Disclaimer – Still do not own anything. Just as I promised, here's chapter 11. There is not a cliffhanger in this chapter nor will there be one in the next chapter. YAY! Also note that the next few memory scenes have been inspired/based on the movie/book Heaven is for Real. Please enjoy and please review and tell me your thoughts.

Chapter 11

Flying High, Falling Low

Tom stood in the doorway of the room, looking inside at Hal, who was lying in the bed. The only noise was the beeping on the monitor, letting him know that Hal's heart was still beating.

When he heard that Hal had been brought to the infirmary, he had run over with Matt, who was with him. They had gotten there just as Ben and Pope were lowering him on a table, blood running from his nose and covered almost half of his face. Ben had found him, and called for help. Pope and Sara were coming to get more ammo for their guns and Pope helped Ben get Hal to Anne while Sara went to tell Anne, then went to get Tom.

Anne started running some tests, which was when Maggie came running in. Together, they all sat down and waited for Anne to finish the tests. After a little while, they moved Hal onto a gurney which would be more comfortable than a metal table. It was then that Anne told them Hal had an intracranial hemorrhage.

Tom felt his heart jump in his throat. Maggie stared into space, as though she had forgotten how to think, as did Ben. Then Matt asked Anne what an intracranial hemorrhage was, and Anne had to tell him because nobody else could force the words out. It was an internal bleed in his skull. The topic then turned to how it happened, and that's when the truth came out.

Tom knew that there was something bugging Anne the last few days, he just didn't realize it had to do with Hal. He didn't put the pieces together. As Tom watched his son sleep, disbelief and fear ran through his body. He didn't want to believe that his oldest son was dying.

"And you're saying there's nothing we can do?" Ben asked Anne, his hands gripping each other tightly in front of him on his lap. As Anne explained what was going on, Ben sat down out of fear that his legs would buckle beneath him. Maggie and Matt did the same, but Tom couldn't take his eyes off Hal, feeling as though he'd disappear if Tom wasn't keeping an eye on him.

"No, but like I said, Cochise can. He's working on changing their machine then we can use it on Hal." Anne explained.

"But there's no guarantee it will work." Tom repeated Anne's earlier warning. Anne looked over at her husband and said, "No, there's not."

Maggie and Matt sat beside each other, Maggie's eyes full of unshed tears that she was trying her hardest not to show, while Matt sat in silence. He couldn't comprehend even the idea that there could be a world without his big brother. He kept waiting for Hal to walk out of the room they put him in and say 'surprise' but he knew that it wouldn't happen. His brother was dying.

"Why didn't you guys say anything?" Maggie questioned Anne, after she made sure that her voice wouldn't break or her tears wouldn't fall.

"Hal begged me not too. He didn't want you guys to get distracted from heading to Washington and winning this war. He didn't think you needed to know, as you couldn't do anything about it." Anne explained.

"He'll be okay for now though right?" Ben's voice, once again joining the conversation.

"While there may have been a lot of blood, there wasn't enough internal bleeding to cause anything actual damage, thankfully. That bleeding had stopped pretty much by the time you had brought him in, so he doesn't need a surgery." Anne reassured them.

"This drug," Everyone looked up when Tom finally spoke, "you said it causes memories to resurface, and are made to feel as real as possible, and the person actually feels everything they felt in the memory. Did Hal ever say anything about what he dreamt?"

"No, he didn't. I think that might have had a part to play in his decision not to tell you. I don't think he wants to talk about it." Anne replied. Tom looked back at his son, and walked into the room, sitting down on the chair that one of the nurses had placed beside the bed. Tom grabbed his son's hand and waited for Hal to wake up.

FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS

9-year-old Hal woke up feeling terrible. He was lying on his bed, his entire body felt soaked with sweat. His stomach lurched and Hal ran out of his room to the bathroom, but Ben was already there, puking in the bathtub while their Mom sat on the toilet, phone pressed against her ear. So Hal turned and threw up in the sink.

"Oh great," Rebecca said, putting her hand on Hal's back, "It just looks like Hal caught whatever Ben's got. Yeah, Mom, I'll talk to you later, okay? Bye, love you."

Rebecca hung up the phone and yelled, "Tom! Get in here!"

Tom came into the room after hearing his wife call for him, "Okay, who started it?"

"Ben did." Rebecca answered as Ben finally stopped and stood up from his leaning position, "Can you get him? I got Hal."

Tom nodded and came over to lift the blonde haired boy up into his arms and left the room while Rebecca continued to rub Hal's back. It felt like forever, before his stomach finally started settling.

"You done?" Hal nodded and let his mother lead him back to his room. Rebecca then tucked him into bed and placed a cup of water on his bedside table.

"Get some sleep. You'll feel better in the morning." Rebecca's words echoed in Hal's ears as he drifted off to sleep, just as he started to hear loud and steady beeping.

Hal woke up, realizing that the persistent beeping he heard was not in his dream. Slowly, Hal started to open his eyes.

"Hal?" Hal turned his head and saw Tom, sitting on the chair beside him, and was leaning forward to see if Hal was actually waking up.

"Dad? What happened?" Hal asked as he realized that he was once again, in the infirmary.

"Ben found you passed out in the artillery room, bleeding from your nose." Tom answered bluntly.

"You've been out for almost six hours, Hal." Anne's told the young man as she walked into the room. Hal wanted to ask if she had told his Dad the truth, but he knew the answer from the look on her face.

"I had to Hal. You had internal bleeding in your skull." Anne explained, not at all upset that Tom and others knew the truth.

"Why didn't you tell me Hal?" Tom asked, his voice starting to strain from holding back his emotions.

"I didn't want you to worry. You had so much stuff on your plate already, besides, there isn't anything you can do." Hal tried to defend himself. Tom looked down at his feet for a few minutes before looking back into his son's eyes, showing the unshed tears that were building up.

"You are my son Hal. I'll always worry about you, and it kills me that you thought you had to go through this alone." Tom revealed, the tears falling from his eyes.

"I'm sorry." Hal apologized, tears welling up in his own eyes at the sight of his father's. Tom moved to sit on the bed and pulled Hal up into his arms.

"No, I'm sorry." Tom told him, crying into Hal's shoulder. Hal let himself relax into his father's embrace, but didn't let his tears fall. His Dad might now know the truth, but Hal didn't need to make it worse by showing his own fear.

FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS

Ben, Matt and Maggie sat at the table, looking at their food, but neither of them touching it. They didn't want to leave Hal, but Anne and Tom had made them, promising they would come and get them if he woke up while they were gone.

Weaver had just gotten his plate when he looked up and saw Ben, Matt, and Maggie sitting alone at a table, staring at their food. He knew they were worried about Hal, he was too. It didn't take long for news about the reason for Hal's headaches to spread around the camp. Weaver made his way over to the kids table and sat down beside Matt.

They all looked up, obviously hoping that it was Tom or Anne, about to tell them Hal was awake. When the saw that is was just Weaver, the looked back down at their food.

"You know," Weaver started, "Hal would be very upset if he knew you guys were refusing to eat because of him."

Matt turned his head up to look at Weaver, then back at his plate. Weaver's voice shook Ben out of his reverie, and saw that Matt hadn't taken a bite of the food he'd gotten either. Ben mentally kicked himself. Why didn't he check to make sure Matt at least eating?

"He's right Matt. You should eat something." Ben told him. Matt looked at Ben, then back to his own plate.

"Only if you do." Matt decided. Ben then picked up his fork and started eating. Matt then did the same. Maggie still didn't eat though. She already felt like she was going to lose any food she already had in her stomach. Already just looking at the food made her feel even more nauseous.

Weaver noticed that Maggie still wasn't eating but didn't say anything, because at that moment, Weaver spotted Anne, walking down the front steps of the infirmary towards them. The colonel didn't say anything, and they didn't notice until Anne stood right behind them.

"Hey." Ben, Matt, and Maggie looked up, startled that they hadn't heard her approach.

"Hal's awake." That was all Anne could get out before the three of them jumped up from their seats. Anne however, stood in front of them, her hands up, stopping them from running to the infirmary.

"He's awake, but his head is stilling hurting, and he's pretty tired. Don't push him." They nodded, then ran past her to go see Hal.

"How's he doing?" Weaver asked, getting off his chair, and moving to stand beside the doctor.

"Physically, he's fine, for now. But mentally, and emotionally, he's putting up a brave face, but from what I can tell, he's pretty freaked out. Not to mention overwhelmed." Anne told him.

"I don't blame him. What do we do now though?" Weaver wondered, unsure about how best to help his friend and his son.

"There's not much we can do. We can't fix it until we get the machine from Cochise, but until then, the best we can do is keep him from any sort of stressful situation, and keep him as relaxed as possible."

"How are you going to do that?" Weaver inquired, not believing what Anne wanted was possible.

"Tom and I decided that the only way to effectively make sure he rests, is basically to have him on complete bed rest." Anne told him.

"Have you guys talked to Hal about that?"

"Nope, not yet. Wish us luck." Anne said, and started heading back to the infirmary.

FSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFS

Matt was the first one to enter Hal's room. Tom was sitting on the bed beside Hal. The front end of the gurney had been lifted up at an angle so Hal could still lay down, but was propped up.

Hal and Tom both looked up when they saw Matt enter the room followed by Ben and Maggie. Matt stopped, and looked at Hal.

"Hey buddy." When Matt didn't respond, Hal watched for a minute then lifted his hand and Matt came forward and grabbed it, but didn't look at Hal, instead, he stared at the ground.

"Hey, what's wrong? Tell me." Hal requested.

"I don't want you to go." Matt whispered, his voice breaking as tears started filling up his eyes. Hal stared in shock, no one had told him that Matt knew the truth. He looked up at Maggie and Ben, and saw from the looks on their faces that they also knew.

Hal pulled Matt forward into his arms, and held him tight as Matt broke down. Hal's shoulder became wet with Matt's tears and Matt wrapped his arms around his brother.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." Hal promised. Tom, still sitting on the bed, placed his hand on Matt's back, while Maggie came and sat down the other side of the bed, putting her hand on Hal's shoulder.

Ben came over and stood beside his father, keeping his emotions in check. Hal was already going through enough without knowing just how much he was terrified for his brother.

Hal looked up and straight at Ben. It didn't matter if Ben didn't say anything, or if he didn't move towards him, because Hal could see it. Ben still didn't move though, somehow, unable to force himself to comfort his brother.

AN – See, no cliffhanger. And there will be no cliffhanger next chapter. Chapter 12 will hopefully be up soon. Please review, I would love to know your thoughts.