A/N: I do not own nor will I ever own anything by Falling Skies, TNT or Steven Spielberg. I will try to keep most of the characters and important events the same but most of these chapters will be original.

Also as a warning I realize the grammar is poor at best, so if you can read it and enjoy it then that's all I am asking.

Chapter 12

Lost in the Mountains

Aiming her M4 at large target that was in front of her, Maggie squeezed off one round hitting the painted image of a skitter in the right thigh. Backing up 10 feet she fired again, hitting the Skitter in one of it's other legs. Moving back another 10 feet, she fired once more hitting another one of the target's legs. Switching to a three round burst mode, Maggie unloaded a group of nine shots into the Skitter's head before reloading and lowering her rifle.

"Where did you ever learn to shoot like that?" Asked Priya before coming over to admired her friend's handy work.

Shouldering her assault rifle, Maggie offered her friend a warm smile. "It's a long story Priya."

"Awe come on,"added Lourdes appearing from behind chain linked fence,"I bet Hal knows?"

Glaring at the medic, Maggie folded her arms across her chest. "Can I help you?"

"You know why I am here Margret."

Sighing, she did know why. It was Monday and she was suppose to go and see Doctor Glass for her weekly check up this morning. But when she arrived at the doctor's office she found a small line of people waiting to see the doc and her team. Getting frustrated, the advance scout decided to leave and try again some time later.

"I was planning on coming back you know?"

Shaking her head, Lourdes pulled out a small clipboard that Anne had been using to keep track of her pregnancy. Sighing heavily, Maggie handed her M4 to Priya before walking over and sitting on a nearby log.

"Look...I am feeling fine. Nothing unusual to speak of."

"Regardless, we still need to make sure. I know you don't like seeing the doctor. But you have realize were just trying to help you. And to be Honest...we just don't have the supplies or equipment to know that your baby is healthy. So our best source of information is you,"she said looking down at her with a strong gaze before flipping through her medical chart.

Off the the right, Priya began shooting at the target causing Lourdes to look even more annoyed. "Do you really need to do that right now!"

Firing another three rounds, the chief mechanic lowered the rifle. "What?"

Rolling her eyes, Lourdes brought her attention back on her."Any more morning sickness?"

Maggie shook her head. "Not really. I mean once in the while I feel a little sick. But then again that could be from crap we eat every night...but I whose counting any way."

Since the first time Lourdes arrived, the young medic finally cracked a smile. "how is the back pain?"

"It's okay for now. I know the farther on long in my pregnancy the worse it will get. Not to mention I won't be able to fit into my clothes,"she added by pulling onto her leather jacket with her own smile.

It was then Priya switched to her her tactical shotgun, causing Lourdes to jump from the sudden increase in the noise level. "Okay, well everything checks out. Just next time, would you please try and wait. I promise, will always make time for you."

"Be honest Lourdes,"she added with a sly grin on her face,"you jump at any chance you get in order to leave that stuffy office for a while."

Giving her an amused look, Lourdes started walking away when suddenly she stopped. " Maggie?"

"Yeah?"

"Congratulations on your engagement,"she said with a huge grin on her face before disappearing behind the chain linked fence.

Apparently it was big news that Margret and Hal Mason were now engaged. And despite her desire to not make a big deal about it, everyone in the 2nd Mass kept congratulating her and asking her when they were going to get married. In truth, she didn't have a clue when they plan on getting married, and that was okay with her.

"Speaking of your wedding...you do know I am going to plan your bachelorette party?"

Slowly, Maggie turned to see her friend grinning down at her. "And I guess there is nothing I can say or do to change your mind."

"Nope."

Sighing, she looked down at the ground before looking back up with a smile on her face. "Your worse than Hal sometimes Priya."

"Worse than me, I didn't know that was possible,"added her boyfriend grinning from ear to ear as he appeared from behind fence.

Right when she was about to say something back, Ben appeared moving past his older brother. "Margret...it's nice to see you again,"he replied nodding his head at her before turning his attention on Priya.

"And you must be Priya Dilawri."he said offered his hand to the chief mechanic,"it's nice to finally meet you."

"Likewise Ben,"he said with a smile on her face and shook his hand,"I have heard much about you from 2nd Mass."

"Nothing bad I hope."

Chuckling, she shook her head. "That depends on what your definition of bad is?"

Watching Ben and Priya exchange pleasantries, Maggie suddenly found Hal's hands gently placed on her shoulders.

"You feeling okay?" He asked gently messaging her shoulders, causing her to relax.

Closing her eyes, Maggie nodded her head. "I am now."

Chuckling, Hal continued rubbing her shoulders before moving to her neck. "Well I am glad that I can help you my love."

"So let me guess...we have a mission to do?" She asked by leaning her head back and opening her eyes to see him staring down at her.

Giving her a small wink, Hal leaned down and awkwardly kissed her on the lips. "Awe, you guys look adorable with your necks bent like that."

Pulling away from her boyfriend, Maggie glared at her friend. "Oh piss off. Your just jealous that you can't do that with Dai."

Immediately Priya started blushing, making her look away from there gaze. "Really now? I believe I just saw Dai come back from a solo scout mission a few minutes ago. If you hurry, you might catch him before he goes to sleep,"said Hal with grin on his face, causing the embarrassed mechanic to blush even more than before.

"I hate to be prude one here, but captain Weave did assign you mission Hal,"said Ben crossing his arms while giving them a serious look.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I swear, little brothers are no fun. Anyways...it appears the long range communications we set up inside that radio tower has suddenly stopped transferring our signal. More than likely it's nothing more than a mechanic issue. But captain Weaver still wants to check it out,"Hal said taking his hands off Maggie's shoulder's and helping her back to her feet.

"Great...that's a long drive and I haven't even eaten anything,"added Maggie with a disappointed look on her face while gently rubbing her belly.

"Find,"he said pretending to be slightly irritated at her request,"I guess we can get something to eat first. Since your making such a big deal about it."

Smiling, she turned around to face him."See...I knew there was a reason I fell in love you. You always make sure I am well fed."

"Your such a romantic Mags. Remind to write that one down for our child to hear some day."

4 hours later Hal, Maggie, Priya and Ben were inside the military hummer driving up the steep mountain road heading for the radio tower once again. Normally, they would take turns manning the M240 machine gun, but instead Ben volunteered to be on the gun the whole time. With Maggie driving, and Priya in the back seats, Hal got a chance to relax in the passenger side.

Leaning back, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to enjoy some down time. If you asked Hal if he had planned on proposing to Maggie last week, he would tell you no. But then again he hadn't plan on on falling in love with her either, it just happened. The more he thought about it though, the more it was making sense to him. In the beginning they were polar opposites and couldn't be any more wrong for each other. He was just a 16 year old high school jock turned soldier, trying to fight for his family and the human race. She was a 21 year old survivor and former gang member, who was just looking for something to point her gun at.

But despite there initial differences in personalities and lifestyles, they soon began to trust each other. It wasn't before long they began to depend on each other, not just as partners but as genuine friends. Hal soon discovered beneath that tough exterior was a fun loving woman who always knew how to make him smile. The next thing he knew he was developing feelings for her, although he secretly feared that she would only view him as just her friend. It was only after she told him about the brain cancer did he feel bold enough to try and kiss her. While she might have pulled away after a few seconds, it gave hope to Hal that she might actual feel the same way about him and encouraged him to not give up on her.

Opening his eyes, Hal watched as his love pushed some of her blonde hair out of her face,

making him smile.

"What?" She asked catching him grinning at her.

"Nothing Mags...just admiring my beautiful fiance."

"Awe...that was so sweet,"added Priya with a excited tone, causing Maggie to turned away from his gaze with a smile on her face.

Chuckling, Hal kept staring at her with amused look on his face. "Your not cute Mason. And if you don't wipe that smirk off your face I will do it for you."

"First of all...I am handsome, not cute. And besides, you love my face you just don't want to admit it."

Keeping one hand on the wheel, Maggie attempted to reach out and hit him. Instead she ended up smacking his beanie off his head, causing the both of them to laugh.

"Aren't you going to pick your hat up?" Asked Priya noticing that he hadn't moved an inch towards the hat laying at his feet.

Hal shook his head. "Nope. I didn't knock it off, so why should I."

"I've got news for you Mason...I am not picking it up either."

"Well I guess it's just going to stay there then."

"I guess so,"she added with a grin on her face.

Smiling back at her again, Hal leaned back in his seat once more. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his brother's legs staring back at him. While he was overjoyed that Ben was finally back again, Hal couldn't help but wonder if what Matt said was true. What if Ben was beginning to see the Skitters and the other deharnessed kids more like his family now.

"Hey Hal, can I ask you something about Ben?" Asked Priya with apprehensive look on her face.

"Sure, what did you want to know?"

"Is he any different now that his harness has been removed?"

"Maybe a little, but it's hard to tell if you didn't know him before the harness. I mean, obviously he's stronger and faster than he ever was before. But if your asking if he still the same pain in the ass little brother I remember...then yes he is,"he replied making Priya smile at him before looking away as tears began to form in her eyes.

"You okay Priya?"

Nodding her head, she reached up and wiped her eyes on her tan jacket's sleeve. "Yeah. Sorry about that. It's just that, not all of my family is dead. I have a little sister named Smita. She was 14 when the aliens attacked. I...I...saw her one day in Raleigh with a harness on her back. I wanted so desperately to reach her, but there was too many Skitters and Mech's. So I had to make the hardest choice in my life, I turned my back on her suffering and kept heading towards Charleston."

Looking at his fiance then back to chief mechanic, Hal reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "I know how hard that decision is to make. You feel like your being coward for not being able to save them, like you have done for you a whole life. But trust me Priya, you wouldn't have done her any good if you went charging in there and ended up dieing."

"I know that Hal. But that doesn't make me feel any better."

"No it doesn't,"added Maggie with a sympathetic look on her face,"but it does mean you can live to fight another day. More importantly, we know how to remove the harness with out killing them. So if you ever come across any more information about your sister...will help you get her back. That's a promise."

Clearing her throat, Priya gave them a small nod. "Thanks guys."

"Don't worry about it Miss Dilawri. Your apart of the 2nd Mass, we always look out for own."

Bring his attention back on the road, Hal could see that they were approaching the gate that he ran into during there first visit. With Maggie stopping the hummer, Hal grabbed his AK-101 and stepped outside.

"You okay up there bro?"

Taking off a pair of biker goggles, Ben nodded back to him. "Good to go Hal."

Walking through the snow, the advance scout made his way up to the dented metal gate that blocked them from entering complex. Pushing at the gate, Hal found it giving him trouble as it kept getting stuck in the snow.

"Do you want me to get out and start pushing?" Asked Maggie sticking her head out the window with a grin across her face.

Rolling his eyes back at her, he finished opening the gates wide enough for the military hummer to drive through. Walking back to hummer, Hal stepped onto a small ledge that was on the sides of the car and grabbed onto the handle before giving her a thumbs up.

Driving up the steep mountain trail, Hal thought he spotted some dirt bike tracks in the snow along the edges of the trail. Thinking he was just imaging it, he shook his head and kept his gaze straight ahead. Nearing the top of the trail, once again he thought he spotted a few tire marks in the snow.

"Mags hold,"but he never got a chance to finish his sentence when they suddenly came under heavy gun fire the moment they entered the compound. It was then Hal felt a sharp pain in his left forearm, making his let go of the side handle. Turning sharply left, Maggie drove the hummer away from the gun fire that was peppering Hal side.

Rolling on the snow covered ground, Hal finally came to a stop next to small transformer shed. Looking up, he could see a group of human raiders had taken over the radio tower and now were using to fire down at them. About 5 feet back of the main building they had placed a series of random pieces of metal and junk together to form a small bridge up to the roof top. A little farther out from the building was 4 more men hiding behind another transformer shed and the giant radio tower itself.

Immediately the elder Mason realized his AK was no where to be found. Looking down at his left forearm, Hal noticed that sharp pain was actually a bullet entering and exiting his arm.

"There's one behind the shed!" Shouted a woman wielding a M-16 assault rifle.

Getting back on his feet, Hal pulled out his twin Smith and Wesson's getting ready to defend himself. When suddenly he spotted the woman who shouted his location get hit multiple times in the chest and face, killing her instantly. Ben had started opening up with the M240, with the rapid fire .308 caliber bullets easily over powering their small arms fire. In a flash, three more raiders went down before Ben turned his fire onto the building it's self.

Despite the sounds of gun fire echoing all around him, Hal was sure he heard something behind him. Without thinking, he turned around and spotted a man wielding a home made spear attempting to sneak up behind him. The two exchanged a brief glance, before the man lunge at him with his weapon. Firing twice from each pistol, the elder Mason watched as his 9mm bullets hit the raider in the twice in the chest, once in the shoulder, and once in the left eye.

Violently whipping his head back, the man fell to the ground. Breathing hard, Hal walked forward to see the blood from his gun shot wounds staining the white snow that was all around them. Looking down at the man's dead face, Hal wanted to feel something for the lifeless body that was staring up at him. But he knew there was no time, as the sounds of gun fire brought his attention back on the battle that was still unfolding at the moment.

Leaning around the shed once more, the advance scout spotted Maggie backing up the hummer while Priya was firing outside the passenger side window with Maggie's M4. Meanwhile, Ben had stopped firing with M240 and switched to his Hecklar & Koch G36K taking pop shots inside the building's blown out front door.

Moving around the shed, Hal was going to try and reach the hummer once more when he saw a bleeding man pick up a RPG-7. Looking back, he watched Maggie back up the military hummer only to get stuck on a piece of broken metal fence. Switching gears, he saw his fiance revel the engine attempting to dislodge the stuck hummer. But instead all she managed to do was spin the tires, sending up piles of dirty snow in every direction.

Running forward, Hal started firing at the bleeding man stopping him from firing his RPG. Retreating backwards, he regrouped near the back of the radio tower using the metal piping as cover from his shots.

Reaching the tower, the advance scout pointed his pistols at the raider only to hear them click in response, signaling he was out of ammo.

"Shit!" He yelled attempting to reload his two Smith and Wesson's.

Unfortunately, this gave the bleeding man a chance to move away from the tower, and once again take aim at the still stuck hummer.

Looking back, Hal could see the panic his fiance's eyes as she kept trying to get the vehicle unstuck. Putting away his pistols, Hal pulled out his navy seal knife and charged forward knowing every second counted.

"Come on stupid hand, stop shaking!"Yelled the raider attempting to fire the rocket at the hummer.

Right when he was about to fire, Hal dove forward stabbing his blade into his chest just. Tackling the both of them to the ground, the raider dropped the RPG-7 causing it to go off when it hit the ground. The rocket went forward and hit the weaken radio tower at the bast of one it's legs. Pulling his blade of the now dead raider's chest, Hal stood up to hear the tower groan from impact.

Suddenly the two of the tower's legs snapped off, causing the tower to start leaning backwards and threatening to crush him. Looking behind himself, he could see he was over looking a cliff with a steep drop off, leaving him trapped.

With a somber look on his face, Hal looked up and spotted Maggie's gaze. Mouthing an I love you, Hal took a deep breath and jumped backwards over the cliff right before the huge tower came crashing down.

Looking up from steering wheel, Maggie watched Hal tackled the bleeding raider to the ground saving them from being hit by the RPG. A few seconds later, she heard a explosion which was fallowed by the sound of metal screeching loudly.

"What happen?" She asked finally freeing the military hummer from the down metal gate.

"The radio tower is coming down! Oh my god...Hal's trapped!" Shouted Priya bringing her attention on her boyfriend.

Spotting the same thing her friend was looking at, Maggie watched in horror as Hal met her gaze and mouthed her an I love you before he jumped backwards over the cliff.

"No!" She yelled right when the radio tower came crashing down with the top part of the tower crashing through the roof of the radio station.

Staring at the downed radio tower, Maggie felt like someone had just stabbed her in heart. Hal Mason, the love of her life and father of her child couldn't be gone. She refused to believe it, even when the tears started pouring down her face.

"Maggie! Maggie!" Shouted Priya trying to get her attention.

Letting go of the steering wheel, Margret could feel her hands throbbing at how hard she was gripping it.

"We need to go or we the risk being discovered by the Aliens!" Shouted Ben leaning down from the gun turret.

Maggie shook her head. "No. We need to find Hal first!"

"Margret...if we don't move now, we risked letting the overlords find us. And if we do that then everyone, not just Hal, may end up dieing too!"

"Hal's not dead!" She fired back at Ben as even more tears began streaming down her fast.

Turning away from younger Mason's gaze, Maggie felt Priya's hand on her forearm. "Will come back and keep searching until we find him Mags. But Ben's right. Any aliens in the area are bound to come and investigate the fire fight. We need to move."

The advance scout knew her friend was right. If they stayed the run the risk of giving the 2nd Mass's location away to the enemy.

"Okay,"was all she said before getting up and switching sides with Priya so that she could drive them back home.

Leaning back in the passenger side seat, Maggie placed her hand on her tummy while watching the scenery pass by her through the window. Looking down at the engagement ring that was on her left hand, she started feel herself over come with grief. Sobbing quietly to herself, Maggie didn't know how long it took for her to calm down, but by the time she looked up again she could they weren't on the mountain any more.

Looking down at her hand which was still on her tummy she knew she owed to there child and herself to keep looking for him. It was then, she made a vow to herself. No matter what anyone said, Maggie wouldn't believe Hal was gone until she with her own eyes.

A/n: These chapters won't be long and I am not sure how long I will make this story but then again I guess that's the fun. Feel free to leave any questions or comments!