Wait..what?! Two updates in a row (kinda)?! Yes indeed, friends. Honestly it would have been up sooner had I gotten off my lazy ass to write;D Alyssa was the one yelling at me to write instead of the other way around for a change...;p In my defense, I have rehearsals on the weekends and summer school during the week (and uh, I kinda got addicted to Pretty Little Liars in the process...) so yeah. I hope you enjoy the chapter;3 PS DEAR FALLING SKIES WRITERS, PLEASE KILL DENNY SO I WON'T HAVE TO. LOVE, KAYLEE. -Parker

HEYY GUYS WHATS UP! So i know what your thinking, yeah we are updating pretty fast. i actually wrote this chapter in two days! I was REALLY excited to write this one! Hahaha! So lets discuss Falling Skies shall we! OH MY GOD OH MY GOD! um so much to say. Denny is stupid (DAMN STRAIGHT), baby lexi is creep as f*ck, THE REAL PRESIDENT IS STILL ALIVE, um CRAZY LEE! oh my god i cried my eyes out so hard, and pope. He isn't allowed in Disneyland because he got in a fight with Goofy. wow. typical pope. okay so don't forget to read and review! i want to know your thoughts one everything! -Carter

Chapter 18-L is for Love (and Other Acts of Courage)

Kaylee's POV

It's been nearly a full week. And it's getting a lot worse.

I swear to God I must be losing my mind. I mean, Ben Mason? The dorky annoying kid that found me and my best friend pretty much a year ago? The kid I used to dread seeing around because I never wanted to talk to him? And the worst shooter in the world, as well as fist fighter? Not to mention how much I hated him, especially the fact that the two of us were paired up as patrol partners.

I honestly don't know how that all changed. Maybe when we were at the Sanctuary and Jimmy started talking to him. Maybe seeing Jimmy accept Ben made me get over that annoying kid that would pester me to death. Maybe the three of us becoming friends played a bigger part in my story than I ever would've thought. Nevertheless, things had changed.

A lot.

I found myself feeling uneasy around him, my best friend. Who gets nervous around their best friend? Whenever he made eye contact with me I felt sick. I felt like my stomach was churning every time he hugged me or laughed at something I said. And when he had kissed my cheek, my heart felt weak.

Weak. How fucking stupid does that sound?

A lot of stuff made sense to me now. Why I was always extremely happy to go on patrols. Why I felt warm around Ben. How I always felt safe and relaxed when he was around. Why I could easily fall asleep on his shoulder but couldn't sleep when he wasn't around. Why I couldn't stop thinking after he called me beautiful that one time and when he shrugged carelessly after kissing my cheek. All of those questions I never had answers to seemed to finally become clear. And the reason why I had yet to figure this all out was because I wouldn't admit it to myself, and honestly I really couldn't either.

I liked Ben.

I liked Ben a lot more than I realized.

And I was freaking the fucking fuck out.

I've never had experience with guys whatsoever. Jimmy didn't count because we were never an official thing and I realized that I really didn't like him as much as I thought I did. The only interaction I had with a guy was pounding AJ's face in or punching some other guy for asking me out. That was it.

I, Kaylee Nicole Parker, have never liked a guy in my fifteen years of existence.

Until now.

And this time, it was for real.

Except for the fact that I had no fucking idea what to do about it. There was no way in hell that I was going to talk to him about it. No way in hell. I couldn't ask Alyssa what to do because she would just rub it in my face about how right she was and I really can't handle that right now. I felt awkward even considering asking anyone else, even Anne or Lourdes, so I was stuck with just swallowing the feelings until they went away.

But with my luck, they would only get worse. Being around him all the time wasn't helping so much either.

Trying to make the feelings go away wasn't pleasant, or more like pretending they weren't even there in the first place wasn't. I'm just so, so confused and I honestly have no idea what the hell I should even do about it. Holding something like this in was eating away my sanity, and I'm pretty sure a ton of people have noticed that something's off with me. I just ignored them all anyways. Until I can figure this out, I really don't want to be around people.

So basically, my only solution to this was shutting myself away in the tent, which was now in Richmond, Virginia, and playing my guitar. My fingers and especially my thumbs were getting blisters from playing so much. I honestly can't do anything else. If I set my guitar down for even a minute I start having an anxiety attack or feel like I'm going to throw up. And I can't sleep at all. The usual hour I got was far too much now. Dreaming only made me even sicker to my stomach or made me have an asthma attack.

I refused to leave the tent unless I absolutely had to. I only came out to shower and get some kind of food to eat. And then I go right back into Alyssa and I's tent and continue playing, whether it be going over every single chord one hundred times each or strumming each string a thousand. Then I would keep tuning it even though I knew that it was tuned perfectly fine. At least I was on "leave" from fighting so I wouldn't feel like an asshole to Weaver. He's been trying to get me to take a break for a really long time. Also he's been keeping to himself since Jean decided to leave with Diego the night we came home from the harnessing facility.

The worst part about this is that Ben's noticed, too. He keeps trying to talk to me when I actually do step outside and I can't even meet his eyes because I'm too afraid to look at them. He asks me what's going on or why I don't come out at night anymore or even glance in his direction. But he ends up with the same exact silence I gave him when we first met. I felt like a total bitch just flat out ignoring him but I can't help it. I was doing what I did best: stay in a world of silence while pushing away the people I cared about most. You can't blame me; it's not like I knew any better.

So I was pretty taken aback when Ben ripped open the flap of our tent and stood right in front of me with his arms crossed. "Alright, what the hell is your deal?!"

I continued watching my fingers play chords. "Nothing," my voice came off nonchalant.

Ben tore the guitar out of my hands and held it above his head in one hand with the other one pointing at me. "No. Don't even bother lying to me. Something is bothering the hell out of you and you're not telling me what. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's fucking wrong!"

"Stop trying to pull shit with me!" he shouted so loudly I felt myself flinch a little. I've never heard Ben yell, ever. At least with the tone of voice he used. "You won't talk to me, you won't hang out with me, you won't even fucking look me. You need to tell me what's up or so help me I'll smash this right now and force you to talk." He raised the guitar even farther and I shot to my feet to try and grab it. It wasn't like those classic movies where the bully was holding something out of a kid's reach; I could reach just fine, except Ben had his free hand locked around my shoulder so I couldn't move to get it.

"Put it down, Ben," I said warningly.

"Tell me what's up and I will."

"Put it down," my hand balled up into a fist.

"Talk to me."

I swiftly pulled my black Beretta 92FS handgun and held the barrel against my skull. "You know what? Go right ahead. Smash it. That guitar is the only reason why I haven't lost my mind and if you end my sanity I'll end myself. So I'll say it again," I loaded the Beretta, "Put. It. Down."

Ben instantly put it in my hands and I grabbed it and took three steps back to zip it up in its case. "Why would you go there?"

"I told you," I pulled the zipper, "If I have nothing to keep myself occupied I'll shoot myself."

"Occupied from what?" Ben said, venom stinging his words.

"Don't worry about it," I said harshly back and stepped out of the tent. I really wished that the tent flap was a door so I could slam it.

I jammed my hands in my pockets and walked away. I just walked away. Maybe a walk would give me time to at least try and sort things out or at least keep me from putting a gun to my head again. That was probably something I should avoid doing as much as possible.

So I just walked. I walked and walked and walked. I had no idea where the hell I ended up, but I was in this greenery area with tons of trees and bushes and plants. It wasn't a forest or anything; it was just an opening that was really peaceful and seemed like the best place for me to just sit and think awhile, without any noises or distractions. I let my eyes close and felt the breeze gently hit my face while I let any thoughts wander in my mind. A voice echoed in my head, a voice that I thought I had forgotten.

Useless. Unwanted. Unloved. Alone. Silent. Angry.

Of course it would go straight to that.

No one loves you, no one will EVER love you. I'm sure your own parents didn't love you. Do you get it? No one gives a rat's ass about you!

He was probably right. As a matter of fact I'm positive he was right.

Maybe its better that you're dead. Nobody wants you here, so what is holding you back? What is keeping you from just ending all of this now?

Ben. Alyssa. Hal. Matt. The 2nd Mass. I was needed now, wasn't I? Back then, I had zero reason to stay breathing. I had a purpose now, and maybe I needed to start thinking about that more. The only great thing about those memories was the hope they gave me that AJ was rotting in the deepest level of hell or about to somewhere. Yeah, I know, that's a new level of harsh for me. In my defense, I gave him several chances for us to coexist without murdering each other, but apparently he didn't want that. I take full responsibilities for my actions towards him, but it's a two way street. If he thought that I was as useless and worthless as he said he did, he would just leave me alone and act as if I didn't exist. Maybe things would've been a lot less awful if that had happened.

He was right about a few things thought. I was alone, silent, angry, and unloved. When it came down to it, those were my choices. I chose to be alone. I chose to be silent. I chose to let my anger reach the heights it did.

And I chose to stay unloved.

I didn't want to be anyone's liability. I didn't want to have weaknesses, even in a world without aliens and war and death in the blink of an eye. I didn't want to have distractions from a boy or from friends. Alyssa was all I wanted in my life. She was my family and my friend, and that's all I wanted. I couldn't stand depending on someone or needing to have someone around all of the time. I wanted to be alone, and live my life alone because being alone was all I knew and alone was all I had.

But maybe being alone wasn't what I needed. Maybe I needed someone else in my life that could be there for me in a way that no one else could be. Maybe if I stopped pushing people away I'd realize the reasons that held me back from killing myself. Perhaps if I just stopped separating myself from everything I would understand what it was like to have great people in your life.

Maybe I needed Ben a lot more than I would allow myself to admit.

But the thought of depending on someone else made me sick. I'm not exaggerating in the least, either. I've always been so extremely independent. I loved being home alone, going places one my own, living in a huge city like Boston, and solving my own problems by myself. Independence was basically a synonym of my name. I was happy with no friends. I was happy with being on my own. I was happy with the little I had. The point being I was fine with how my life has been.

And then Ben had to come in and change all of that and how I've been thinking.

The question that came back to my mind every single time was if accepting this was actually worth it. If I lost Ben, my life would be over, if I didn't lose my mind first. I did not want to be over the top attached to Ben. I knew that we were both extremely close, but I didn't want to become obsessed (like that would happen anyways).

And who the hell am I kidding? I didn't even know if Ben liked me in the first place. I was just thinking way, way ahead of the situation then it was at.

By the time I was finished with thinking, the sun had well began sinking in the sky. The horizons were dyed with oranges and pinks that lit my way back to camp. The only thing I liked about Virginia was the insanely clear skies. I could see the clarity in the sunsets and sunrises and the stars shining brighter than they've shone before. Every time I looked up I felt like I was looking at a picture from a postcard or something. It was stunningly breathtaking. It also got me out of my mind and out in the real world.

"Where've you been?" Ben asked, arms crossed and leaning across what I presumed used to be a telephone pole that marked the entrance of camp.

"Out," I said walking past him.

He grabbed my forearm and forced me to look him in the eyes, and as soon as I made contact with them it felt like I had a heart failure. His eyes could be green one day, blue the next, or a mixture of both if they wanted to be. But what struck me most was they were sad and almost lifeless. "Look, I'm sorry for that outburst earlier. You've made me extremely concerned about you and I was just fed up with you ignoring me and brushing me off. I guess I couldn't take it anymore and dealt with it harsher than I meant to."

I sighed and shook my head. "I should be the one apologizing. You had every right to have an outburst like that. I've just been dealing with some stuff that I needed to handle away from everyone else and I didn't realize that I was alienating you in the process."

His eyes brightened. "You know you can always talk to me if you need to right?"

I smiled. "I know."

He smiled back. "Good. Not to be changing the subject at the drop of a hat, but I need you to come with me to downtown Richmond."

I gave him a look. "Why?"

"I want you to meet someone."

Alyssa's POV

I sat on the cliff type thing over looking what used to be a city. It still was pretty, but everything looked a little more dead and depressing. I found this place right after we moved camp from the Bronx to, well, I don't really know where we are. A little closer to Charleston, that's all I know. It was nice sitting up here. I can't stand to be around Kaylee much anymore. She needs to admit to herself that she likes Ben and he likes her and move on. She has been really stand-offish and moody lately. Plus, Ben keeps coming to me asking what's up with her. As if she actually tells me what's up. It's nice up here, a nice place to think.

"I can here you, you know," I smiled and turned to face Hal, who was walking up behind me.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he smiled and sat down next to me.

"You scrape your heels when you walk."

"My mom said the same thing," He grinned, thinking about his mom.

"She was right."

"Somehow, I don't think she was giving me pointers on how to survive an alien invasion." I laughed.

"Maybe not but as your partner-and girlfriend-I'm asking you-"

"To pick up my feet. Yes ma'am."

"How did you know I was here anyway?"

"Because you weren't at your tent and this is where you have been coming almost every morning," he stated.

"What? Are you spying on me or something?" I laughed.

"Not exactly spying, just-"

"Spying," I finished.

"No. Just keeping an eye on my partner- and girlfriend."

"Whatever you say, Hal Mason. Whatever you say. So what's up?"

"Weaver wants us to scout pharmacies and hospitals. Dr. Glass is running low on a lot of things." Great. Hospitals. I really don't like hospitals.

"Cool. We have been here for a week; I'm going still crazy." I stood up and grabbed my gun and was about to leave when a bomb when off somewhere in the distance. Shit. Hal and I both looked over to see fire shooting up from behind some buildings. We started running back to camp. As we got there we found Tom and Weaver. Everyone was freaking out.

"Centuries spotted mech fire about a click out, other than that we don't know what's going on," Weaver filled us in.

"Headed our way?" I asked no one in particular.

"No sign yet, but we don't want to get caught with our pants down. I want all units on advanced defensive perimeter. Tom, get your Berserkers on point and recon the situation."

"Okay, question," Tom said.

"Make it quick"

"Someone's getting hit and they are getting hit hard. If that's another resistance group we should send another unit to assist. We would want them to do the same for us." Yeah but the 2nd Mass is too good. We would never get caught like that. But still, he makes a point.

"Take your Berserkers; I'll go with Hal and his unit. We will flank the area and search it out but we aren't doing anything to jeopardize the location of the 2nd Mass." I was really excited that we get to go on another mission. Maybe now we don't have to go to the hospitals. That would be nice.

"Yes sir, understood," Tom said.

"We move out in ten," Weaver said.

"Okay," Tom nodded. Hal and I went to go get Crazy Lee and Tector, who were the rest of our unit. "Hey! Where's Ben?" Tom asked Hal.

"I thought he was with you?"

Tom looked freaked out. He looked at Matt. "You up to guarding the Med Bus?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay, stay at your post. Keep Dr. Glass safe. If Ben shows up tell him I said to stay put." And he ran off.

"Yes sir. Dad." He ran over to the bus and stood there, trying to look tough, but really looking all adorable. I jogged over to Hal.

"I wonder where Ben is," he looked around worriedly.

"He is probably fine, hanging out somewhere with Kaylee. Sitting around."

We met up with the rest of the Berserkers and Weaver and spilt up and headed over to the where we saw the explosion. It was Hal, Weaver, Lyle, and I then Tom, Crazy Lee, Boon, and Tector who beat us over there. When we got there, they we already looking around. There was a bunch of mech and skitter bodies lying around but no bullet casing or shells or whatever they're called. Obviously, no humans had been involved. Weaver whistled to get Toms attention and let him know we were here. We all walked around, guns ready, surveying the area.

"No skitters. No resistance. It's like a ghost town out here." Weaver and Tom were leading everyone else.

"I agree," Tom said.

"Let's investigate this mess." It was really creepy. I was pretty skeptical about what's going on. I don't like it. "Check for humans. See if there is anything we can salvage."

"These are all mech hits." Tom was looking at one of the mech heads with a giant ass whole in its head.

"There are no shell casings anywhere," I observed.

"No human involved in this all is what it looks like," Dai pointed out.

"So now these bastards are shooting themselves," Weaver stated.

"That's good right?" I asked.

"It'd be different" Tom answered. So they are killing each other. That's good. They are helping us defeat themselves. That's really good. Hal was walking around looking for something-or someone to be specific. I think he thinks Ben's involved. I started looking around. Wherever there is Ben, Kaylee can't be far behind.

"DAD! Over here!" Hal yelled and we all ran over to him. He was pushing a skitter off a person with spikes. It wasn't Ben. It was too tan to be Ben.

"It's Rick." We rushed to get him sitting up. He was unconscious, so we had to carry him back to camp since we didn't bring trucks or bikes. And let me tell you, he is not light. By the time we got him back to camp my arms hurt. We laid him down on Anne's table.

Hal, Crazy Lee, Tector, and I all hopped on our bikes and to go look around for Ben. We checked all back roads, searched the whole camp place we found Rick, everywhere. We were gone for at least an hour before we came back. As we road in we found Tom. "Any sign of Ben?"

"No, we checked everywhere."

"Hal, tell your dad what you told me the other night, about Ben," I said.

"The other night, at the harnessing facility, Ben's spikes where glowing. Like he was in contact with one of the harnesses."

"And you didn't think it would be important to tell me this?!" Tom looked angry.

"I promised him I wouldn't. He was scared people would freak out and stuff. I'm sorry. I should have told you."

"Yeah you should have. We are heading back to the place to look-"

"Dad, Weavers orders were for us to go out and search hospitals and-"

"Okay, well get going. I'll meet you back here in a little bit." We turned our bikes around, Crazy Lee and Tector following us as we road off. "AND KEEP YOUR EYES OUT FOR BEN!" Tom yelled after us.

We drove around for two or three hours before we actually found a pharmacy and it was already picked clean. Almost a year into the invasion, not much isn't picked over. It was dark out, and we hadn't found anything. "Hal, we should head back. We have been out here half the day and haven't found anything."

"No, we still have one more place we were told to look, it's a hospital just a few miles from here. If we're lucky, it could be our new camp." That is exactly what I was trying to avoid. I really don't like hospitals. At all, I spent too much time in there for really bad things and I try to avoid them at all cost. Tector was about to say something but he was interrupted by the sound to mechs.

"Shit," Crazy Lee said. "They are headed our way."

"Get down!" Hal whisper-yelled. The two of us ducked into an old car and lay down, hiding ourselves. I was right on top of Hal. Like directly on top of him. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into him. "Stay calm," he whispered into my ear.

"I'm calm. I'm perfectly calm. Are you calm? Because I'm calm." The mech light flashed over the car but it kept moving. Thank God it couldn't see us. It just kept moving. All we could hear was mech noises. There was at least five or six of them. "You're so damn bony."

"Well you don't exactly have a lot of meat on your bones either." I elbowed him and he flinched. "See, you're pretty bony." Another light flashed over us and we froze. "You know my first car was a civic, like this one. Had 21,200 miles on it. Nobody understood why I wanted it. But I had just started dating this girl, Rita. And there weren't too many places we could go so-"

"It was like your bachelor pad?"

"It gave us the privacy we needed." I laughed. "What?"

"Rita. It sounds like an old lady name."

"Okay, what did you say your middle name was? Jane." We both laughed. He had a point. "She was no old lady. She was a dancer. She would do these dances for school. She wore these, like dance pants. Like-"

"A leotard?" I helped

"No, like jazz pants. The first time I saw her, I was in love."

"In love with jazz pants." We both laughed. He smiled and I could practically feel his lips on my cheek. Another mech light came. My God how many of them are there? "You know, I have never met anyone that talks like you."

"Not even Rita?"

"There were not many words between us."

"I get it. I used to date this guy, Zach. He was a junior and I was a freshman. We both were the starting keepers for varsity soccer. He had this old car, it was his dad's. He wasn't allowed a new one until that one broke down completely. He could never take it anywhere because whenever he would go out with friends they would barely get out of the city limits and it would break down-"

"Kinda defeats the propose of a car, don't you think?"

"Not if you don't plan on driving it. He would pick me up and we would go out somewhere and well like you said, not a lot of words. We never told anyone. But I think our friends caught on since it couldn't go very far, they figured there was no way it could make it into the city and back like we said. Like I said, it was a crappy as fuck car."

He laughed "And like I said, I have never met anyone that talks like you, not even Rita."

"What about Karen?"

His face hardened. "I never got a chance to find out."

"I'm sorry-" He looked really sad.

"No. It's okay. I think we're safe to get out now." We both sat up and he got out. Well way to be a bitch about it. I got out to go talk to him.

"Look, I'm sorry. My problem is I don't know when to stop myself from going too far."

"It's no big deal," he tried to brush it off.

"It has to be. I was a jerk for going there and I'm sorry. I should stick to trashing Rita," he laughed. "We cool?"

"Always," he hugged me and we went to go find Tector and Crazy Lee.

"Guys, ever notice how you never hear crickets in the air anymore? Or traffic, or jets in the air? Or-"

Tector cut her off. "Mr. Omanskie's TV next door, Rangers game blaring away. Bottom of the ninth, bases loaded. And the sweet crack of the bat, CRACK! The crowd goes wild." We all looked at him. "Sorry, I just miss that stuff.f"

"Well maybe they have baseball in Charleston" Crazy Lee added.

"I don't know how much I miss baseball, but I do miss baseball boys. And pants, baseball pants were one of the greatest things ever invented."

Crazy smiled. "Amen to that" Tector and Hal just rolled their eyes. We all hopped on our bikes and left. We still had to go to the damn hospital. I volunteered to stand guard outside.

"Really?" Hal asked. Usually I put up a fight about standing guard, I usually hate it but I really don't want to go it that hospital. I just sat on the steps. I was out there for about ten minutes before Hal came back. "Hey, we found some supplies, Crazy and Tector are packing up some stuff then we are gonna sleep for a bit, you sure you don't want to come in?"

"No. You go sleep. I'll stand guard. Someone has to." I could tell he didn't want me to but he knew he wasn't going to win this argument so he agreed and went inside. I stayed out on the steps, there was a tree of in the distance. It tried counting its leaves. Somewhere between 200 and 300 I fell asleep.

Kaylee's POV

"So can you tell me who exactly this person is?" I asked as we snuck around buildings to dodge the patrolling mechs around Richmond.

"Can't you just trust me on this?" he smirked at me in a mischievous way. He was proud that he knew something I didn't, and he was one step ahead of Kaylee Parker for once.

"I trust you," I said ducking under a beam and following Ben through this endless maze, "I just want to know what I'm getting myself into."

"As long as you stick with me, you'll be safe," Ben stated as he peered around a corner.

"Not all that reassuring," I said teasingly and he punched me playfully and began running again.

"We're almost there," he said as we walked down this alley way type thing and went through a few more doors until we were in this factory of some sort.

Then Ben's spikes lit up and he kept looking around until he found what he was looking for.

"Holy shit," I breathed and my hand grasped my hand gun but didn't pull it out. It was the skitter that Ben and I saw after Jimmy's funeral. The one with the red eye.

"Come here," Ben chuckled at my expression. "He won't hurt you."

I hesitantly walked over to Ben and the skitter and tried to take a deep breath. I've never been this close to one. "This is so weird." The skitter seemed to be laughing at me with his eyes. They were pulled up like the way humans eyes did when we smiled at someone.

Ben grinned. "He's the leader of the rebellion."

I did a cheesy curtsy. "It's an honor to meet you." The skitter turned his head to Ben and I could've sworn his face got a little red. "What did he say?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it."

I laughed at Ben's sudden shyness and raised my hand to the skitter for a high five for making him feel uncomfortable. Only it just stared at me. "It's called a high-five," I explained, "you're supposed to hit my hand back." The skitter cocked its head at me and then slowly raised its hand to mine and gently tapped it. Its skin was rough and cold.

I just high-fived an alien. Weird. "It's so weird that they can understand us, but we can't understand them," I said while looking from Ben to the skitter.

"Do you want to talk to him?" Ben asked raising an eyebrow and smirking.

"Sure."

Ben looked at the skitter and nodded. "So you're the famous Kaylee Parker I've heard so much about," he spoke with a calmer and more mature tone of voice.

Was the skitter actually talking through Ben? "He's talked about me?" I laughed a little.

"Quite a lot. I suppose he sees you in a special light."

I bit my lip slightly to conceal a smile. "So you're the leader of the rebellion."

"Indeed I am," he nodded once.

"How? I mean, you have a harness too, right?"

"Yes, I do, as well as the rest of my kind. However more of us have been able to resist the effects of the chemlock after having them on for this long amount of time. The fight has only just begun, Miss Parker. And I fear the Espheni intend to continue it until every last one of you has been eliminated."

"The Espheni? Are they the ones in the ships?" Weaver had photos of the long, skinny aliens. Back at camp, they were called the Overlords, and more popularly among the fighters, 'fish heads.'

"Yes. They invaded our planet hundreds of years ago and put the chemlocks on us and our children the same way they have done to the human race. I have spent a great deal of time gathering other rebels and children that were previously enslaved. I heard a large amount about Professor Mason's own child having a chemlock and decided that I needed someone like him to join the rebellion," the skitter glanced at Ben.

"You picked a good fit. He's very headstrong and decides his own opinions on things without needing anyone else's."

"I also need fighters in this rebellion, not just previously enslaved children. That's why I asked Ben to bring you here. He tells me you're one of the best fighters in your regiment," the skitter motioned to my guns on me.

I smiled. "I'm alright."

"Th-"

An explosion from outside rattled the building. Ben 'woke up' and yelled over another explosion, "What was that?!"

"I don't know!" I shouted back and started to run out to alley way which had a small crack between buildings to see without being seen. Mechs were here as well as skitters that I assumed were with the rebellion. The skitter with the red eye started crawling out to them too and Ben shouted for him to stay back. Then these mechs started shooting at other mechs and I just got all around confused.

"Mechs are in on the rebellion too?" I shouted over the shooting and explosions.

"News to me!" Ben yelled back and we rounded the corner behind a dumpster trying to see if we could get some shots on the evil mechs to help out. And then I saw a familiar head of curly hair and I raised my eyebrows. "Rick?!"

"He was coming to meet us here!" Ben called and aimed. I handed him two rounds of mech bullets. Going through my backpack I found the "recipe" for the bullets I had before Pope and I made them the way we did, and made a few rounds of them. I aimed and fired, but the mech moved out of the way before the bullet made its way into the alien. Shit.

"We gotta move!" I yelled as a round of fire was aimed our way. We went the opposite way that the skitter had went and tried to back up Rick and the rebels. I got some great shots and somehow the rebels were controlling the mechs to shoot each other. The mechs that weren't under control must've found out and began firing explosives and bullets at the rebel skitters.

I got some great shots in, but I made the dumbest mistake in the book: I forgot to watch all of my angles.

And then all of the sudden I was pushed and fell onto Ben and when I looked up, the skitter with the red eye had gotten blown back and was shot in what may have been his chest. I was up on my feet instantly and blocked the wounded leader while Ben tried to get him out of firing range.

"Shit!" Ben cursed. Rick was wide out in the open with the last rebel standing, and a two mechs left. And it all sort of happened in a blur. The under control mech launched an explosive at a regular mech, right as the regular one shot one at Rick and the rebel. The rebel jumped into Rick's way and took the explosion full on. Rick was knocked unconscious underneath the charred skitter and the mech was taken out. Unfortunately there was that last mech standing and it was now under its own control. I fired at the mech until it collapsed to the floor, and continued firing until I was out of my mech bullets.

I turned and ran to Ben who had made it a mere two feet away with the wounded leader. He was trying to quickly get the skitter concealed without moving him so fast that he would bleed out faster. Speaking from experience, he had about two hours or so, depending on how far the bullet had gone and if it had injured any vitals. He was still moving and speaking to Ben, so that was a sign that he was hanging in strong. But I had no way of knowing how long he could hold on without dying.

I can't believe that a skitter, something of the same species that murdered ninety percent of my world's population, just took a bullet for me. And he probably saved my life too, because if that bullet hit the place it hit the skitter, my healing bullet wounds wouldn't have been able to withstand it.

"We have to get help," Ben stated as we finally got the skitter inside. He stood up on his own, but he was clutching his side tightly.

"How? I don't know my way back to camp and if you leave I won't be able to tell if another wave of mechs are headed our way."

Ben hit his head back on the wall we were leaning against. "If he dies, the rebellion dies too."

"So what do we do?" I asked softly.

"I don't know," he said just as soft.

A long silence passed, with nothing but the sound of the poor skitter wheezing and holding his side painfully. I laid my hand on my own wound, and winced slightly at the painful memory. "I can't believe he took a bullet for me," I whispered quietly, staring at the skitter.

Ben's eyes looked over at mine. "He knows how important you are to me. And the rebels are pretty protective of their allies."

"Just like the rebel that ran in front of Rick to block he explosion from him."

"Just like that," Ben nodded and looked back at the leader. "He says you're as brave as I told him you were."

I smiled. "He's a fearless leader himself."

A quiet hour passed us and the blood coming from the leader started turning into a small puddle. If we didn't do something soon, this skitter wasn't going to make it. I couldn't let that happen, especially since he saved my life without hesitation.

Suddenly, Ben perked up and stood behind the square pillar of cement we were behind. The skitter dragged itself behind some trashcans and Ben dragged me up with him. He pulled out his Heckler and Koch and grasped it tightly. "What's going on?" I whispered as quietly as possible.

"Someone's here," he whispered back. As soon as he said that, the door creaked open and the footsteps of not one but several people sounded.

"BEN?! It's Dad! Are you hurt?!" Tom's voice called out.

"Oh shit," Ben hissed. He took a quick look around the corner to see how many people were with him. "Dad?! Just-just go away!" Ben's breathing got quicker and more panicked.

"Ben, it's me, Rick. I brought them here," Rick motioned to Ben who had somewhat came out from behind the pillar.

Ben's eyes widened and looked at Rick in disbelief. "Why would you do that?"

"Because he needs their help. Otherwise he'll die and everything that he worked for will be lost."

Ben squeezed his eyes shut and then whipped out from the hiding spot. "I'm not gonna let you hurt him!" I looked around from the hiding sport and saw Ben with his gun raised at Weaver, Tom, Boon, Dai, and Lyle.

"Hurt who Ben?" Tom asked.

He looked back and the skitter crawled out from behind the trash cans. As soon as I heard the loading of their guns and Tom's yelling, I ran out from the pillar and put one arm protectively in front of him and the other pointed at my captain and second in command.

"Kaylee?" Weaver asked taken aback.

"NO! IT'S NOT POSSIBLE!" Tom yelled at the same time and came closer to the skitter.

"NO!" Ben shouted back and put his hand out to keep his hand from coming closer.

"Lower your weapon, Professor," Rick said, letting the leader speak through him,

"I know this skitter! He was on the ship with me; he tried to kill me!" Tom shouted. The skitter let out a painful screech and Ben looked back at him to make sure he was still okay.

"I saved you, Professor," Rick's voice became earnest. "I saved you from death. You know this to be true. We must talk. It is urgent you understand. So put down your weapon."

"Dad," Ben breathed, "if we don't help him, he's dead. He's dead."

"I know it is difficult to understand but we are fighting the same enemy. Anger, hate. These I feel too. But until we defeat the Overlords, we cannot hope to live-"

"STOP!" Tom cried. "STOP TALKING!"

"Many lives have been sacrificed, Tom Mason. And many more will-" And then the skitter fell to the floor behind me as did Rick. I dropped to my knees to try and figure out what was happening and Ben joined me instantly.

"Move outta the way, you two," Weaver said sternly.

"Dad!" Ben looked helplessly at his father. Both of us stayed right where we were.

"Dai, get Rick, take him out of here. Time to send this cockroach back to the hell it came from."

"No argument here, Captain," Lyle put in. I had four guns pointed in my direction. One more and I would be reliving an oh-so-pleasant memory again.

"Please! PLEASE!" Ben screamed, trying to get them to listen. Weaver advanced as well as Boon.

"No no no no wait wait!" Tom yelled and lowered his rifle somewhat.

"What?!" Weaver asked impatiently.

"We need him, as a prisoner," Tom told them.

"No way!" Lyle yelled firmly.

"The only good skitter's a dead skitter!" Boon agreed and continued to aim his gun at Ben and me.

"He was there when I was interrogated," Tom explained to Weaver, "They trusted him. He might know something…he might know everything. I think the military in Charleston would be interested to know what we could get out of him."

Weaver looked at Tom and then back at the skitter. "And if it doesn't talk?"

"Then it's of no use to us. We dispatch it to hell just the like you said."

Weaver nodded and then approached us. "Step back." Ben and I looked at each other and then back at Weaver and Tom. Tom looked utterly furious with Ben and Weaver looked annoyed with this situation. But both of us slowly got up and stayed as close to the skitter as we could.

With the help of Dai, Lyle, Boon, Weaver, and Tom, we got the skitter safely into the truck and all of us piled in and sped off to camp, which was very, very close by apparently. Ben and Rick were communicating with the skitter and I just sat next to him holding his hand. There wasn't anything I could do, really, but when I was injured, having Ben hold my hand made me feel a lot better and safer, so that's exactly what I did. I also wanted to make sure that he knew that I was going to protect him the same way he had protected me.

And of course, when we drove up to camp, all of the citizens crowded again, since they wanted to know if they had found another resistance group, but saw a skitter instead. The truck pulled to a stop and Ben, Rick, and I stayed by the bed of the truck and guarded the leader. Anne came running up to us moments later.

Ben put a hand on her forearm. "He needs your help."

"Please, Anne," I added.

Her mouth fell open at us and her eyes stared at us with confusion and shock. "I don't even have enough supplies for us right now but even if I did why would I help him?! Why would either of you?!" she asked exasperated!

"You need to trust me," Ben said calmly.

"I wish I could!"

"WHY won't anyone listen to me?!" Ben shouted angrily.

"Ben!" Tom interrupted. "Ben! Calm down. Anne, we just got to keep him alive long enough to question him."

Anne nodded. "Alright, I'll try."

"Lyle! Boon! You two keep an eye on Rick! Don't let him out of your sight. Come see me when the skitter starts talking."

"Ben, I want to talk to you," Tom grabbed Ben and forced him in the direction of the Mason tent.

I needed to get away from all of these people. So many things had happened in the last two hours that I needed time to slow my mind down. So I wandered around camp for a bit with my hood up and hands in my pockets. By nature I ended up in the new shooting range, which had a few wooden tables that you could set your stuff down and either admire the scenery or practice shooting. There were two trees at the end of the grassy field with targets on them that someone had painted on and on the right side of the field was a knife throwing target practice, which we hadn't set up since we were at the school.

I tossed all of my guns I had on me, which was eight, onto one of the tables and grabbed a handgun. I'm so used to using my actual guns that I was afraid I might start losing my edge with handguns. I grabbed one of my rounds and stuck it in the gun to load it. I cocked it, and without aiming shot at the target of the left tree. Bull's-eye. Maybe I hadn't lost my touch as much as I thought I had. Then I moved to the ten pocket knives I kept in my pockets and began practicing throwing those. I tried to use them as much as possible, but I always had a good enough supply of ammo that I never really had to worry. But I wanted to preserve it for as long as I possibly could.

I was pretty decent at the knife throwing. I was no Alyssa, but if I was ambushed by skitters at this moment with all my guns on the table, I would survive without getting injured in the process. Never the less I kept practicing, sometimes changing my angle or how hard I threw one. Practice makes habits, so I had to practice as if I really was about to get attacked by some aliens so that I would do the same thing I did then as I was doing know. That continued for a really long time; I even practiced up close to get the full vibe and to be able to strike the skitter's mouth and kill it instantly. I hadn't practiced any of my work in a really long time, and it felt great to move the way I was right now. Surprisingly my muscles remembered every micro movement I had programmed into my memory at the young age that I did.

Night had fully rolled in and stars were scattered amongst the dark night sky. It was crazy how far stars are away from us, yet they shine so brightly. But before I could fully take in the beauty of the Virginia sky, footsteps crunched softly into the shooting range.

"I knew you'd be here," Ben chuckled and shook his head.

I smiled. "What happened with your dad?"

He let out a breath he had been holding in and slid his hands into his pockets. "Can we just…forget about everything? The rebellion, Charleston, aliens, the war, everything? At least for a little bit?"

"I'd really like that," I said somberly.

So we forgot. We forgot about everything. We forgot about this insane skitter rebellion, the probability of Charleston being real, that the 2nd Mass was getting smaller, and the fact that we were two teenagers fighting in a war against aliens from another planet. For those moments I spent with him, I felt normal. I was Kaylee Parker, not Kaylee Parker the Weapons Manufacturer and Weapon Enthusiast of the 2nd Mass. I was just a normal teenager spending time with her best friend. And it was absolutely incredible. We talked about silly things that we had somehow never asked each other before despite the amount of time we spent talking to each other and laughed like we had never heard jokes before.

"So-so," Ben forced out between laughing fits we had (we looked like we had drunken all of the caffeine in camp, and there was a lot of that), "what would happen if you were blinded? How would you be able to know what gun you're shooting?" He had asked me this question because I asked him what he would do if he became deaf and couldn't hear with his super-hearing since apparently he said it's really useful now.

"I can tell each one apart by their sound. Each one has a different sound pattern."

"You are such a liar," he scoffed.

"I'm serious!"

"Prove it then!"

"Sorry, I don't carry blindfolds with me around camp," I gave him a 'you're-an-idiot' look. Ben pulled out a dark cloth out of his pocket and smiled cheesily at me. "What the hell is that?"

"In case someone's injured on the field so we can tie off the wound, duh. Now get up, Parker. Time to test your lies." He stood up and walked over to the mark that fighters stood behind to shoot.

I pushed myself off and dusted off my jeans. "I'm not lying." I grabbed the blindfold, but Ben yanked it right back out of my hands. "I think I know how to tie a blindfold on myself, Ben."

He rolled his eyes at my sarcasm and then walked to the back of me. "This way I'll know you're not cheating." Ben put the cloth in front of my eyes and his cold fingers grazed my forehead. I was thankful that my hoodie sleeves were pushed down so he wouldn't see the goose bumps that resulted. I felt the cloth tighten and he tied it in a really tight knot. I heard his footsteps move to the front of me and assumed he was making sure I couldn't see. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Seventeen," I rolled my eyes, even though I knew he couldn't see them.

"Smart ass," he muttered and then started spinning me around.

"Why the fuck are you spinning me? I thought I was just supposed to be telling you which gun was which by the sound."

"Humor me. Tell me what gun it is and try to hit the tree," Ben stated and walked over to the table that still had all of my guns on it. Dumbass. He had spun me around but had my back facing the range, and I knew the table with my guns was right next to the mark. I turned two paces around and walked forward a few steps. I kicked my sneaker around until it made contact with the rock that I had put out earlier to make sure I stayed behind it and not move forward at all. Then Ben put the first gun in my hand.

It was a handgun since it was lighter and I had felt the outline of it with my fingers. Then I loaded it, "aimed," and pulled the trigger. "You seriously gave me the handgun I use everyday first?" It felt like I was just talking to no one, since I wasn't looking in Ben's direction.

"What gun is it?" his voice came from maybe three steps to my right, when I thought he was on my left.

"A Beretta 92FS handgun, black." Ben ripped the gun out of my hand and went over the table to get me a new one. The gun he dropped in my hands was heavier and obviously longer. Maybe it was a carbine.

I felt around for the magazine of the gun and realized it was a carbine. I planted my feet down and aimed in the direction I thought the tree was and pulled the trigger. "Colt M4A1 Carbine."

"You're just getting lucky," Ben told me, sounding annoyed.

"Let's see. I've survived bombings from aliens, the Sanctuary, mechs invading the school, Fitchburg, getting shot five times, blown off a bridge, breaking my right ribs and then re-breaking them again later. I think I've been lucky for quite some time, Ben," I smirked and I could just imagine Ben rolling his eyes at me and shaking his head. He threw the next gun in my hand.

"It's my Calico. I don't even have to shoot it to know which one it is."

"Good," Ben put a new gun down. And we went on like that for awhile. He would give me a new gun, which I would shoot and tell him what it was and get it right every time. Once we had finished my guns, I reached to take the blindfold off.

"Nope," his hand took mine and pushed it down. I subtly tried to get the feeling back into it. "One last one." He paused for a little and then finally handed me a bulky feeling gun. I knew what one it was just by the weight and feel. I had spent months perfecting this one. Months. I had lost the other one I had made of it but I think its part of the 2nd Mass armory now. But I left it there, in case something happened to the original one I had made. "It's your gun," I smiled slightly.

"How'd you know?" his voice asked curiously.

"I spent the longest time making this. I was in Alyssa's basement for two months just working on the prints of the gun."

"Really?" I could hear the grin in his voice.

"I'm surprised it still works."

"Why?" He took it back and slung it onto his back again. "Everything you do is perfect."

I felt myself freeze. Ben Mason had actually caught me off guard, and I had literally no words to say to that. My God, could he see the faint blush I knew was there in the light of the moon? I really, really hoped not. I got that sick feeling in my stomach, which had been here the whole night except it was much more apparent now, and I felt like I was going to have a heart attack.

Just tell him.

"Uh, Ben?" I forced out, barely saving myself from an embarrassing stutter.

"Yeah?" he asked, quietly. I wished I could see what his eyes looked like.

"I um…" Oh my God I can't do it. I cannot do it. I let an aggravated breath out of my lungs. "Never mind. It's nothing important."

"No," his calm voice sounded closer than it did two seconds ago, "tell me."

"It's fine; don't worry about it. It was stupid," I shook my head.

There was a pause, an extremely long pause, coming from Ben's end. I was almost afraid to take off the cloth because I was afraid of seeing an upset Ben or finding he simply left the ranges. But I heard his very, very soft footsteps, and my heart started beating faster the closer they came. I was shaking slightly and basically felt like I was about to pass out.

His footsteps stopped straight in front of me. He was so close that I could feel the heat radiating off of him. I couldn't move and was at a complete loss for words, and he was simply standing there. It was like someone had pressed pause and there was no movement, no sounds, nothing. Just complete silence from both of us.

I felt Ben's fingers tucking the hair on my right side behind my ear. My breath caught in my throat and my heart started beating even faster than it was already going. His hand lingered by my ear for several moments and then it slid down my jaw bone just below my cheekbone. Part of me wanted to push him away and run for my life, but that part was disappearing due to the other part of me refusing to move. His thumb skimmed my cheek lightly, and with his curled index finger on his other hand, he tilted my chin up delicately, as if I was fragile.

My eyes widened and I desperately wanted to be able to see his eyes. Reading people's eyes was like my sixth sense, and not being able to use it was killing me. Could he hear my heart racing right now? Did he realize how weak I was feeling? Did he understand that this kind of a joke wasn't going to be funny? I don't think I can take this.

When Ben took another step towards me, my shoulders touching his collarbone, it hit me like the fire that was running through my veins the moment he touched my cheek. There wasn't going to be anyone else. There never would be. Ben was it. I was never going to find anyone more perfect than him and I was never going to find a better person to balance me out on this entire planet. He made me feel safe and he made me feel…like I meant something. Whenever I had a nightmare he could calm me right down and I would fall asleep on him without waking up once. Whenever I felt like there was no reason for me to be here anymore, he would give me one of his hugs and he gave me a million. He made me step out of my comfort zone and made me talk about things I didn't want to talk about. He cared enough to climb over the walls I kept putting in front of him. Now I understood why I had finally lowered the last one.

Benjamin Andrew Mason was my soul mate.

Tough it out, I silently commanded myself, trying not to freak out and book it. I was terrified right now, absolutely terrified, and all I wanted to do was run and never look back.

But everything I realized I felt about Ben held me down on my spot and wouldn't allow me to move.

Ben lightly pressed his forehead to mine and his face was so close to mine I could see how he looked right now in my head. His hand on my cheek and his finger under my chin were burning my skin from how warm it was making me feel, and my heart felt like it was beating three million miles a second. I felt lightheaded, and if this continued for a longer time I was going to pass out. I didn't feel strong enough to stand on my own two feet anymore, literally and figuratively. What was he doing to me?

But then, I felt him tilt his head, and in the gentlest, softest way possible, Ben Mason kissed me.

And let me tell you, I forgot how to breathe for about ten seconds.

As soon as he felt me kiss back, I felt his lips curve up and his hands move to the small of my back. He pulled me into his tight embrace and I was glad he did because I thought I was going to fall to the floor. I put my arm around his neck and pulled him as close to me as I could and gently pressed my hand to his cheek. He tilted his head again and made every nerve in my body short out. My heart was racing, my stomach was turning, and my head was spinning, and I never wanted this feeling to go away. I felt complete, like everything in the world was finally set right.

If there was an earthquake right now, or hell another bombing, I would've never known. The way I was feeling was stronger than both of those things combined. It's everything you read about in books: the fireworks, the butterflies, the bombs, the warm fuzzy feeling. But with the person you love, it was a million times stronger.

Yeah. Love. The second his lips met mine, I realized that this couldn't be some kind of crush. There's no way in hell it could be. It felt like someone had knocked the wind out of me and at the same time removed any pain or sorrow from my heart and replaced it with blissful elation and love, two things I've never felt up until now, kissing Ben. I loved the way he had a somewhat crooked smile despite his straight teeth. I loved the way he grinned whenever he was happy. I loved the way his smile reached all the ways to his eyes. I loved his laugh and his kind heart. I loved how great of a listener he was and how great of an advice giver he was. I loved how much he could make me laugh without even trying and his gentle spirit. I loved his hugs and the amazing talks we've had. I loved how respectful he was and I loved the way he was kissing me right now.

I just loved him. That was that.

And I couldn't help but smile like an idiot at that thought. My smile only grew wider when I felt him smile too, even after we parted. "You know, I'm not quite sure which gun that was."

I heard the joyfulness in his voice. "Perhaps I should try it again."

"Perhaps you should."

Ben put both of his hands at my cheeks and tenderly pressed his lips against my own again. It was so gentle and light that I could barely feel his touch, but the explosions in my chest told me otherwise. I put my head at my normal height again and took off my blindfold. Ben's green-blue eyes were sparkling like a diamond in the sun, and I smiled widely again. "You're cute when you blush," I laughed quietly.

Ben chuckled too. "Unlike you, I'm not embarrassed by that." He pulled me back into his tight hug and kissed my forehead softly. He tucked my hair behind my ear again and then rested his chin on my head. I leaned into his chest and listened to his heart beating, just as fast as mine was.

"You have no idea how long I've waited to do that," he whispered and held me tighter.

My heart tingled. "So why didn't you?" I asked softly back.

He ran his fingers through my hair gently. "I was afraid. Afraid of ruining our friendship, afraid you'd never speak to me again, and afraid of rejection. I can't tell you how hard it was though, debating about telling you how I felt about you or choosing to swallow it. Remember that night when you came up to be on century duty with me and you were playing your guitar?" I nodded into his chest and he continued. "I almost kissed you then. But I talked myself out of it at the last second."

"Earlier, when I was about to tell you something, I talked myself out of saying it."

"What was that?
"That I had feelings for you. This whole week, I thought avoiding you would make them go away. Then I realized that they were there all along." I looked up at him when I said this and the biggest smile I've ever seen on Ben came across.

"So," he said seriously, with a smile in his eyes and a small one on his lips, "would you do me the greatest honor in the world by being my girlfriend?"

"Well…" Ben's face dropped. "Yes," I grinned and his smile returned instantly, bigger than before. He picked me up and spun me around, me laughing happily and he smiling so big he couldn't get a word out.

And that, my friends, is the story of how Ben and I came to be.

Alyssa's POV

"GET BACK HERE!" my dad yelled as I ran down the stairs as fast as I could.

"NO! You're just gonna hurt me!" I screamed once I hit the bottom of the stairs, I ran into the kitchen and grabbed the first knife my hand grabbed and threw it, hoping to stop him long enough for me to get out the door but it didn't work. My arm hurt too much so my aim was off. I went for another one but there were no more. So I went for Plan B, I tried to jump out of our kitchen window but he was too fast. I was almost out the window when I felt his iron grip around my hand and I was yanked back and thrown to the floor. I hit a glass plate in the sink on the way down and I reached to feel my head where the plate hit. When I pulled my fingers back, they were soaked in blood.

"GOD FUCKING DAMN IT ALYSSA YOU ARE BLEEDING ON MY FLOOR! THIS HAD BETTER GET CLEANED UP!" My dad screamed.

I stood up. "Yeah because YOU FUCKING MADE ME! ASSHOLE! YOU PULLED ME DOWN! IT'S YOUR FAULT! There is no way in hell I'm cleaning this up." I could feel the blood on my neck now.

"You ungrateful little bitch! I am trying to help you and this is how you repay me?! By screaming at me?"

"HELP ME?! YOU MEAN GET YOU MORE MONEY? YOU ARE A HORRIBLE FATHER! YOU DON'T DESERVE KIDS. FUCK YOU!"

He slapped me across the face. "how dare you talk to me like that." Then he punched my stomach and I doubled over in pain, "Get up!" he grabbed my shoulder and threw me up. "All I'm asking you to do is get a jo.,"

"THAT IS SICK! YOU SICK BASTARD!" He grabbed my hair and threw me down and I tried to get up but I couldn't, my whole body ached and my head was spinning. I was starting to see stars from loss of blood.

"I fail to see how you think this is sick, you have sex with Zach all the time, why not just charge money?" I found a dirty knife on the floor, so I used up the last bit of strength I had and threw at him. It struck his knee and he yelled out in pain. He picked up the knife and threw it at me, I moved out of the way and avoided getting hit but the knife still hit my stomach, I screamed. "Don't cry," he raised his foot but I didn't cry. I wouldn't, not in front of him. "Now, when you come to your senses, come talk to me and we will get you your job."

"Fuck you," I said, but my voice was so low I don't think he heard me. He slammed the door shut and left. I laid there on the floor, too weak to move and waited for someone to come home, praying it wasn't Veronica that would find me like this. Luckily it was Zach. He came to pick me up and when I didn't come to the door he came in and found me. He took me to the hospital. That was the third time the past two monts. I was there for a week. I had one broken rib, a broken arm, bruised bones, a concussion and needed surgery to get all the glass out of my head.

"Alyssa, Alyssa, wake up." I looked around and realized it was all just a dream. Hal was standing over me. "Are you okay? You were moving around and I was getting worried." I looked around, I was lying in a hospital bed.

"I'm fine," I said as I tried to leave but Hal stopped me.

"No you're not. Now what is it about a hospital that has you so freaked out?"

I sat down on the bed and he sat next to me. I grabbed his hand and brought it up to my head, where the hole was from the glass. "Feel that? That's where I had to have my head opened up and glass taken out of my head because when I got in a fight with my dad, he pulled me down and I hit a glass plate. That was the third time in two months I had been taken to the hospital and worked on. I have broken so many bones, there is too many too count. I have hurt myself in every way possible. I have bad experiences with hospitals. I remember that time, I was hoping they would say I was gonna die. Just so I wouldn't have to go through it again. I was so disappointed when I woke up after surgery."

"I'm glad you woke up."

"I guess it was pretty selfish of me, I still had Kaylee and Veronica to care for so, I don't know. After so many times you just kinda lose your will to live. There is no coming back from it."

"But you still came back, you lived."

"Not completely." Hal leaned in and kissed me, but it wasn't like he had ever kissed me before. It was more forceful. He leaned over and I fell back against the bed. I knew I should be stopping him, but I didn't want to. That was the problem. I felt his hands on my stomach. "Hal," he looked at me. "Stop."

"What?"

"Stop," I pushed him off me and I left, I ran out of the hospital and to my bike, I sat there and waited for them to come out. Eventually they all came out. I walked over to Hal and grabbed a bag from his hand and went back to my bike.

"Alyssa-"

"Just stop Hal. Just don't say anything."

"Look I'm sorry it's just-"

"No Hal, listen. I am your partner and your girlfriend and I care about you. And you have my back and I have yours. Always. But this," I motioned between us, "this whole physical stuff, there is nothing between us. Not yet. Nothing physical."

"I want there to be," he stepped closer.

"Yeah, well we all want things we can't have." He tried to say something but I revved up my bike, cutting him off. He hopped on his bike and we left. We were almost back to camp when the first mech bullet came flying and hit me, sending my flying off my bike into the air. I slammed into the ground on my side and heard a crack. I felt a fiery pain up my side and I couldn't move. My side burned and all I could think is, that thing Kaylee has, where she can't feel pain? I definitely don't have that because I can completely and 100% feel this. And it didn't feel nice, that's for sure. I could hear the others riding away, meaning they were getting to safety. Another round of bullets came. What the fuck is with all these mechs?

"ALYSSA!" I heard Hal.

"NO! Hal go back!" I yelled but he wouldn't listen.

"Come on, grab my hand." I reached out and he pulled me on to the bike. Mother fucking shit it hurts to move. My God! "Hang in there Alyssa we are almost there." I tried to respond but I couldn't. I felt Hal's grip on my arm tighten as I slipped out of consciousness and everything went black.

Alyssa's POV

I woke up to bright lights and Hal's voice. "Can I go see her?"

"Yes," Lourdes said. I tilted my head slightly, as Hal walked over to me. He stood over the bed I was laying in.

"Why did you come back?"

"What type of question is that?"

"You could have died, Hal. People count on you. They need you."

"People need you too," I rolled my eyes. "I need you."

"Will you do me a favor?"

"Anything," he said.

"Sit down," I said and he did. "Stay here with me, until I fall asleep," I smiled sheepishly, I felt so stupid asking that, but I didn't want him to leave.

"Of course I will," he sat there and a looked at him. He looked stressed.

"What's up? You look stressed"

"I am. I have been worried about you."

"Really?"

"Yes really." He grabbed my hand and we sat there like that until I fell asleep, his hand in mine.

Kaylee's POV

"CAPTAIN!" I shouted into the building where Weaver and Tom were keeping the skitter with the red eye for questioning. "WE GOTTA GET MOVING!" Mechs had stormed onto the campgrounds, everyone was in a frantic mess, and what bothered me the most was the fact that everyone inside the building was ignoring me. Uh, hey, we're being AMBUSHED BY FUCKING ALIENS RIGHT NOW. Care to pay a little more attention?

"This isn't as exciting as it used to be," I muttered to myself and ran onto the battlefield with a few other fighters, but instead of helping take down the mechs, I was getting the civilians that were hiding with the fighters to safety. Apparently Hal and Alyssa's mission that I heard about a few hours ago to a nearby hospital was a success and now we were moving our camp there. Kinda creeps me out, but at least we'll have more medical supplies I guess.

So basically I was grabbing anyone without a gun and zigzagging them around debris and fighters to the vehicles waiting to move to the other side. I picked up little kids, I grabbed adults, and I shoved around anyone I could find into the direction of the vehicles so we could move out of this place without suffering any casualties. I was damn tired of people dying or getting hurt, as was everyone in the 2nd Mass.

"Parker!" Tector screamed at me as I was about to take off to get into a vehicle. "We need backup!"

"Damn it," I swore and ran to his side along with Crazy Lee. I loaded my gun faster than I have in awhile and started firing at the mechs that were searching and firing. Not going to lie, Tector and I are a great team, and he honestly reminded me of my uncle. They were both around the same age, and they had almost identical personalities. The only major difference was that Tector served with the Marine Corps and my uncle served with the Army. Tector told me about it because the moment I saw him holding his sniper I knew he had served in some branch of the U.S. Military. It's funny how you notice those little things.

Both of us took down one mech together with the mech bullets I had left, which was nothing over four rounds, and left a significant amount of damage on another one to cut and run to the vehicles. I just hoped that everyone made it out alive and hopefully uninjured. We've lost so many people that we wouldn't be a regiment much longer if we continued losing people at the rate we were.

Tector, Crazy Lee, and I sprinted all the way to the truck waiting for us and it started to drive. "That was crazy," I said a little breathless. This whole asthma thing was still pretty hard to get used to.

Crazy Lee smirked. "Just the way we like it. You're a pretty good fighter kid."

"Good? Try great!" Tector exclaimed and propped his arms on the edge of the truck's rail he as leaning against.

"My uncle served in the army for five years before the aliens attacked and he taught me a lot," I said nonchalantly.

"What branch?" Tector asked, interested.

"Army. He was considering going into the Marines too," I winked at Tec and he shook his head at me, trying to shrug it off as nothing. What I didn't understand is why he would ever want to hide something as honorable as serving with the Military. Protecting our country and earning our freedom is something to be beyond proud about, not something to forget about. But maybe he went through a rough spot; my uncle used to tell me stories about the soldiers that never made it back, a few of his closest friends among them. Maybe it was just a painful memory for a post gunnery sergeant.

"Explains a lot about you," Crazy Lee nodded and I smiled. These were probably the two Berserkers I knew best, and the two I really liked. Pope was cool when he wasn't being an ass (which was about ninety percent of the time), Lyle and I have said about five words to each other, and Boon didn't know when to shut up or how to follow orders.

"We could use a person like you on our team," Tec said and Lee nodded.

"You mean like join the Berserkers?" I asked surprised.

"Only if you're crazy enough."

I smiled. "I'll think about it."

"We don't have time for thinking, kid," Lee stated. "Either you're in or out."

I glanced between the two Berserkers and weighed the pros and cons. Nothing too bad seemed to come to mind. And I still had my free will no matter what group I joined. "Alright. I'm in."

"Welcome to the Berserkers," Lee smiled and patted me on the back.

Tec passed me a beer. "No," I shook my head.

"Right of passage. Take it." I grabbed the beer and tossed it off of the truck. Tector flipped out. "Why the hell would you do that?!"

"You told me to take it. Now I'm officially a Berserker," I smirked.

Crazy Lee laughed. "Kid's got edge. Perfect fit."

The truck slowed to a stop in front of the hospital and everyone got out and rushed inside excitedly. Once I pushed pass the doors, I winced at the sterile air that someone still smelled the same. Bad memories here, I shook my head and tried to resist the urge to run back outside. Come to think of it, both Alyssa and I had some pretty awful memories in a hospital.

I felt a hand take mine and pull me into a hallway that no one was near and when I looked up I got flutters in my chest. "Hey, what happened back there?"

Ben sighed. "Pretty messy. I managed to get the skitter out of their alive and Weaver and my dad seemed to accept what he said."

"Where's Rick?" I asked.

"Didn't make it," he said quietly.

"What do you mean he didn't make it?"

"Boon shot at the skitter and Rick took a bullet for him."

"Of course Boon did," I shook my head. "I'm sorry about that. I know Rick was a pretty good friend of yours."

Ben let out a breath of air and wrapped his arms around my waist gently. "I'm just glad it wasn't you."

"Oh, so we're one of those touchy-feely couples now?" I raised my eyebrows and placed my hands on his shoulders.

"Oh hell yeah." Ben grinned and I laughed. "I need to get some fresh air for a few minutes. I'll come find you when I come back down." Ben kissed me softly and then turned to head up to the roof of the hospital. I smiled to myself and when I turned around, my eyes connected with none other than Hal Mason.

Oh fuck.

"Hey Hal," I greeted him, awkwardly rubbing the back of my neck.

He was frozen in astonishment. "Uh, you wanna tell me what the hell I just saw?"

I frowned. "I don't know what you're referring to. Have you seen Alyssa?"

"She's in room 306. She got injured on the field today, but she's doing fine now," Hal informed me, still giving me a freaked out look. "Don't try to change-"

"Thanks," I smiled and walked down the hall to find room 306. It took me awhile considering I've never been in this hospital before now and had no idea how the room placement was, but eventually I stumbled across Alyssa's room.

"What the hell did you do now?" I asked as I flung open her door and closed it.

She looked up from some magazine that had been on the side table next to her, dating back to 2010. "How the fuck did you not feel yourself get shot? It is the most God damn painful thing I've ever felt in my life."

I sat down in a chair next to her bed. "You got shot?"

"Yeah. And it fucking hurt."

"Yeah, it's not fun," I nodded and crossed my arms over my chest and stared at her. "On the bright side, there really isn't anymore ways you can injure yourself now."

Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Whatever. At least I didn't get fatally wounded and get into a coma for three weeks."

I chuckled and shook my head. "I'm glad we've had each other through all of this," I said randomly and motioned around.

She smiled. "Me too."

"Because you so would've died had I not lived to save your ass countless times," I added.

"Not even! You are such a-"

And I can imagine you can think of the hurdle of insults she sent my way after that.

Uh like so um yeah.

...

WASN'T THAT JUST SO ADORABLE YOUR FEELS WERE LIKE "BOOOOOOOOOOM" ?! Truthfully, I've had that kiss scene planned out before Alyssa and I had even written Chapter One of H.E.L.L., back when we were in the creative processes of le story. Nothing like a blindfolded kiss;) Anywhays. Please tell me your thoughts, fellow Benlee shippers. I would very much like to know if this was fulfilling to your needs:)

Until next time,

Keep The Resistance Strong (except where Denny is concerned), and Falling Skies On.

-Parker

So, WHAT DID YOU THINK! Please tell me i wasn't the only one freaking out about all the BenxKayleeness! Now, just wait until Carter finds out...mwahahaha...be scared Kaylee Parker...be scared... oh and what did you think of Hal and Carter and their relationship issues? Please review. we want to know!

until next time, have fun, drink juice boxes and resist on!

~Carter