Season 3: Episode Two (Collateral Damage)

Kathleen and Ericka were in her room, each of them was painting their own toenails. She only had two colors; a pearl-blue and a bright green. Kathleen was using the green and she used the other color. "So, how's your mom?" Ericka asked, concentrating on her toes. She heard Kathleen sigh. "Still spiteful and lazy as hell." was her reply. They chuckled together. This was their routine. They would get together, hang out, discuss parents; it was their normal. "How's your boyfriend, Ben?" Kathleen asked, trying not to cringe. Though they were getting along, she still didn't like the fact that Ben had spikes. Kathleen wanted absolutely nothing to do with anything alien. She didn't like their weapons or technology, let alone them. Still, Ericka could see that she was trying. And she would have to try too if she wanted to have a relationship with her half-sister. "He's great. You know, one of these days I'm going to change your mind about the so called 'razor-backs'." she joked, adding a small laugh at the end. Kathleen snorted, "Maybe when I'm dead. I'm sorry, but an alien is an alien and if you've got the spikes…you were one of them."

Ericka sighed, shaking her head. She would try to show her that not all of them were bad and that they weren't as different as everyone thinks. But for now, she would have to settle for this.

…

Ben and Ericka were walking through the streets, holding hands. People were all around; laughing, eating, talking. Ever since he decided to stay, they've got to spend more and more time with one another. It was actually nice how they were really starting to know each other more and more. They used to live next door, before the invasion. And their families were really close with one another. They were talking about the things they missed most (besides families and friends). "I miss music, real music. I'm talking Adele, Will. , Rihanna, Britney Spears, and Taylor Swift for crying out loud! I miss that garbage that I used to listen to." She proclaimed loudly. He let out a slight laugh. "What was your favorite artist or band?" he questioned. "I didn't really have a favorite, but there was this one song by David Guetta that I loved. Do you remember Titanium? That song was the best!" Ericka gushed. She really did love music. Her old iPod had over 300 songs on it that she would listen to all the time. Secretly, she still lugged it around with her, even though the battery died long ago. "What about you? What do you miss?" she challenged, intrigued to know. "Saturday morning cartoons…" Ben answered honestly. He continued, "Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes, and other old things."

She nodded, looking amused. "Aaron used to wake me up and watch Spongebob with him every Saturday morning at 8 a.m." replied Ericka. The good memories were something she liked to look back on, but the bad ones were ones she desperately tried to forget.

…

Ericka stood by Colonel Weaver's side. He was giving out orders and explaining the plan. She thought about the chances of everyone actually making it out alive and getting the mission accomplished. The odds didn't seem in their favor, but they did have a solid plan. If everyone stuck to what they were doing and there were no surprises, then they might actually accomplish this. She would be with Colonel Weaver and the team distracting them. No matter what this had to be kept confidential. Her eyes drifted to Ben, he looked determined. She smiled, secretly praying that everything would go as planned.

…

Ericka fired, from behind a tree. There were Mechs everywhere, firing back at them. She continued to fire, not thinking twice. For a slight second, she wished she had stayed back at the base. Then again, this was the only thing fun to do. This brought a smile to her face. That smile faded when she noticed a Mech aiming an explosive at the tree. She ran out from cover, moving to where the others where. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she looked up. Ericka remembered something. She dug a hand into the pocket of the jacket she wore. She nudged Weaver and handed him the grenade. "Where the hell did you get that?" he hollered over the roar of bullets. Smirking, she replied, "It was a pre-mission present I got myself. I take one every mission, just in case, but I haven't used one yet."

He grinned and took the grenade. Pulling the pin, he waited three seconds before throwing it out to the Mechs. The grenade landed right at the feet of one of them, sending it up in flames. Ericka concentrated her fire on another Mech. The fight continued to go on. Three men had already died. She wondered how many more would go before this was over.

…

She watched as a few of the dead men were loaded onto the truck. Suddenly Ericka felt dizzy; she leaned over on the truck. Though the deaths of these people she knew were upsetting, she never got dizzy or nauseous around it. Ben turned and walked over to Weaver. "That's the last of us, nobody left behind." Ben informed him. Colonel Weaver nodded, "Right."

Hal suddenly spoke up, "For what it's worth, Colonel, it worked. Your team bought us the time we needed."

Deni seemed to notice how pale Ericka looked. The next thing she noticed was the blood spot on Ericka's shirt. "Oh crap, Ericka." she said, pointing to it. Ericka looked down, muttering curses. Deni called for Colonel Weaver. When all of them looked over, they rushed to Ericka. She lifted up her shirt a few inches to reveal a bullet wound. She put pressure on it as Ben and Pope helped her into the truck. "I didn't feel a thing…" she whispered to no one in general. Ericka must have received it when she moved from behind the tree. The adrenaline is probably what kept her going. Ben got in the truck with her, slamming the door shut. Weaver got in on the other side and started the car. Somewhere on the way back, she passed out.

…

When she woke up, she noticed Ben sitting in a chair at her bedside. Colonel Weaver was sitting in another chair, much further way, but he was there. She inched up, painfully. Ben tried to stop her from sitting up, but she was bent on sitting fully up in the hospital bed. "You should take it easy." He told her with concern. She chuckled and shook her head. "I'll take it easy when I'm out of this bed. I can't stand hospitals and clinics." she replied. Weaver walked over to her. "I'm glad you're alright. I feel bad for not noticing that you were hit." he explained regrettably. Ericka nodded, "Its fine, I'm fine."

He grinned with a nod. "Don't tear your stitches now. I'm gonna need you up and running ASAP." He added before he left. She chuckled. Her eyes drifted to Ben. "Where's Deni? I need to think her for noticing the blood spot on my shirt." Ericka said with a grin. He furrowed his eyebrows at her. "How are you so cheery? You were just shot!" he stated angrily. How could she have been so careless? Didn't she know that he needed her; that he would be absolutely distraught if she died? "Ben, I'm still alive. I will be alright, you need to calm down." she said in a low voice. Other people died to do, she didn't. She was still alive and breathing just fine. If he wanted to be upset or angry, be upset for those who died or be angry at the people who killed them. "That was incredibly stupid of you to get shot." Ben added. Her jaw dropped; what? Did he seriously just say that? She rolled her eyes at her unbelievable boyfriend. "Yes, because I completely planned on getting shot." She shouted with sarcasm in her voice. Ericka huffed and looked away from him, folding her arms. He realized his mistake and suddenly corrected it. "I'm sorry, it's just…even though you're alright, the thought of losing you kills me." Ben replied. Figuring that she was still mad, he got up to leave. "Ben…wait." Ericka called out. He turned around to face her. She appeared to be exhausted. Scooting over, she patted the spot on the bed beside her. He headed back over to her. Ben climbed in next to her. She rested her head on his chest. Yawning, Ericka batted her eyes, trying to avoid falling asleep. Though she had just woken up, she was still quite tired. "Stay with me?" she asked innocently. He nodded, placing his head on top of hers. "Always."

Ericka smiled, allowing the fatigue to take over.

AN: So...no reviews on the last one. Does anyone read these? I feel more confident than when I started off at the beginning of the series, but now I feel like my character is a typical Mary-Sue. :( Oh well, but I'm going to continue to write until I don't want to anymore. Because I love writing these. This chapter wasn't as long as the other one, but I actually did it. So...review? Tell me what you thought about this chapter or if you wanna talk about the episode, that's cool too. Until next time, see ya!