Disclaimer – Still own nothing. So sorry for the long wait, but it's here now. I know last chapter was a little Ben-centric, as I wanted to explore that part of the relationship, but this chapter will go back to Hal's POV of events, and it will stay that way for the rest of the story. Enjoy chapter 16.

Chapter 16

Holding On and Letting Go

Tom, sitting in the chair by the bed, kept a careful watch on his oldest son, who was lying comfortably on the hospital bed. His eyes were closed, but Tom knew that Hal was still awake. They were waiting for Anne and Cochise to return with the machine and drug that could save Hal's life.

The father was very unsure about this procedure. Hal had only woken up 36 hours ago, but did say that his head was hurting more than it was before he was stabbed. Anne ran some more tests and decided that the sooner Hal had the procedure, the better, even though Hal was still very weak. He could barely move, and still had the nasal canal around his face.

Maggie sat in another chair on the other side of Hal, holding his hand, while Matt sat on the foot of the bed, watching Hal just as vigilantly as Tom. Ben stood in the corner of the room, his eyes flickering from the door to the young man on the bed, as though keeping guard over his brother.

Hal knew that despite the silence, his family, and Maggie were still in the room. He could feel their gazes on him, as well as Maggie's calloused fingers wrapped around his hand. Despite that though, he kept his eyes shut. He was so exhausted, yet his mind wouldn't stop racing. Still, he decided that maybe his Dad, or brothers, or girlfriend wouldn't worry as much if they thought he was actually sleeping.

He didn't open his eyes, until he heard the door swing open, and saw Anne entering the room, followed by Cochise who was carrying a machine, that reminded Hal of a really old cassette player that his dad once had.

"Okay, here it is." Anne announced as Cochise placed the machine on the table beside the bed. Ben stepped away from the corner and over to the end of the bed by Matt, everyone in the room now looking at the device.

"Huh? Thought it would be bigger." Hal commented, trying to lighten the now tense mood.

"Well, luckily it's not, otherwise it would've been a lot harder to move." Anne replied, as she and Cochise started getting it set up.

"Hal, are you sure you want to do this?" Tom asked, worry evident on his face. Hal nodded, "Let's just get this over with."

When Hal had woken up, and heard he had been out for three days, he only remembered having one memory induced dream. When he had fallen asleep again, an hour after first waking up, he dreamed again, of holding the gun right at Matt's head. The next time he woke up, he agreed with Anne that the sooner they fixed the problem with his brain, the better.

"Okay then," Anne started and came forward with a syringe filled with a clear liquid, explaining, "I'm going to inject you with the drug. You will feel very dizzy, and it will make you pass out, but I want you to stay awake until we can attack the electrodes to your head, okay?"

Hal nodded, but Anne kept her gaze on him, looking very unsure.

"The best way to get this to work, is to inject it right into your vein, as close to your brain as possible." Oh, Hal realized, she needed to inject it into his neck. Hal looked around and saw the sudden paleness of everyone else's face, and knew that they also figured out what Anne meant.

"You need me to sit up?" Hal wondered, knowing it would be easier for her to inject it if he was. Anne nodded and Hal started to push himself up. He didn't make it very far, the pain in his abdomen making itself known. He was about to fall back down on the bed, but his Dad and Maggie caught him. They held on to his upper arms and his shoulders, pulling him back up and steadying him.

"You good?" Anne asked, making sure he wouldn't move or fall. Hal nodded, and Anne moved to get closer. Hal closed his eyes, not wanting to watch, when he felt someone take his hand. He opened his eyes, and saw that it was Ben. Hal smiled, trying to thank him and reassure him all at once, when Anne spoke again.

"Not gonna lie, this is really going to hurt." Hal nodded, and closed his eyes again.

Hal had tried not to scream or anything when he felt the needle going into his skin, and while Anne was far more gentle than the harnessed kid was, it still hurt, a lot. He didn't scream, but he did let out a gasp of pain, and squeezed Ben's hand so hard he was scared he was going to break it.

The minute Anne pulled out the needle, Hal felt his world start to spin. He could somewhat feel his Dad and Maggie lower him back down on the bed. He could hear Anne remind him to not fall asleep, but it was as though his eyelids were suddenly being weighed down by slabs of concrete.

Hal's vision was beyond blurry. He could only see shapes and silhouettes that vaguely looked like humans. Something cold was pressed against his temple and it stuck to his skin like glue. That was when his vision went black

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"Hal?" Tom asked, shaking his son's shoulder a little, but his eyes remained closed. He looked up at Anne who was attaching the other electrode on his son's other temple.

"It's okay. Cochise, we're good to go." Anne told the alien. Cochise nodded and flipped one of the switches on the machine. A low humming noise was the only sign that the machine was on, and everyone looked back at Hal, waiting for any sign that it was working.

"While I understand your worry, unfortunately it could take some time before we know if it works." Cochise told the humans. They all nodded, letting him know that they heard him, but they made no attempt to move.

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Hal opened his eyes, and saw that he was back in his old room, in his home back before the invasion. He looked around and saw himself, about 8 or 9 years old, lying on the bed, a bucket beside him. Remembering that the drug he was given, was basically the same one the Espheni had given him, he realized that he was, again, reliving a memory.

Suddenly, the door opened, and in came his Mom, carrying a small, damp looking washcloth. She came over to the side of the bed, and laid the cloth on memory Hal's forehead, grabbing his small hand and holding it tightly. Memory Hal didn't even flinch. Hal looked closer, trying to remember what the memory actually was, but couldn't figure it out.

Little him though looked terrible, skin very flushed, it looked like he was sweating, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

The quiet moment was interrupted, when little Hal opened his eyes, turned on to his side and started puking into the bucket that Rebecca had put on the floor beside the bed.

"Shh, it's okay Hal. Just let it out." His Mom said, her hand had let go of his when he woke up, and started rubbing his back to comfort him.

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"What do you think he's dreaming about?" Matt asked after an hour of watching Hal sleep. Anne and Cochise were watching the machine, while Tom and Maggie continued sitting in their respective chairs, Ben now sitting on the end of the bed by Matt.

"Well, the drug makes the person's subconscious connect what they are feeling or thinking to a memory that had those same thoughts or feelings. I suppose the only one who has the best chance in knowing would be you Tom Mason, as you are his father and was there for his entire life." Cochise explained, looking away from the machine to his human friend.

"Not as much as I should've been." Tom muttered to himself, not taking his eyes of Hal.

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It was morning now, in the memory. Hal's kid self was still lying in the bed, but somehow he looked worse. Hal heard faint voices downstairs, but couldn't hear exactly what they were saying.

The door to the bedroom opened, and in came his Mom and Dad, both wearing their coats and had worried and somewhat fearful expressions on their faces.

"Hal, you Dad's going to pick you up, and we are going to take you to the doctor, okay?" Rebecca said, bending down so his younger self could hear her.

"Hurts." And that was the only word that younger Hal seemed to be able to say.

"Don't worry buddy, the doctor will make it better." Tom assured younger Hal, and with one quic, move, he picked up the kid who then screamed in pain, as did the real Hal when he felt a burning pain in his abdomen.

Then, the scene shifted, and he was no longer in the bedroom. He was out in the street, and the Overlord was plunging his knife right into his chest.

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The only noise in the hospital room, was the beeping of the monitor and the slight humming noise from the machine. It had been a few hours now, and there had been no change. Matt, Ben and Tom had finally fallen asleep. The only other person in the room, was Maggie, who was beginning to feel tired herself, despite her spikes.

Cochise had left to go help Weaver plan the next fight, and to keep the 2nd Mass's defenses up, while Anne went to check on her other patients.

Maggie looked around the room, before pulling her chair closer to the bed, then looked down at the man on it. He was looking a lot better than he was before. He was still slightly pale, but the only thing that really made him look as if there was anything wrong with him, was the two electrodes on his temples, and the nasal canal around his face.

"I don't know what's going on in your head right now, not that I ever really did, but you need to know you're safe now. I'm here, so is your Dad and your brothers, and we need you Hal. Okay? I need you. Please wake up." Maggie whispered, but Hal remained still, the only noise was the beeping of the monitor, telling her that Hal was still alive.

Maggie lowered her head onto Hal's shoulder, her hands wrapped tightly around his arm. She couldn't let go, she needed to feel his pulse, needed to hear, to feel his heart beating.

"I love you Hal. And I'm not going anywhere, not unless you ask me to go." Maggie told him, and she let her eyes close and listened to Hal's heart beating against her ears.

Maggie must've fallen asleep, because she awoke with a start when Hal's heart beat had started speeding up, causing the monitor to speed up as well. She looked around and saw that Tom, Ben and Matt had all woken up too. Then, Hal turned his head to the side.

"Hal?" Tom called out, wondering if Hal was starting to wake up, but Hal didn't respond. Tom grabbed his son's hand, when he found that it was twitching slightly. Then, the humming from the machine grew louder.

"Ben, go get Anne." Tom ordered. Ben didn't need to be told twice.

"Hal, Hal it's okay. Hal, wake up." Tom pleaded, but his son still didn't open his eyes.

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Hal wasn't in the street anymore. He was in a hospital room, in fact, he was lying in the hospital bed. He wasn't watching the memory, he was now in the memory, in the way he remembered it. He was watching through his own eyes again, not as a third person like he had been before.

He looked over to the side, and there was his Dad, fast asleep in the chair beside his bed. He knew what this memory was now. It was what he had been remembering in flashes ever since he had first passed out. He was 9 years old, and had a ruptured appendix.

He lifted his hand to nudge Tom's hand, which was lying limply on the bed. Tom awoke with a start, looked around the room in a mild panic, before his eyes settled on Hal.

"Daddy, is it all okay now?" Hal asked. Tom smiled and nodded, lifting his hand to Hal's head, his fingers running through his hair.

"Yeah kid, everything's okay now." And Hal's vision turned black as the memory faded away.

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Hal opened his eyes very slowly, feeling as though they had been glued shut. What he saw, made him smile. His Dad was sitting on a chair by his bedside, Ben and Matt standing beside him, all of them smiling. A sudden squeeze on his other hand made Hal turn his head to find Maggie sitting down on another chair on his left, Anne standing beside her. They also were smiling.

"Did it work?" Hal asked tiredly, feeling as though he had run a marathon, even though he had done nothing but lie in bed. His Dad's smile grew as he nodded, lifting his hand to Hal's head, running his calloused fingers through his black hair.

"Yeah, it did. Everything's going to be okay now."

AN – And that concludes chapter 16. Next chapter, while doesn't end on a cliffhanger, is pretty emotional, so you guys might want some Kleenex. Chapter 17 will be up as soon as I can get it up. See you all soon!