SHOUT OUTS: LEXI123321: Thank you so much for the reviews and I hope you like the chapter. OBSESSEDWITHTHATMASSETTASS: Thank you for everything and I hope you can update soon. Disclaimer: I so wish I owned this show but I don't. TOM'S POV ~I saw Red Eye, my skitter that I bashed in the eye. He kept walking towards me. He came up to my bed and began to attack me.~ I woke up screaming. MY POV I woke up to Dad screaming in our tent. I looked over to his bed and saw him sitting up with sweat down his face. The boys were woken up as well but I told them to go back to sleep, that I would handle this. The boys went to sleep and I walked over to my father's bed. I sat down gently next to my father and put my hand on his shoulder. He flinched at my touch. I felt my mother in me and I pulled my father towards me and wrapped my arms around him. He stood stiff at my touch but then wrapped his arms around me and began to cry. "I'm sorry. You should be crying on my shoulder right now." Dad said. "Shoo, Daddy. It is alright. We are here together now." I calmed him. "It's just, our roles are reversed at this point." He said. He pulled out of the hug and looked at me. "I know this is hard for you. I know you are angry with me." He continued. "I am, but I also have mother in me and my caring and nursing personality beats my anger. I am starting to understand what you did, but I am still hurt." "That is true. You are the exact picture of your mother which is why I don't like you getting hurt or angry. When you get angry you really bring your mother out and that is when it is scary. I know I hurt you and I am immensely sorry about it, my sweetheart. I never meant to hurt you. Can you ever forgive me?" He told me with water in his eyes. "Only if you can forgive me, Daddy." I told him with water in my eyes as well. "Why do I need to forgive you?" "After you left, I became more violent and less like myself. I even snapped at Hal and Ben sometimes, but never Matt. Matt and I talked everyday and even cried. I thought to myself that I had lost the father I knew and that you wanted to be with them. I am so sorry, Daddy. Can you forgive me?" "Of course, sweetheart. You will never lose me and I will make sure I don't lose you either. Now, let's get some sleep. You can sleep with me." I climbed into the bed and put my body against my father's and put my head under his chin. "Dad." "Yes, Lizzy." "I forgive you too." He kissed me on the head and hummed, off key, a song that Mom used to sing to me to help me sleep. I fell into a peaceful sleep and felt my father's even breathing next to me. *** The next morning Dad and I woke up to see my brothers awake and dressed. "Why are you guys up so early?" I asked them. "Anne came by and asked to see you and Dad when you woke up." Hal spoke. "Alright, wait for us to get dressed." I told them. I went to the area of the tent where the boys put up a blanket where I could change. I got dressed into some black skinny jeans and a purple top with a leather jacket. I put on my belt that had a holster for my gun and then my black combat boots. I came out from behind the blanket and Dad was dressed. He looked at me with concern and I remembered hearing him talk with my brothers. ~a few minutes earlier~ 3rd POV "Has Elizabeth been ok lately? She told me she had changed after you guys left the ship." Tom asked. Hal answered first. "She had been more violent towards the skitters, even to me and Ben. Especially when you first left us." Ben added,"She got really low and went into a depression. She had nightmares every night of horrible, horrible things. She would wake up screaming, "DON'T LEAVE ME!" It was extremely hard to see her go through that." Matt said,"She was getting better and then we went to go get you. Her nightmares came true that day and it brought her back. She had nightmares again but she was more angry than scared. She felt betrayed and she put that anger on everybody, except me and ." "Wait a minute, who is ?" Tom asked. "Mrs. Val is Elizabeth's counselor. Liz got so upset over what you did that she couldn't take it anymore. She began having breakdowns and she hurt herself. I found out one day and immediately took her to Weaver. He brought in and from then on Liz went to her everyday and just talked. They would work on how to make her anger go away or to make her feel better." Hal told his father. "I never meant to hurt any of you." Tom told his sons. Ben replied,"We know Dad. We are just glad you are back because if you didn't, I don't know if Elizabeth would've made it. "Why do you say that?" Tom asked hesitantly. Hal spoke out,"She wouldn't eat, drink, or sleep that much. It took a whole lot of begging and pleading for her to just eat a slice of bread. One day she said,"I don't know why you make me eat this bread, it just tastes like ashes in my mouth. No flavor at all in it." I kept feeding her but she lost a lot of weight. If you saw her change clothes, she would be really skinny. It was awful sometimes, once I had to help her with her getting dressed and you could see her ribs. She hasn't gained all of her weight back and she weighs 99 lbs." "How do you know how much she weighs? Tom asked. "Well when she started to lose weight and got really skinny, Weaver noticed and went to an abandoned mall and found some batteries and a weight scale. We weighed her and she was 85 lbs. That was right before we went to go get you. She has been trying to bring it up ever since. We weigh her every two days to see if there is any improvement." Hal said. Elizabeth made some movement indicating she was about to come out and the boys quieted down. ~present time~ Liz's POV "Are you guys alright? You look like you are worried?" I asked. "No, we are fine." Dad replied. "You guys do know I have super hearing and it is just a blanket separating us." I smiled. "Lizzy, sweetie, lift up your shirt." Dad said softly. I pulled up the purple top, ashamed when I heard my father take in a gasp of air. I put it back down. "I am so sorry. I have been trying to gain it all back but it is a slow process. It took two months just to get where I am now and that isn't even any good." I said ashamed in myself. I began crying and I heard someone run up to me. It was Hal. I had hoped it was Dad. "It is alright. We don't blame you at all. We know that it was harder for you than the rest of us. We are glad you are close to a hundred pounds." Hal whispered in my ear so Dad didn't hear Hal's anger for what he did to us when he left. Hal still felt hurt too. "Thanks, it feels so good to hear you say that." I said out loud with a smile on my face. "Come on, Anne will be getting impatient." I continued. Dad and I walked out of the tent and headed to the Med Bus. I knocked on the door and sweet Lourdes opened it. "Lizzy, Tom. How are we today?" She asked sweetly. I answered,"We are great and how are you Lourdes? Actually Anne asked to see us." "I am doing fine and Anne just wants to see Tom. I wanted to see you, to see if we have had any improvement." She told me. "Alright, let's get this over with." I followed Lourdes to the end of the bus and saw her close the curtain where Dad and Anne waited. She brought out the dreaded weight scale. She placed it down and asked me to undress and get on. I stood on the scale and waited for the beep. The beep came in ten seconds after I stood on and Lourdes told me to get off and look. I did as I was told and the scale said 98 lbs. "How is that possible? I have been eating as much as I can." I exclaimed. "Well you do exercise so it does burn the fat you are consuming to try and get back to your original weight." Lourdes calmly told me. She then wanted to check my spikes to see if they may have gotten better. "Lift up your shirt and let me check your spikes." I pulled up my shirt and felt ashamed in my body. Lourdes got her sanitary knife and poked my skin around my spikes. She told me to put my shirt back on and once I was done she said I could leave. I went through the red curtain that separated patients. I turned back around. "Lourdes, it is getting better right." I asked concerned about myself and Ben. She flashed a pearly white smile at me and said, "Of course it is, Elizabeth. You have nothing to worry about." I smiled at her and left the Med Bus. I heard conversation behind the door and put my ear on it to hear more. Lourdes's POV I watched Liz leave and then went to talk to Anne about her. I saw Anne and Tom talking and I hated interrupting them. "Anne, we have a problem with Elizabeth." I said. Tom sat up and looked me in the eyes with concern. "What do you mean by 'a problem'? "Well, the brown, crusty skin around her spikes is spreading and her spikes have gotten tougher instead of falling off." I told him sympathetically. "What does that mean?" Tom asked me. "It means that Elizabeth's condition is getting worse. The skitter skin is spreading which could mean she may turn." Anne interjected. "Hold on, we don't know if that will happen. Now I am going to catch up with my daughter if she hasn't already run off from hearing you." Tom said to us. I cursed myself under my breath for not thinking that she would listen outside the door when she left. I heard a gasp from outside the door and saw Tom run out. He stood on the step watching as his only daughter ran away with her hands on her face. He called out her name but she wouldn't listen. She just kept running and she ran into the woods screaming Ben's name. I walked out of the bus and saw Ben come out of his tent and run after her. Tom's POV I ran out of the bus and called out for her to stop but she wouldn't listen, not that I blame her. 'She ran into the woods and cried out for Ben, instead of me.'I thought with a sadness. I went out of the bus and tried running after them but failed as they could run much faster than I could. My daughter wouldn't want to talk to me anyways because she knows that I fear that she will turn. I walked out of the bus after saying a quick and almost inaudible goodbye to Anne and Lourdes. I walked in the direction of Weaver's tent. I opened up the tent and requested to come in. "What can I help you with, Tom?" He asked me. "Elizabeth and Ben ran out into the woods." "Why?" "Elizabeth was listening to Anne, Lourdes, and I talking about how her crusty skin from the harness was spreading instead of falling off. Anne said something about that meaning she could go back to being under their control. Elizabeth heard and ran away from outside the med bus and called out for Ben. Ben came and she took him by the hand and ran into the woods while crying saying,"we need to leave for a little while. Just you and me, Benny". I replied to his question. "Tom, you just need to let her calm down. She will come back. On other matters, Ben found a weak spot in the skitter line while in an attack but we lost 100 people. Civilians are included in that count and Rick was killed in that attack as well. The aliens have surrounded the resistance again. Tom, is there anything you wish to add on this subject." "I can't even take care of my own children, let alone help with plans to protect the camp. I don't trust my judgement and neither should you." I told him and left his tent to check on Matt and Hal. I walked the short distance to our tent and walked in hearing my oldest and youngest son talking to each other in hushed voices. They noticed my entrance and became silent. "What was that about?" I asked. "We were just talking about your return and didn't want Pope coming by and eavesdropping on our conversation. He doesn't really trust you since you have come back." Hal told me. "Pope only trusts the people in his beserkers group." I said sourly, I knew my sons were hiding something from me. "Did you see where Ben went off to?" I continued. "We all heard Elizabeth crying out for Ben and he ran out of the tent when he heard. I saw her grab a hold of his hand and run away into the woods. I caught her saying that we needed to leave for a little while." Hal told me. I sat on the bed nearest to me and put my head in my hands. I laid down on the bed and rested my eyes, hoping that when I woke up my daughter would be here. An hour later I woke up and didn't see my daughter anywhere. Ben's POV My little sister was a crying mess as she dragged me through the woods. I tried to ask what was wrong, but she just kept saying that we needed to leave for a little while. We reached a log that had the ability to be sat on and I asked her to sit down with me and calm down some. She agreed and sat next to me laying her head on my shoulder. I wrapped her in a hug and she held me tight as if I would leave her. "Do you want to tell me what is going on?" I asked her. "I heard Anne, Dad, and Lourdes talking about you and me. They were talking about our spikes." She replied after taking a few breaths. I took in a sharp intake of breath as I knew the topic of us turning into the skitters always upset my sister. "What did they say?" I asked. "Well I heard Lourdes say that the crusty skin around our spikes was spreading out and that it was harder than it was last time. Ben, what if it gets worse? What if we turn? What if we can't control ourselves?"She replied to my question. "Listen, I understand how you are feeling. I feel like a freak as well as I know you do. I- "How did you know I felt like a freak? I haven't voiced that to anybody, not even Matt." She interrupted me. "Liz, you are my little sister. I think I know how you feel by now, after all that has happened to us. Besides, how could you not? I mean everybody stares at us and they call us skitterheads. I know you try to ignore it, but I can see how much of it is bothering you. When you had your depression it wasn't just because Dad had left, was it?" I told her in response to her question. She spoke hesitantly, "I was upset over that as well, but everybody's disgusted stares at you and me as if they don't want us to be here. They say they want their children with them but their children have the spikes also. Will they be so cruel to their own children as they are to us? We are the 2nd Mass, we should act as a family and take care of each other." I was taken aback by my sister's change of tone. By the way she was talking I can tell that she thinks the group is hypocritical. She believes that if they are being afraid of young children that have been harnessed, then they won't be able to protect each other. "Well, why don't you tell the group that? Why don't you speak your opinion on what the people are doing?" I spoke out my thoughts. She looked at me wide-eyed as if I had gone crazy. "Ben, how many people do you think will fess up to what they have done to us? How many people will change just because of a talk I give them?" She questioned me. "Look, I don't know how much change will come of it, but people will realize that we are children that are terrified of what will happen to us and their lack of comfort doesn't help anything." I told her. She nodded with understanding. "Thanks Benny. I will give them my speech, as you call it, and tell them how we feel about this, but after supper. Jamil and Dad want us to do something for them." She told me. I stood up from the ancient tree and held my hand out for her. She took it and I pulled her petite form up. We continued to hold hands, in comfort towards each other, all the way back to the camp. My POV I was still upset over what I heard Lourdes say to Anne. As we made our way out of the woods Ben squeezed my hand reassuring me. We walked across the camp towards Weaver's tent. We came up to the drab colored tent and heard voices on the other side. It sounded like my father and Weaver talking about a damaged bridge that we were going to cross, but didn't know how to get everybody over without the Overlords catching us. I pulled back the tent opening and walked inside, still holding my brother's hand for comfort and to be able to stay in my father's presence. He squeezed my hand and I waited for Weaver to acknowledge me. "Elizabeth, how may I help you." Weaver asked me. I replied, trying to not look in my father's direction, "Jamil said you wanted to see me and Ben." "Yes, Dai shot at one of their ships and the shrapnel took down the bridge that we were going to cross. We need somebody to swim over to the other side and scout." Ben spoke up, "I'll go." I stared at him wide-eyed as he continued. "I have more endurance and will be able to do it." I felt a surge of protection come over me and I spoke out, "I am going too. I won't let you go alone and get hurt." I saw in my peripheral vision my father become sad at what I was doing. He knew I was purposely staying away from him because of our fears about me. Weaver saw what I was doing as well and he apparently approved of what I was doing because he said I could go along. "Elizabeth, come here." My father asked me in a choked voice. "Coming." I replied. "I know what you are doing and I don't blame you. I just want you to be safe and I want you to come back to me. I want our family to be whole again." He whispered to me while he hugged me. Ben and I walked out of the tent and Dad followed us. Ben and I continued into the clearing when I saw Dad turn a corner and start talking to Hal. I motioned Ben to follow me and we crept to the corner to where Hal was talking to Dad. 3rd POV Tom walked to his oldest son and they began a conversation about mission the middle children were going on tonight. Tom asked, "Hal, has Ben and Elizabeth been acting strange lately?" Hal told his father, "Ben and Elizabeth are able to run for miles without even breaking a sweat. They can hear a twig snap from a mile away and when they come into contact with skitters their harnesses glow blue." "Oh, that is strange. So what you are telling me is that their abilities have gotten more powerful." Tom replied. "Yes they have. Dad, do you remember your experience in the ship?" Hal said. "I don't remember much and I don't trust my opinion. I want you to watch out for me and take care of your brothers and sister if anything happens." All Hal felt was confusion and the question was on the tip of his tongue. "Dad, are you alright?" "Get away from me! Stay away!" "Dad, it's me, Hal." Tom collapses to the ground and Hal grabs his father and carries him to the med bus. "Anne, he needs your help really bad." Hal yelled out. "Hal, what happened?" Lourdes asked while Anne and Hal put Tom on a table. "Well, we were just talking a few minutes ago and he started to freak out and then he just collapsed." Anne began to check Tom over when she checked his eyes. "Hey, Hal, come check this out. There is something in his eye." As Hal and Anne looked at his eye, they saw a small, red, worm-like creature swimming around in the eye fluid. Anne got her tweezers and slowly put the tweezers in Tom's eye. She grabbed the creature and pulled it out. The red creature snapped into metal ball and dropped onto the table. Hal picked it up and placed in a transparent, specimen jar. A/N: Once again, I am so so so sorry that this is sooo late. I have been having horrible writer's block but I am back