Title: Not Dead Yet

Rating: T

Warnings: Some violence & death but not too graphic

Characters: Grace Mason (OC), Hal Mason, Ben Mason, Matt Mason, Tom Mason, Casey Taylor (OC by littletonpace), Anne Glass, Jimmy Boland, Capt Weaver and most of the other main cast.

Summary: Sequel to Heartbeat Away from Death and Grace Mason and The Battle of Fitchburg. Season 2. Three months have passed since Tom took off on the alien ship and he's finally back, much to the relief of Grace and her brothers. But life hasn't got much easier since his return. Now Grace must navigate new threats from the alien enemy, loss of a loved one, and the promise of a new safe haven. But can she make it with her family in one piece?

AO3 Link: /works/30593189

A/N: If you haven't read my previous fics - Heartbeat Away From Death & Grace Mason and the Battle of Fitchburg - it covers the events of S1 and the off-screen battle that took place between S1 & 2 so please read, they can be found on my /AO3 page! This fic will also feature Casey Taylor, an OC created by my friend littletonpace. Casey's story can be found on her page, entitled When Skies Are Grey.

Chapter 1

3 Months After Tom Disappeared

The sound of breath. In, out. In, out. Calm; she had to be calm. Her eye looked down the scope, focusing on the large mech storming towards Captain Weaver and the others in the street below. She placed her finger on the trigger, watched as it raised its threatening turret, its one motive: to kill - fast. She was faster.

Grace Mason squeezed the trigger with ease. Afterall, it wasn't her first time firing a missile. The mechanical beast erupted in fire, causing some of the fighters below to woop and holler. The explosion rocked the building she was hiding in, she and the rest of Weaver's back-up: Hal, Maggie, Jimmy, and Ben - who after only a couple of months on the job had become a strong, confident fighter. He'd finally got his wish: killing as many skitters as he wanted. And Grace had to admit, he was damn good at it.

They watched what remained of the mech crumple to the ground. Grace pulled away from the window, her heart racing.

"The bigger they are!" Jimmy said next to her.

"The harder they fall," she smirked, giving him a quick wink.

The others started firing at the last remaining skitters. Grace peered out to see them - thankfully - retreating, giving Weaver's team on the ground a bit of breathing space. Then the captain gave the order to bug out so they could conserve ammo and get out while they still could. Grace held the launcher by her side, noticing Ben was still shooting.

"Ben, stop!" she hissed, but he was determined to kill whatever was still out there.

"Cease fire!" Hal repeated Weaver's orders. "Ben, stop shooting!"

Grace watched the team on the ground begin to retreat. Captain Weaver, Pope, Anthony, among others, all made their way through the burning remains back to the vehicles. It was time they did the same.

"We gotta go," Grace insisted, glancing at Ben who had stopped firing but still had his gaze fixed on the street outside.

"You guys go," Hal said. "I got him."

Grace nodded. "Let's go, Jimmy. Stay close."

They followed Maggie down the partially demolished steps and over the rubble back to the truck where the others were waiting.

"Where're your brothers?" Captain Weaver asked her as she loaded the launcher on the back of the truck.

She glanced over her shoulder at the leaning building they had come from. It wasn't like her to just leave them, but if there was one thing she had learned in her father's absence it was that her siblings could take care of themselves. Besides, Hal was in charge. Ben was in good hands with him.

"They're coming," she replied.

"Well, they better make it quick! Beamers are right on top of us!"

Grace raised her head to see the airships had indeed found them, circling the sky above. In a few seconds they would be blown to pieces.

"How the hell did they find us so fast?" despaired Anthony.

"Looks like the bad guys are growing a brain," Maggie commented, hopping in the back of the truck. She held her hand out for Grace to join her when they heard a voice in the distance.

"Captain, hold on! Hold on!"

Hal and Ben were holding up a man and helping him over to the truck. Whoever it was, he looked badly injured, barely able to hold his head up.

"Get him in the back of the truck!" cried Ben. He looked scared. So did Hal. Grace figured it out pretty quickly after that. The man they were carrying almost collapsed into her, his head lolling back so she could see him clearly.

"Dad…"

It felt like a dream, seeing him again. Those long months agonising over finding him, missing him, clueless what to do without him. Now he was finally here, practically in her arms. She grinned widely, her eyes large and tearful as she reached out to embrace him. The relief was shattered when she felt warm liquid on her fingertips. Blood. She and Maggie helped him onto the truck, realising the blood was coming from his torso.

"What happened?" she exclaimed.

The yelling, the sound of the engines, the Beamers up above, it was all drowned out when she looked into his pale face. He looked so old, so exhausted, covered in dirt and scrapes and blood. It looked like he had been through hell.

She glanced up at Hal, then Ben, waiting for an answer. Their faces were killing her: fear, shock, hesitance. The truth was more hideous than she thought.

"I shot him," answered Ben.

Tom Mason is alive?

That's what everyone was asking back at camp as they crowded round to witness Tom's return. That along with a hundred other questions. Grace blocked them out, holding her father's hand the whole journey back as he drifted in and out of consciousness. She didn't care about the answers right now. She just wanted her dad to live. She helped carry him to the large bus which now served as Anne's infirmary. The doctor met them outside, flustered by the sight in front of her.

"What happened?" she asked, ushering them towards the bus.

"Friendly fire," Captain Weaver explained vaguely, giving a pointed look at Ben who was following behind.

"Tell Ben it's not his fault," Tom said to Anne weakly.

She looked concerned. "Let's get him inside."

As they entered, Lourdes rushed over to help lay him down on the table inside the med bus.

"Let's turn him over," Anne instructed.

As they did so, more blood leaked through his clothing, causing Grace's breath to catch in her throat. She had never seen her dad in such a bad way before. The sight of the blood and that feeling of helplessness reminded her of when her mother died. She started shaking.

"The bullet's still inside. Lourdes - I need his pressure."

"Dad! Dad!"

Grace whipped around at the sound of her youngest brother's cries. Matt scrambled onto the front of the bus where Hal caught him and held him back. Ben was standing behind them, pale as a ghost.

"What happened to him?" Matt asked, his small face alight with terror.

"He's been hurt pretty bad, buddy," replied Hal, holding his arms around him.

"But he's gonna be okay, right?"

Hal didn't have an answer. No one did. Grace turned back to Tom; he was barely conscious. She couldn't believe she had just got him back, and now she might lose him again. She couldn't accept it.

"Come on, Dad," she pleaded. "I've been waiting for you all this time. I never gave up hope." Tears slid down her cheeks as she squeezed his hand.

Anne and Loudes were rushing around her, grabbing their equipment. Grace was barely aware of them until Anne put a hand on her shoulder.

"Grace, I know you want to be here but we need room to work."

Grace blinked away the tears, tightening her grip on Tom's hand, hesitant to let go. He could barely acknowledge her. She didn't want this to be it. The last time she saw him. Frail. Bleeding. After a few seconds she let go and Lourdes ushered her into the arms of her brothers. She swiped at her wet eyes as Hal led her down the steps of the bus and into the concerned crowd outside.

She ignored them, standing in stunned silence and recollecting everything that had just happened. Her fear and confusion quickly turned into something else.

"What the hell happened out there?" she demanded through gritted teeth.

Ben couldn't even look at her. "I was finishing off a skitter. I didn't see him - it was an accident."

"An accident?" she repeated scornfully. "Why didn't you follow orders and stop shooting?"

Ben glanced around him awkwardly, noticing the eyes that were drawing towards them. "I feel bad enough about this as it is, Grace," he muttered.

"Dad is dying in there!" She felt the anger boil inside her as Ben started to walk away. "You can't run from this, Ben!" He didn't even look back as he disappeared into the mass of people.

"Go easy on him, Grace," Hal advised her. "He made a mistake."

"You were supposed to be looking out for him," she snapped. "Teaching him. How could you let this happen?"

"It's not my fault if he doesn't follow orders! What am I supposed to do?"

"Make him listen! You're Weaver's second aren't you? It's your job!"

Hal appeared to be concerned about the people around them, lowering his voice as he touched her arm. "You need to take a breath, okay? This isn't helping."

She shook him off. "No, what wasn't helpful was putting a gun in Ben's hands. This is on you, Hal."

She regretted it as soon as she said it. But she was so angry, she couldn't stop herself. Hal gave her a stunned, hurt look before stepping away in the direction Ben disappeared in.

"Hal…"

It was too late. He was gone, leaving young Matt staring up at Grace. At least there was one brother that wasn't mad at her, but she could see the anxiety in his face. Suddenly, she felt awful for losing it in front of him.

"Matty, I'm so sorry," she sniffed. "Everything's going to be okay."

He watched her a little incredulously, eyes pooled with moisture. For a second she feared he might storm off too. But instead, he threw his arms around her waist in a tight embrace. She let another tear fall, surprised, then held him back.

Their family had lost one parent already. She wasn't sure they could survive losing another.