni are going to be running amok which makes them easier targets and less likely to mount another attack on the city." Tom explained.
"Until they get a new Overlord to replace her. Let's be honest Mason, you did this because of your kid. She was after him, so you took her out, and innocent people died because of it." Pope argued.
"After my son or not, she was a threat that had to be eliminated. And I'm not the only parent here Pope. What if it was one of your kids? What if you had found them, and then realized they were being targeted by the aliens? Are you telling me you wouldn't do whatever it took to protect them? Maybe the attack was personal for me, but it still needed be done. Those people who died, yes, it's a tragedy, but they signed up for it. They knew what they were getting into. I'm not going to apologize for trying to destroy a dangerous enemy, and protecting everyone in this city, including my son." Tom stated, then turned on his heel and walked back into his son's room.
Pope stood in his spot in silence and shock. Of all the defenses he imagined the Professor using, that was not one of them. He hadn't really thought of what he would do if it was his kids. After the attack, he had assumed they were either harnessed or dead, and came to peace with it a long time ago. The idea of hoping that they were safe and alive, only to find out he was wrong hurt too much. It was easier to assume the worst.
But as he looked at the young Mason in the hospital bed, he imagined his own son in there, in the position that kid had found himself in. And he knew, he would've probably done the same thing. So, he turned and walked away, leaving the family in peace.
FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS
Tom watched his son sleep. It was almost 11 o'clock at night now, almost twelve hours since they attacked New York, and Hal had yet to even stir. He was beginning to get worried.
"Tom?" The President looked up and saw Weaver standing in the doorway, "How's he doing?" The Colonel asked coming into the room.
"Anne says he'll be okay, but he still hasn't woken up yet." Tom told his friend.
"Cochise is here. He's in the board room with Marina. They want to talk about the mission, and get started planning another offensive against the aliens." Weaver said.
"Can't that wait until morning?" Tom wondered.
"According to Cochise, the sooner we get started the better. It won't take long before the Overlords start attacking us again in retaliation for what we did." Weaver explained. Tom nodded, then went over to Maggie. He gently shook her shoulder, instantly waking her.
"What is it? Is Hal-" Maggie started, looking over to the bed and seeing that Hal was still asleep.
"Hal's fine, but I have to go. Keep an eye on him?" He knew that she would keep an eye on him anyways, but he wanted to make sure. Maggie nodded, and Tom left the room with Weaver.
FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS
It was a loud, steady beeping that insisted that Hal woke up. Slowly, he opened his eyes and immediately recognized the Charleston infirmary room. While he was somewhat annoyed that he managed to land himself in the infirmary again, he didn't feel as nervous or guarded as he usually did. He felt safe, and warm. There was no need to fear this place.
"Hal?" Turning his head to the right, Hal found Maggie sitting in the chair beside him. She smiled when he looked at her.
"Hi." Hal whispered.
"Hi, how are you feeling?" Maggie asked worriedly, as he felt her fingers brush against his.
"I'm okay, just a little tired and sore." Hal answered, his voice growing a little stronger. He moved his right hand so he could grab Maggie's, but a sudden flare of pain made him stop.
Hal looked down, and saw a black brace on his wrist and he remembered how Karen snapped it, hearing, feeling the bone break. But if it was broken, wouldn't he be wearing a cast?
"Yeah, you broke your wrist. But according to Anne, it's healing at a fast rate, a little faster than Ben actually. It should be fully healed sometime tomorrow." Maggie told him when she saw him looking down at his arm. Hal nodded, then another thought came to mind.
"Is Ben okay?" Hal wanted to know.
"Yeah, he's fine. He's pretty worried about you though. Lourdes is taking care of him. Your Dad and Matt were here, but he sent Matt to bed, then had to go talk to Weaver and Marina. You've been out for a few hours. It's past midnight." Maggie revealed. Hal again nodded, letting her know that he heard her, but he let his eyes close. He was so tired. Then, he felt Maggie's hand on his forehead, her fingers in his hair.
"Go back to sleep Hal. It's okay, you're safe." Maggie whispered, and Hal let his exhaustion claim him.
FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS
Hal walked towards the glowing blue light. As he came closer, the light started dimming. In the center of the light, sitting on a pedestal in a glass box, was a light blue crystal, small enough to fit in his hand. It was a perfect circle, except for a spot in the top, which looked as though a piece of it had been broken off.
Suddenly, Karen came over, holding a large, black wire. It looked like the same kind of wire that she used to hold them captive back when they destroyed the Espheni weapon before the Volm came.
Hal watched as Karen attached the wire to the box. Once the wire made contact with it, the crystal started to glow again. Karen looked from the box, to a super Mech on the other side of the room that Hal didn't notice before. Then, it was like the machine just turned on. The light on the robot lit up and it stood up. Karen pulled the wire away from box, and the crystal stopped glowing once again.
The scene suddenly changed, and he was in a spaceship. He was in a hallway, but it was bigger, and darker than the one he was on with Karen. Hal remembered seeing this before, in a dream weeks ago. He walked down the hall, seeing only one door. Once he reached it, he pushed it open.
An Overlord was in the room, standing in front a large window. They were in space, looking at planet Earth below. The Overlord turned around and actually got to his knees and bowed down. Hal looked to the other side of the room and stared in shock.
Hal awoke with a gasp, instantly sitting up in the bed. His blood was pumping hard, and he could feel the cold sweat covering his body.
"Hal! Hal, you're okay. It's okay, calm down." Hal heard his father's voice. He felt hands resting on his shoulders, and the bed dip down under someone's weight. Slowly, Hal turned his head and looked at his Dad, who had sat down beside him.
"Hal, what happened?" Tom asked, moving one of his hands of Hal's shoulders.
"Something's coming, something bad, dangerous. Dad, it's worse than an Overlord."
AN – Yes, another cliffhanger. Considering the timeline, this is actually probably where I would end season 4, if this is what actually happened of course. This is an AU after all. Don't worry, next update will be soon.