Disclaimer – Own nothing.
AN – So, unfortunately I have finals coming up in the next week, so warning you the next update might be a little late. Sorry. But please review and
Enjoy!
Even though they lessened the attacks on the Espheni in order to plan for the attack on Washington, it was still almost two weeks before the 2nd Mass was ready for it. On the morning of the day they were heading out, Hal and Maggie were lying in their bed, trying to get as much rest as possible before they had to get ready to leave.
"Hal, are you awake?" Hal heard Maggie ask. He had been awake for a few minutes, but was so comfortable on the bed with Maggie in his arms, that he didn't want to ruin it. He was tempted to keep pretending to sleep, but she sounded worried, so he nodded.
"Are you nervous about this attack?" Maggie wondered, turning around in his arms so she could look at his face. Hal opened his eyes, staring into hers.
"Not really. Why?" Hal asked.
"I don't know, I just have a bad feeling." Maggie told him, looking away from his face.
Hal said nothing for a moment, taking in the worried and confused look on the woman's face before asking, "Is your stomach still bugging you?"
Over the last two weeks, Maggie had thrown up several times. He kept telling her she should go see Anne or Lourdes, but apparently there was a stomach flu that had been going around and she didn't want to bug them with something as trivial as that.
"A little, but it's not that."
"Maybe you should go see Anne, or, stay behind on this one. If you're still feeling sick,"
"No, I'm fine. It's nothing, just forget I said anything." Maggie interrupted him as she pushed herself off the bed and started getting ready for the long day ahead. Hal sat up and watched her.
"Yes, I am nervous about this attack, but we have to do this. It's our best shot at finishing this war once and for all." Hal told her. Maggie stopped what she was doing and turned back to face him, giving him a clear view of the worry and fear in her eyes. Slowly, she came back over to the bed and sat down.
"Just, just promise me you'll be careful?" Maggie pleaded. Even though he had gone on five patrols, and two attack missions in the last two weeks, Hal knew that she was still worried about him. What happened in New York, and just everything that had happened ever since he left with Karen had scared her. He couldn't blame her for still being worried about him, especially considering what he was planning.
Hal brought his hand up to cheek, cupping her face gently. She leaned her head against his palm while his thumb stroked her smooth cheek.
"I promise, I'll be careful." As careful as I can be anyway, Hal added silently to himself. Maggie nodded, but didn't meet his eyes. Hal moved his hand and placed it on the back of her head, and pulled her closer to him. He gave her a gentle kiss on her lips before pulling away. She opened her eyes and met his intense stare.
"Good." Maggie replied, looking down at her lap.
"Hey," Hal got her attention once more, "I love you."
Maggie smiled and said, "I love you too."
After sharing another quick kiss, the couple got out of bed and started preparing for the day ahead of them.
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"Are you sure you want to come with us Anne?" Tom checked for the tenth time that morning as he watched her pack, much to the doctor's annoyance.
"Yes, I'm sure. It's going to be a major battle and you guys will need a doctor on scene. True, I won't be able to perform surgeries or anything like that, but I can do my best to keep as many people as I can alive." Anne informed him. Tom got up from his seat and went over to the woman as she turned around to face him.
"It's just, it's going to be dangerous. And, if anything were to happen to us, I don't like the idea of leaving Lexi alone here in Charleston." Tom told her.
"Lourdes will take care of her. Besides, it's not like I'm going to be on the front lines. And considering your reputation, I'd be surprised if you don't somehow find your way back to us." Anne responded with a slight smirk on her lips, hoping to ease the President's mind. Tom nodded, but the worried expression didn't leave his face.
"Everything will be okay, alright?" Anne tried to assure him. When Tom didn't say anything, she gave him a quick kiss, then went back to packing her stuff.
"Okay. I gotta go meet up with Weaver. See you in the garage in a few minutes?" Tom questioned, heading to the door.
"Got to make a stop at the infirmary to get make sure we have enough medical supplies, but I'll be there soon."
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Deni tossed Ben a bag filled with semi-automatics and he placed it in the back of the jeep. They worked together in silence which made Deni start to worry about the other teenager. While he was the quieter one of the Mason brothers, he usually was never this quiet.
"Okay, spill it Benji." Ben's head shot up in surprise. He had been so lost in his thoughts and packing the vehicle he'd almost forgotten that Deni was there.
"Spill what?" Ben asked.
"You know what. You've barely said a word the entire morning. What's wrong?" Deni demanded an answer.
"Hal. Over the last two weeks, it's like he's been avoiding me, and the closer we're getting to this mission, the weirder he's been acting." Ben replied.
"Well, it's a pretty important mission. He's probably just trying to hide how nervous he is." Deni suggested.
"Doesn't explain why he's avoiding me." Ben pointed out.
"No. He's probably doing that because he's embarrassed." That comment made the blonde stop what he was doing to look over at the other teenager in confusion.
"What does he have to be embarrassed about?"
"Ben, he told what happened during those five months. He let you see him at one of his most vulnerable moments. And for a guy like Hal, who hates being vulnerable, and is always trying to make everyone believe he's strong, it's kind of embarrassing to have those moments. Especially in front of a younger sibling." Deni explained, handing Ben another bag to put in the jeep.
"No one can handle everything on their own. And it's okay to need help every now and then. That's what friends and family is for." Ben argued, putting the bag in the back of the jeep with the others.
"Easy to say, hard to believe and do." Deni countered. Ben opened his mouth to continue arguing, but closed it when he couldn't think of anything to say. What Deni said did actually make sense.
Honestly, Ben couldn't remember seeing Hal cry, or break down before he told Ben what Karen all did to him, except of course when he had lost control and killed all those skitters. All he could remember was Hal either teasing him, or taking care of him. Whether that meant watching him and Matt while their parents were gone, beating up school bullies, or teaching him how to use a gun. Hal had always tried to be there for him. Never once did Ben really wonder who was there for Hal. And for Hal to actually accept that he needed help, or just someone to talk to, was a bigger deal than Ben realized.
"I take it from the look on your face that you realized that I'm right, as I always am?" Deni teased slightly. Ben smiled and shook his head.
"I still think there's something else going on though." Ben told her.
"Well, if you're that worried about him, why don't you try entering his mind and find out?" Deni suggested, handing Ben another bag.
"Because he would notice instantly, and I've already tried that." Ben confessed. Deni looked up at him in surprise. She didn't think that Ben was that seriously worried about his brother.
"And?" Deni pushed.
"And nothing. He was blocking me. He's been getting really good keeping everyone out of his mind. I thought it was because he knew that if he couldn't control it, Dad and Weaver wouldn't let him go on anymore missions, but, now I wonder if he was also working on it so that I couldn't get into his head, which makes me even more worried about him."
"Well, I got nothing. We'll keep an eye on him, and it won't take long for Kadar to figure out how to destroy the power source. It'll be fine, Hal's not an idiot Ben. He's not going to pull something on an attack this important. He knows how much we need to pull this mission off." Deni told him.
"That's the point. What if he goes too far?" Deni opened her mouth to respond, when another voice joined the conversation.
"You think something bad is going to happen to Hal?" Ben and Deni turned around to find Lexi staring at them, fear and worry evident on her face.
"Lexi, what are you doing here?" Ben asked, coming over to his little sister.
"I came to say goodbye, but I heard you two talking about Hal. Is something wrong with him?" Lexi asked. Ben got down on his knee so they were roughly the same height.
"No, nothing's wrong with Hal. I'm just being silly. Don't worry about it, okay?" Ben told her.
"Are you sure?" Lexi wondered, disbelief in her voice.
"Yeah, I'm sure. You be good while we're gone. Okay?" Ben said with a smile. When the little girl nodded, Ben reached over and gave her a hug which she immediately returned. Ben pulled away after a few minutes, but not giving his little sister a small kiss on top of her head. Lexi smiled at him and went off to find the rest of her family to say goodbye.
"You really think you're being silly?" Deni wondered as Lexi disappeared in the crowd that was forming.
"No, but she doesn't need to worry over something like this, and there isn't anything I can do about Hal right now." Ben answered, turning back to face his best friend.
"So what are you going to do?" Deni asked.
"I'm going to watch my brother like a hawk, and stop him from whatever stupid thing he's planning on doing."
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"Hey buddy, what's up?" Hal asked as Matt came over to him and Maggie.
"Dad says I'm riding with you two." Matt revealed.
"Sweet, you can help us pack our truck then." Maggie told him. Matt let out a small groan, but let Maggie usher him towards the vehicle. Hal was about to join them when he heard a small child's voice in his head.
Hal?
Hal turned around and saw Lexi, coming over towards him. He waited until she was standing right in front of him before reaching down and ruffled her hair a little.
"What's up sweetie?" Hal wondered.
"Is something bad going to happen?" Lexi asked bluntly, the way only a child could. Hal was taken back at the question, but quickly gave her a reassuring smile and bent down to her level.
"Of course not, what gave you an idea like that?"
"Ben. I heard him tell Deni he thinks you're hiding something, that he thinks something bad is going to happen." Lexi informed him. Hal internally groaned. Apparently, Ben had realized he was hiding something. He just hoped he hadn't figured out it was. Keeping it from Kadar was going to be hard enough since his Dad had somehow managed to get the doctor to agree to come on the mission, he was hoping he wouldn't have to worry about Ben too.
"Well, Ben's just being silly. Nothing bad is going to happen, not for us anyways. The Espheni on the other hand, they're going to get their butts kicked." Hal replied, giving his little sister a smirk. Lexi slowly smiled back.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Everything's going to be okay." Hal pulled the little girl into his arms and whispered, "Love you Lexi."
"I love you too." Lexi responded. After another few moments, Hal pulled away and Lexi moved to go see Matt, who she hadn't had a chance to say goodbye to yet. Maggie came over to Hal once Lexi was gone.
"What was that about?" Maggie questioned, having seen the interaction between the two siblings.
"She just came to say goodbye. She's also a little worried. I think she's realizing that this is an important attack we're launching, especially since Anne is coming with us too." Hal responded, purposely leaving out the exact details.
"Not surprising. She's very observant for someone her age. And it's not like anyone's been trying to hide how dangerous this mission's going to be." Maggie agreed. Hal wrapped his arm around Maggie's shoulders.
"Are you still sure you're up for this?" Hal couldn't help but ask again.
"I told you I'm fine. Why won't you listen to me?" Maggie asked, turning her head to face him.
"Like you said, this is a dangerous attack. I don't want you to risk it if you're not up for it." Hal explained.
"Trust me, I'm up for this." Maggie told him. Before he could respond, Maggie pressed her lips against his in a kiss. Hal moved his from her shoulder to her hair, cupping the back of her head as he returned the kiss.
"Please tell me you two aren't going to be doing that the entire time we're on the road." The couple broke apart at the sound of Matt's voice. They turned their heads to see the youngest Mason son standing by the truck with a disgusted yet slightly amused expression on his face.
"Of course we aren't. We're the ones driving. We'd crash if we did." Hal pointed out.
"Unless of course you want to drive so Hal and I don't have too." Maggie suggested.
"Could I really?" Matt asked, excited at the idea of driving a vehicle.
"Forget it buddy. Come on, get in." Hal told him, moving to usher his youngest brother into the truck.
As Maggie got in beside Matt, Hal closed the door and was about to head to the driver's side when he saw Lexi standing beside Lourdes, who was saying goodbye to Anne. Lexi seemed to be ignoring the two doctors, instead staring at him with concern.
Hal gave her another smile, and waved goodbye, which she returned. It was then that her mother got her attention, and Hal continued to the door on the other side of the truck. He got behind the wheel, and looked over Matt's head at Maggie and winked at her which made her let out a small chuckle. Suddenly, there was a loud honk from another vehicle, and the line of jeeps of trucks started moving.
"Here we go." Hal commented, and put the truck in drive and followed the convoy out of the garage towards their destination.