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 15
Lost at Sea
"So Doc...what's the verdict?" Asked Hal with his right ankle sticking out for Anne to inspect.
Ignoring his smart ass comment, Doctor Glass grabbed a small stool and sat down in front of his foot. Leaning back in her white plastic chair, Maggie watched as the 2nd Mass's field medic put her fiances ankle through a battery of tests.
It had been almost a month since Hal had nearly died and now he was chomping at the bate to get back on front line duty. While she felt the same way, a small part of her wished they could stay on back up duty. Cause then she didn't have to worry so much about something bad happening to him. But Maggie trust him with her life, and she knew no matter what she could always count on him to be there when she need him the most.
"Well I am happy to report Mr. Mason, that your ankle seems to have healed quite nicely,"she said by dropping his ankle and looking up at him with a serious look,"but that doesn't mean you should go out and start sprinting around the building."
"Damn! Really Anne, you just ruined my whole day. Me and Maggie were planning on running laps around the train tracks this whole afternoon,"he added with a sarcastic grin on his face causing her to grin back at him.
Sighing heavily, Doctor Glass finally cracked a smile before handing Hal his sock. "Alright smart ass. But all kidding aside Hal...I need you take it easy these next few weeks. I know your antsy to get back out there again, but you could still potential re-injury your ankle if your not careful."
"I understand. I can't make any promises with the war still going on, but I will try be careful."
Nodding back at him, Anne suddenly turned her attention on her. "You didn't think I would forget about you, did you Margret?"
"No...but I can always hope,"she said giving her a halfhearted smile before standing up and sitting next to Hal.
Taking off her leather jacket, Margret let Anne take her pulse. "Okay good,"she replied before taking off her stethoscope and placed on her back.
"Okay, give me three deep breaths please Maggie."
Fallowing Doctor Glass's orders, the advance scout breathed in and out slowly for her. After the third breath Anne took off her stethoscope and placed back around her neck once more. Coming around to her front again, she placed her hands on her hips and waited for her to lift up her black long sleeve sweater.
Lifting up her sweater, Margret let her place the cold stethoscope on her tummy causing her to shiver a bit.
"Sorry about that."
"It's okay Anne."
Looking to her right, she could see Hal was watching her with an amused look on his face. Shaking her head, Maggie felt Doctor Glass take the stethoscope off her tummy.
"Everything okay?"
Studying her a for a moment the 2nd Mass's field medic nodded her head. "I believe so Maggie. Like I said before...I can't be for sure. But everything seems like it checks out."
"Well that's good news,"said her fiance as he walked over and put his hand on her thigh,"I know we haven't said it much, but we do appreciate everything you have done for us."
Putting back on her leather jacket, Maggie looked to see Doctor Glass chuckling back at them. "It's not a problem you two. Besides, I like to think helping my boyfriend's son and his fiance is something I would be doing even regardless of an alien invasion."
Laughing, Maggie hoped off the table and took her M4 that Hal had brought over to her. Making there way towards the exit they suddenly found the door opening right in front of them with a stern looking Captain Weaver greeting them.
"Captain...we were just getting ready to see you,,"said Hal with a curious look on his face.
"I will take it that means you are cleared to return to active duty."
Nodding back at him, Weaver turned to meet Anne's gaze. "Excuse us Doctor Glass. But I need to talk to my two advance scouts in private."
Nodding back at the Captain, Doctor Glass was already turning her attention on a woman who was coughing a lot. Closing the door behind herself, Maggie walked beside her fiance until they reached an empty hallway near the back part of the Amtrak station.
"Pope and the Berserkers spotted a container ship about 1 mile off the coast of Charleston Harbor. Judging by the markings they saw on the ship I would say it is of Chinese original,"he told them in a hushed manner.
"What is you want us to do sir?" She asked him crossing her arms and exchanging a small glance with her fiance.
"Take your team across the ocean and dock with the derelict vessel. I want every inch of that ship scoured before we deem it safe to send in the salvage teams."
"And if we find enemy resistance?" Asked Hal while giving Weaver a confident look.
"Take it out. If you need additional fire support, the Berserkers will be on guard near the bank. If all else fails, you can always jump into the water for a quick evac,"he replied with a small chuckle.
"Yes sir,"they both said.
Giving them a brief nod, captain Weaver stared down the hall once more and quickly disappeared around the bend.
"Well Mason, it looks like you get your wish. Were back in business,"she said reaching down and taking his hand in hers.
"It's about time."
"Uh huh."
"What's that suppose to mean?"
"I think you've grown soft since your injuries,"she said with a small smile on her face.
"Oh really now,"he said turning his strong gaze on her face,"and how did you come to that conclusion?"
"With my own two eyes."
Shaking his head, Hal offered her an amused look before they entered the dining hall. "Come on Mags, that potato and bean soup is calling my name."
Reaching Charleston Harbor, Hal pulled the red and white Chevy pick up truck over. Looking out at the Atlantic Ocean he could appreciate the beauty of seeing the calm blue waters staring back at him.
"It's beautiful isn't?" Asked his fiance who was staring out at the ocean.
"Yeah...it is,"he said turning to look at her.
As if sensing his strong gaze, she turned to see him still staring at her. Offering him a smile, Maggie leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. "Your sweet."
"Well it's not hard for me to say when it's true."
Smiling even more, Margret was about to kiss him again when a loud knock on the back of the glass panel made them jump.
"Hey...you guys can make out later, right now we need to get this raft in the water,"said Dai before he and Priya once again started to pull the raft out of the bed of the truck.
Laughing, the two advance scouts grabbed there weapons off the dashboard and started helping their fellow team members in pulling the raft out of the truck. Pulling the raft down the small bank, Hal could spotted the Berserkers staring down at them from a the nearby dock. While Tector and Christine offered him a wave, Pope merrily gave him a hard look before turning his back on them.
Hal knew Pope hated the fact that someone like him saved his life. But despite this, the advance scout son noticed his attitude towards him and his father seem to have soften...just a little.
"Something wrong Hal?" Asked Priya, who noticed that his gaze remain on the Berserkers position.
Shaking his head, he turned his attention back on the 2nd Mass's chief mechanic. "Nah...just thinking."
"Hal! Get your ass up here so we can start paddling. Or should I ask your pregnant fiance to help me?" Asked Dai with a amused look on his face.
Rolling his eyes, Hal quickly joined the Asian scout in the front of the raft. Pulling it the rest of the way into the water, all four of them climbed in and started making there way over to the now derelict vessel. Within 5 minutes they reached the container ship and despite the effects of weathering and neglect the ship seem to be in decent condition.
Paddling up to the starboard side of the ship, Hal saw a broken metal step ladder near the bow of the ship.
"You think you can reach it?" Asked Priya to Dai who gave the broken ladder a hard look.
"Maybe, but I think I need a boast though."
"Come brother, I've got your back,"replied Hal as he put his hands on top of one other and helped boast Dai up enough so that he could grab onto the ladder.
After nearly falling twice Dai manged to reach the top of the ship safely. Grabbing the rope ladder that Maggie handed to him, Hal tossed it to his friend. Once he had secured the rope ladder to the bow of the ship, Dai leaned over and gave them a thumbs up.
"Ladies first,"he said with grin to both Priya and Margret.
Ignoring his comment, both of them started climbing up the shaking rope ladder leaving Hal to tie the end of the ladder off onto the raft. Once he was sure the raft was going anywhere, the advance scout quickly fallowed up the rest of his team onto the boat.
Upon setting foot on the rusty ship Hal could see scores of over turned shipping containers that had lost all of it's cargo. Readying his SR-25 sniper rifle, they broke off into two teams. Hal and Priya would check the starboard side, while Dai and Maggie would clear the port side. This way they could cover more ground and box any enemy into a cross fire from both sides.
Edging farther along the starboard side, Hal and Priya reached a small set of stairs which lead down to the main deck of the ship. Ahead of them was an over turned container that had spilled it's cargo out a long time ago.
"How the hell is this ship still sailing?" Asked Priya who was leaning over the side of the ship.
"Not sure. But I am guessing will might get some answers once we reached the wheelhouse."
Stepping back away from the edge of the boat Priya slipped a bit and would have fallen if Hal hadn't reached out and caught her.
"Thanks Hal."
Chuckling, he let go of her. "Not a problem Miss Dilawri. Although you might want to watch your footing. If you want, I could go and get Dai so you can fall into his arms."
Giving him a sheepish look, the chief mechanic turned away from his gaze. "Shut up Mason."
"Awe your embarrassed...that's so cute."
Walking past a series of smaller containers, Hal spotted Maggie and Dai already reaching the side one of the doors which would take them below deck. Going around a fallen crane they finally reached the starboard side doors.
Grabbing the hatch on the door Hal found it would even budge. "Damn! I think thing is rusty shut."
"How about through the bridge's window,"she said pointing up to the bridge that had several broken windows big enough for them to climb through.
Nodding back at her, the two shouldered their weapons and began climbing up the platform. A few minutes later they both reached the top of the bridge. Taking one of his Smith and Wesson pistols out, Hal knocked the remaining glass out of the frame and climbed through.
Turning on the flash light he always carried with him, the advance scout could see most of the equipment and electronics were fried beyond repair.
"Well this looks cozy,"replied Priya with her M1911 pistol in her right hand and a small flash light in her left.
Fanning out, the two began checking the wind torn bridge for anything useful. Searching through a desk which had a broken computer monitor in front of it, Hal found a picture of a Chinese couple in there wedding clothes.
Giving the water damaged picture a somber look, he placed it back down once more. "You find anything useful?"
"Nah, just a lot of small junk."
"Yeah same here."
Grabbing the canteen of his belt, Hal drank from it deeply before passing it to Priya. "Thanks."
"My pleasure."
Putting the canteen back on his gun belt, the advance scout walked back to the front windows of the bridge. Staring down at the large ruined ship's deck, Hal felt good doing some scouting again. Despite the inherited danger of the world they lived in he couldn't help but enjoy getting back out there and doing what he did best for the 2nd Mass.
"Should we go and join Mags and Dai below deck?"
Hal shook his head. "Not yet. It's important we maintain our position here so this way we aren't cut off below deck. So will give them another 10 minutes before we go down ourselves."
Nodding back at him, he could tell she wanted to ask him something else. "Is there something else on your mind Priya?"
Smiling, the chief mechanic nodded her head. "Yeah, I was just curious if you and Maggie had set a date yet for your wedding?"
"What did my fiance tell you?"
"Nothing. Just that you guys weren't rushing it, since you were still recovering from your injuries."
"Well if my future bride doesn't know, then it would be rude of me to even try and guess when we will get married?"
Nodding her head in agreement, Priya stared out the window once again. After a few moments of silence, Hal could sense something else was eating at his fiance's best friend. Right before he could say something, she spoke.
"I don't know why I haven't told Dai about my feelings for him. I mean we seem to get along really well and everything. But what happens if either one of us is killed. I don't know if I could deal with the pain of losing someone I care about again,"she said with a somber look on her face.
Hal knew that feeling all to well, after losing Karen it devastated him. But he also knew you couldn't let that fear take control or your risk losing your humanity. Smiling, Hal reached inside his jacket's pocket and pulled out the photo of him and Maggie he kept on him at all times. Giving the photo another look he handed it to Priya to see.
"Awe you guys look adorable together,"she said sniffling back a few tears that were threatening to come out.
"The reason I am showing this picture of me and Maggie is that you can't let fear rule your life. Sure... we live in a world of uncertain. And around each corner we face potential extermination. But if we give up on the things like friendship, trust and love...we give up on the things that make us humans. And that my friend is worse than nearly being beaten by a group of advanced aliens,"he replied while looking out the window, before turning his gaze back on her.
Taking a deep breath, Priya wiped a tear away from her brown eyes. "Thanks Hal. I think I need to hear that."
"You guys alright?" Asked Dai who suddenly appeared coming up the set of steps behind them.
Before he could say anything, Priya suddenly walked across the room and kissed Dai fully on the lips. Over coming the surprise of someone kissing him, he eagerly responded back to the Indian's passionately kiss. Looking around the couple, Hal could see the amused look on Maggie's face staring back at him.
With her head Maggie pointed for him to fellow her down the stairs so they could leave the new couple alone. Walking down the stairs, Margret suddenly turned on him.
"What did you say to her?"
"Nothing,"he said with a grin,"although I might have given her a small nudge."
Sighing, Margret started grinning back at him as well. "Well Mason now that your done playing match maker, how about we get back to the captain and tell him the 2nd Mass is all clear for salvage."
"Sounds like a plan sweetheart."
Several hours later, Maggie and Hal had just finished up eating there dinner and were preparing to spend some alone time back in their room.
Opening the door, she quickly fallowed her fiance inside their room. "I think I ate too much,"she said rubbing her belly as Hal gave her a concerned look.
"Should I go and get Lourdes or Doctor Glass?"
Taking off her M4 carbine, Maggie shook her head. "No, I think I just ate too fast."
"If your sure,"he said with a worried look while taking off his SR-25 and placing it next to her carbine.
"I am my love, I promise."
Giving her a smile, Hal took off his gun belt and placed it on the window sill. Passing him her shoulder holders, Maggie pulled out the chair that was in front of her and sat down. Unzipping her leather jacket, she sat up brief so that she could place it on the back of chair. Taking off her shoes and placing them against the wall, she spotted Hal pulling out something from one of his desert military jacket.
"What's that?"
"A new deck of cards. I traded Tector a harmonic and a lighter for it,"he said with a grin before opening the pack and placing the cards in the middle of them.
Chuckling, Margret gave him an amused look. "Have I told you how much I love you?"
Tilting his head, Hal pretended to think for a bit. "Not today I believe. But it's still nice to hear."
"Just deal the cards smart ass."
"What are we even playing?" He asked dealing each of them seven cards.
"Obviously go fish. Or don't you remember that was the last game we were playing until we lost my old deck two weeks ago."
"I don't know, a lot has happen since then Mags."
Shaking her head at his comment, Maggie looked down at her hand. "Well since you dealt, I guess I will start us off. Got any 7's?"
Looking at his cards for a moment, Hal reluctantly handed her the 7 of clubs. "Okay...how about any 10's?"
"Are you sure you didn't look at my cards?" He asked her while handing her the 10 of spades.
"Are you excusing me of cheating at Go fish Hal Mason?"
"I don't know...did you Margret Walker?"
Narrowing her eyes, she looked down at her cards before looking up again. "Got any queens?"
"Nope, go fish my love."
Reaching down she grabbed a new card, the 2 of diamonds and waited for her fiance to ask for his first card. fifteen minutes into there card game, Maggie was wiping the floor with him as she already 8 sets compared to his 3.
"Remember me why I agreed to play you in this?" He asked looking down at his cards realizing he had no hope of winning the game.
"Because you enjoy losing,"she said with a grin on her face, causing him to mock her own grin back at her.
"Yep that must be it. God your so smart Mags."
"Took you that long to figure it out."
Shaking his head, Hal put down his set of 3's. "Nope, I new that the moment you put a knife to my throat."
"Well I am glad you took something other than me threatening to kill you from that moment,"she replied while handing him her 2 eights so he could put down the set of eights.
With all the cards paired up, Maggie had won the game 8 to 5. "Man it feels good to win I might add."
Leaning back in his chair, Hal started to stare at her with an amused look on his face. Putting the cards back together, she found his hazel eyes still staring at her.
"Can I help you?"
Chuckling, Hal nodded his head. "You already have Mags, you already have."
Taking her eyes of his strong gaze, she looked down at the engagement ring on her left hand before looking back up again. "Hal...when do you want to get married?"
"Whenever you want to Maggie?"
Taking a deep breath, Margret pushed some of her long blond hair out of her face. "Well I was thinking soon, since now your feeling a better."
"How soon?"
"I don't know...maybe next week or something. I mean if that's alright with you."
Reaching out, he grasped her hands in his. "Of course it is. I love you and would marry you tomorrow if you wanted too."
Smiling back at him, she tighten her grip on his hands before leaning in close to him. "What did I do to deserve someone like you?"
Leaning even closer, Hal stopped once he was only inches away from her lips. "That's the same thing I ask myself everyday."
Closing the distance that was between them, she kissed him passionately. Pulling away ever so slightly, she finally opened her eyes to see him smiling at her. Smiling back, Maggie stood up and led them over to there bed so that they could lay down together.
"So it's settled then, we are going to get married next week."
Putting his arm around her waist, Hal made sure to scout up next to her. "If that's what you want."
"It is,"she said closing her eyes and enjoying the warmth of his body pressed up against hers.
"Then that's what will do my love."
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!