A/N- This is an AU to the episode Molon Mabe. In this the tall ugly alien is not captured.

Tom studied enemy line critically, searching for a weakness to exploit. It had been just over an hour since they had had the firefight with Karen and the Overlord. The nasty brute had managed to get away from the ambush by knocking Hal into a tree. His eldest was unhurt, just a little winded, but it had still been frightening to watch his son fly through the air. It wasn't nearly as terrifying as seeing Karen holding a harness in front of Ben's face though. They had arrived just in time to hear Karen's offer to Ben. His middle son's expression had been hard to read. Terror had been clearly present yet Ben hadn't backed away from Karen. It had almost looked like he couldn't see Karen or the harness anymore. Hal had fired the first shot, knocking the parasite from Karen's hand. Chaos had broken loose after that and though several skitters were killed neither Karen or the fish-head had been wounded. Ben had tried to explain or apologize but Tom couldn't bear to hear and Weaver was too concerned with returning to the Second Mass. Within half an hour of returning to the hospital they were hemmed in on all sides by enemy troops. They were trapped with no way out.

"They've got us pinned down," hissed Captain Weaver to Tom. "We might be able to hold them off for a few hours but unless a miracle happens we'll be overrun."

"What do we do?" asked Tom anxiously. Weaver peeked over the barricade again before ducking back down.

"Nothing we can do. We're outnumbered and outgunned. We're too slow to try and bust a gap in their defenses like we did in Fitchburg. We'll just have to wait and see what they want." Weaver shifted on his wounded leg and winced. "How's Ben?" Tom shook his head, the aliens forgotten in an instant.

"He's hurting. He's sorry about Karen and Hal. I want to talk to him but I just don't even know what to say to him anymore."

"If we get out of this alive it will be time for that hard decision we talked about. Ben brought this down on our heads. He's put us in danger too many times." Tom felt his heart constrict with anger and fear.

"What do you want me to do? He's made mistakes yes but he's fifteen years old! Mistakes go with the territory." Weaver huffed and looked away. He had just turned back to answer Tom when Karen's clear voice cut through the air. The commanders turned to watch as the girl walked toward them carrying a flag of truce.

"Things have gotten a little out of hand, Tom," called Karen. "We need to talk."

"What do you want, Karen?" yelled Tom after a second. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Ben creep closer. He hadn't even known that Ben had left the hospital let alone joined the front line. He hoped his son hadn't heard Weaver.

"I want to talk about your situation first, before we start making demands. By now you've sent out your scouting units searching for a way to break our lines. Those fighters won't be coming back, Tom. You're trapped with enemies surrounding you and coming at you from below. Your only chance for survival is to do as we say." Tom glanced at Weaver noting the strain on the other man's face as he tried to pull together an alternate plan.

"We won't make a deal with you like those people at the ranch. You'd best give over that idea." replied Weaver. Karen's head came up as she noticed the change in speaker.

"Its good that you're back on your feet, Captain. The Second Mass may actually survive the night because of it. We don't want your kids or even your cooperation. Give us what we want and you can lead your people out of here unchallenged. The next time we meet it will be the same as always. You killing a few unneeded soldiers, us killing your friends. It will be as if this night never happened."

"I think Jamil would disagree with you," retorted Weaver. Karen shrugged.

"An unfortunate loss yes but hardly one worth dying over." Tom frowned as he stared at the young figure standing dark against the brightness of the mech's spotlights. He hadn't known Karen well before she was harnessed but to be honest he hadn't really been fond of her either. She had been a bit of a bully but she was loyal to Hal and that was all that mattered. Tom couldn't help but wonder though if that mean streak played into her bond with the Overlords.

"You still haven't told us what you want," shouted Tom. Karen smiled.

"I just wanted to make your situation abundantly clear. In your midst is a threat to you and a nuisance to my masters. He's already cost you the lives of several of your people. Let me help you by taking him off your hands. Ben's not really that important anyway."

"No," shouted Tom before Weaver could respond. The history professor's heart was pounding painfully. "You can't have my son!" He stood quickly rifle rising to his shoulder in order to fire a kill shot. Tom grunted as a strong body collided with his, knocking his hand off the trigger. "Get off me," snarled Tom angrily. Ben pushed him to the ground and took his gun.

"What are you doing," snapped Ben. "They'll slaughter us if you kill her."

"We're not in the business of trading lives for our own hides," called the Captain.

"Don't be foolish, Captain," warned Karen.

"Give us time to talk about this," yelled Ben. Karen stepped forward at the sound of his voice.

"I didn't expect you to make yourself known, Ben. Come to us in one hour. If you don't or if the Second Mass attempts any tricks each and every one of your people will be killed. Except for you and little Matt. We'll still have you, Ben and we'll make you watch as Matt is harnessed just like you. Do you remember what it felt like to have the harness creep up your spine? To have the spikes driven into your flesh?" Ben closed his eyes.

"One hour. Until then pull back and leave us alone." Tom didn't see Karen turn and disappear behind the mechs. In truth he had heard nothing after Ben had called out. All he could focus on was the way that the blood had drained from Ben's face when Karen issued her threat. There was silence for the first few minutes after Karen's departure. Then Ben spoke.

"Can I talk to you alone, Captain?" Tom snapped out of his daze.

"You're not going," he growled, caught between anger and terror. Ben glanced at him.

"That's not your choice."

"I'm your father," started Tom furiously.

"What do they want with you, Ben?" asked Dan. "Why would they go to all the trouble of cornering us then offer a free pass if we turned you over? It would be easier to massacre us all if they wanted you dead." Ben took a deep breath deliberately ignoring his father and rapidly approaching older brother.

"They don't want me dead. They want information about the skitter rebellion. That's what they were after when you ambushed the Overlord. If they come at us they risk me being killed. I'm of no use to them dead."

"So what they want to harness you again?" asked Hal from where he had jogged to.

"Something like that. The harness can't be used to gather information. Its purely for control but it can be used to foster bonds of loyalty."

"It doesn't matter what they want," said Tom cuttingly. "They're not going to get him."

"We have to think about the other civilians," started Weaver.

"The hell we do," replied Tom. "I'm not sacrificing my son!"

"Exactly," agreed Hal putting his arm protectively around Ben. Ben shrugged him off.

"Your son is the reason we're in this mess!" snapped Weaver, his temper showing. "He compromised this unit by dealing with skitters behind our backs!"

"You can't blame him for this," said Hal. "He's done exactly what we've been trying to do for a year now! He's caused enough trouble to gain their attention, he's scaring them!"

"It doesn't do any good to scare them if no one is left alive to fight!"

"Will you shut up?" spat Ben. "We're running out of time."

"What do you know about the rebellion that's so important, Ben?" asked Tom quietly. Ben looked at him surprised by the question. "Everything. I'm the unofficial second in command."

"Then you certainly can't give yourself up. If you do you'll be killing your skitter friends. If the Overlords are this concerned about the rebellion then it must be dangerous. We have to think about the war as a whole not just the Second Mass. The rebellion may be Earth's only hope. The smart thing to do is sacrifice one militia for that," said Tom reasonably. "You can slip through the lines like you did in Fitchburg and the rebellion will be secure."

"I'm not going let you and Hal and Matt and everyone else die for me," said Ben flatly. The rebellion will still be safe because I won't give away their secrets. I was fighting the Overlord before I can do it again." Tom smacked the ground in frustration.

"You said you didn't think you could keep him out any longer!"

"I'm doing this, dad. And you can't stop me." With those words he lashed out with the speed of a striking panther. His right hook landed flush on his father's jaw, knocking the older man out instantly.

"Ben," shouted Hal shocked and angry. Ben turned and put him down too. He stood looking down at their crumpled forms, panting for breath then realized that Weaver and the others had their guns trained on him.

"I told you I needed to speak with you alone." Ben glanced at his watch. They had wasted thirty eight minutes arguing. His gut clenched sickly when he realized that in just twenty-two minutes he would be facing his worst nightmare. "I can't guarantee that this is going to save you," he whispered quietly. "But its the only thing I know to do." The blonde teen turned to Weaver.

"I need to send a message. Call Dai to carry it." Ben swiftly pulled a small notebook from his pocket and flipped past the doodles he had drawn on better days. "I'm going to mark the position on the map that Dai should take the message to. Tell him to hide it in the rotten tree."

"Who's the message to?" asked Weaver watching as Ben scribbled symbols onto the paper.

"The red eyed skitter. He needs to know that I've been compromised. With any luck this will reach him before I break. Hopefully he can help bail you out of trouble if Karen breaks her word." Ben finished his message and tore the page from the notebook. Checking his watch again he headed toward the hospital.

"What do you mean before you break?"

"You'll need to keep Hal, dad and Matt drugged while this is happening. I don't want them to see." Ben turned into the armoury and started to replace his weapons. Weaver seized him by the arm and turned him around.

"What do you mean you don't want them to see? They've seen you harnessed." Ben set his jaw then looked away.

"They won't harness me again. I blew that chance earlier. They know now that I'll always fight the harness like Red Eye. They're going to take what they want from me by force."

"You mean they'll torture you?" asked Dan flatly. Ben turned back to what he was doing.

"Yes. That's what I mean. Hopefully they'll take me aboard their ship first. But the Overlords love psychological warfare. I don't want dad to see what they do to me.

"I have eleven minutes until I have to meet Karen. I'd like to say goodbye to Matt." Ben brushed past Weaver easily, the other man stuck in a state of shock.

Ben found Matt with Anne which was good since Matt needed to sleep soon. Ben asked Anne for the tranquilizers needed to put Matt out. The older woman looked worried but she had heard enough of Karen's speech to know not to ask. She assumed that Tom didn't want his youngest to be afraid when they came.

"Where's dad, Ben?" asked Matt quietly. Ben knelt in front of his little brother.

"He's watching from the front line, keeping an eye on things. He sent me to check on you." Matt's eyes welled with tears.

"I'm afraid, Ben. What are we going to do?" Ben looked away when he felt tears prick his own eyes. He cleared his throat trying to force words passed the swollen lump of emotion.

"We're going to do what we always do. We're going to survive. Do you remember when I was gone, how you helped dad and Hal have something good to come home to, to fight for?" Matt nodded slowly unsure of his brother. "You're going to have to do that again. It'll be hard but it'll get easier as time passes." Matt tried to pull away.

"I don't like the way you're talking, Ben. You'll be there too." Ben looked at his watch, his face tightening as he read it.

"I hope you'll forgive me one day, Matt. But if you don't that's ok too. I'll still love you and dad and Hal."

"Ben, what," started Matt, gasping as Ben poked him with the needle Anne had given him. The little boy tried to say more but his knees gave out from under him. Ben caught him easily and lifted him onto one of the cots. A quick kiss on the forehead was all Ben could bear to do before fleeing the room. Weaver caught him just a few meters from the med wing.

"You can't do this," said the Captain struggling to keep up with Ben's pace. Ben opened the hospital doors and stepped outside. He could see Karen waiting for him.

"Please don't," whispered Ben. "Don't try and convince me not to. We both know I have no choice. Don't make it harder." Weaver studied the boy standing to his side. Though his expression was determined Dan could see the fear sketched in every tense line of Ben's body. His hands shook and his face was bloodless.

"I'm sorry," That was all he could think to say. They both flinched when Karen called out.

"It's been an hour, Ben. Are you coming or do I have to find you?" Ben swallowed thinly. Captain Weaver couldn't find the strength to follow as Ben started towards Karen, his back as straight as his father's before him. Karen smiled when she saw Ben climb the barricade. Out of the shadows loomed the Overlord waiting patiently for Ben to come to him. Ben stopped about a meter away from the grey monster, his courage flagging.

"You should have run, Ben Mason," Karen's triumphant voice carried to the Second Mass though she spoke only to Tom's son. "Now you will understand why." Weaver watched as the spikes on Ben's back started to glow with an eerie light. Ben clutched his head in pain, swaying where he stood before falling to his knees. The Mech's lights dimmed just enough so that everyone on the line could clearly see Ben slump to the ground then begin to writhe. Captain Dan Weaver closed his eyes as the first teenage screams tore the night.

Tom opened his eyes groggily. He felt heavy and disorientated while his jaw burned with pain. Slowly he became aware that Anne was jogging to him, her face red and blotchy with tears while she clutched a needle. Then he heard the shrieks. Tom didn't want to think about the kind of pain that elicited such a sound from a creature of any kind. The voice was familiar to him for some reason. Distantly he heard Anne trying to reassure him as he watched her inject the contents of the syringe into his IV. Even as she depressed the plunger he suddenly recognized the voice.

"Ben!" howled Tom ripping the line from his arm as he struggled to sit up. "Ben!" The professor shoved Anne's restraining hands away and ran from the room, desperate to find his hurting child. The descending sun almost blinded him when he burst out of the hospital. The bright rays were not enough though to stop him from seeing his middle son twisting at the feet of the Overlord, his face a bloody smear. "Ben," moaned Tom starting to run, common sense be damned. He was stopped by Weaver's full body block. Tom barely felt the Captain's arms wrap around his shoulder's to restrain him. As he watched Ben's body relaxed a little and his screams quietened into soft whimpers.

"You're finally awake, Tom! I'm sure that Ben is glad of that." Karen stepped over Ben's curled body like he was a piece of unpleasant trash. "Your son is stronger than we anticipated. He so desperate for your approval that he still hasn't told us what we want. Perhaps you can reason with him, Tom. I'm sure he'll listen to you." Karen reached down and pulled Ben to his knees.

"Go on, talk to him, Ben. Beg your daddy to save you like he always has." Ben was silent save for his gasping breaths.

"Tell them what they need to know, Ben," called Tom, wanting only to keep from ever having to hear his baby scream again. Karen turned to look at Ben, to make sure that he was listening. Ben said something though Tom couldn't hear his words. Evidently Karen didn't like it though because she dropped Ben to the ground and kicked him away. Then Ben's spikes lit up again. Tom felt his legs go weak as his ear's were filled with that awful sound again.

"I'm sorry, Tom," whispered Anne as she and Weaver knelt next to him.

"How long have they been hurting him like this? How long have I slept while they tortured him?"

"A little more than three days." replied Weaver. Tom's stomach rolled with nausea.

"Hal and Matt?"

"Both drugged. The only reason you aren't is because you shook the tranquilizer off a little faster this time. Come back to the med unit and I'll fix that," answered Anne. Tom shook his head.

"Keep the boys drugged but I want to be here for Ben." Dan and Anne exchanged looks before Weaver gave her the go ahead. They both knew that sleep wouldn't do Tom any more good.

It was long past midnight before Ben fell silent. Karen stared at his heaving body for a long time before she spoke.

"This is your last chance, Ben. Tell us and you can go home with your father. You can live. Tell us, Ben." Ben moved weakly inching his way towards looking back at the Second Mass. He didn't speak, only let his eyes find Tom before closing them. Karen's lips pursed and she raised a pistol aiming at Ben's unprotected head. Tom choked a cry. The Overlord raised its hand and Karen paused her gaze going to it. She hesitated before nodding and lowering the weapon. Whatever flicker of hope Tom had died when Ben seized agony written clearly on his face. He tensed but didn't scream like he had for the last several days. No one in the Second Mass though thought that he was any better off. This time when Ben relaxed the Overlord turned and walked away taking with it every Mech, skitter, and Karen. Tom climbed to his feet and started for Ben.

"Wait, Tom," ordered Weaver urgently. "It could be a trap." Tom shook his head wearily, his ears ringing with the sudden silence.

"I don't care." With that Tom climbed the barricade, Weaver just a step behind him. As Tom got closer he noticed a slight sound coming from the shattered form on the ground. He broke into a run and fell to his knees beside his gasping son. "Ben?" The teenager's eyes rolled towards his father's voice, relief softening his ragged features when he saw Tom.

"Dad," whispered Ben, his voice raw and hoarse. Tom couldn't help but smile when Ben spoke no matter how rough and weak it sounded.

"I'm here, Ben, I'm here. You're gonna be ok." Tom gently started to wipe the blood from his baby's face with his hand. "Help me get him to Anne," ordered Tom. Weaver took the ankles while Tom grabbed his shoulders. Ben started to hollar the second they jostled him.

"Put him down," gasped Weaver. Ben sobbed and gasped for breath. Tom tried to soothe him but the pain was too great. It was then that Tom notices the dark red lines that ran around Ben's neck towards his spine. From the way they ran the professor guessed that those red lines were his son's nerves.

"Go get a stretcher," said Tom. "We'll have to be careful about the way we move him."

"Please don't," sobbed Ben. "Please, it hurts." Tom tried to ignore the constricting in his throat.

"I know it hurts, baby," he whispered. "But I have to get you to Anne. Maybe she can get you something for the pain."

"She can't help me," replied Ben quietly. "Please don't move me. I don't want to go back there. I don't want to hear them say I deserve this." Ben moaned softly when the pain became too much.

"No one's going to say that, Ben," said Weaver when Tom couldn't find the strength to answer. "But we have to get you back behind the line. Its too exposed here."

"Leave me here," begged the boy. "Please let me die here."

"No one's leaving you and you're not dying," said Tom flatly.

"Dad," whispered Ben weakly. Whatever he was going to say was lost forever because at that moment Ben's spine arched and a strangled scream was torn from him. A quick glance at his dull spines showed that this new torture was not the work of an active skitter. Judging from the heat that radiated from spikes the remnants of the harness had been damaged by the interrogation. Ben's pain eased a moment later and he relaxed enough for Tom to pull him into his lap. Ben's heart beat was weak and slow, his eyes half closed.

"Ben," said Tom urgently tapping his son's face. "Ben, son, I need you to wake up for me, can you look at me?" After a minute Ben peeled his eyes open and looked at Tom.

"I'm tired," he whispered. "I'm going to sleep," he turned his head away to make good on his statement but Tom shook him pulling a pained gasp from him.

"You can't sleep," ordered Tom fearfully. "You have to stay awake for me ok? You have to hold on for me."

"I'm sorry," mumbled Ben, his voice slurred. "Please don't be angry." Tears cut through the grime on his face. "I didn't mean to bring this. I didn't mean to. I didn't want to leave, I didn't think they would find me." Ben stopped rambling long enough to endure another shock from his spine. "Don't hate me. I only trusted her because I was lonely, I didn't mean to betray the Second Mass." Tom gently stroked back his son's hair.

"No,no,no, don't talk like that. Don't apologize for not wanting to leave us. I'm not angry I promise." Ben had wilted against him again, his eyes sliding closed. "Ben, wake up. You have to keep looking at me, you have to keep holding on. Don't you want to see your brothers again? You have to wait for them. You can't sleep until they come."

"I hurt Hal." Tom shook his head.

"He's fine and he's not mad either. He just wants to talk to you."

"I didn't tell them," said Ben suddenly lucid. "I kept everything a secret. Tell Red Eyes he was right to trust me. Tell him the Overlord doesn't know." Tom nodded choking when Ben arched again fighting the agony that tried to claim him. When he relaxed again he took Tom's hand in a weak grasp.

"Is Hal and Matt coming? I-I can't anymore. I can't."

"Tom," said Weaver quietly. The professor looked to the captain. "Let him go." Tom looked down at his baby lying broken in his lap. He was fighting so hard to stay awake despite the anguish that made him gasp shallowly.

"You can sleep now, Ben. Hal and Matt will come in a little while but for now you can sleep." Ben looked at him through fogged eyes.

"I'm scared," whispered the teen. Tom sobbed and squeezed his baby's hand. Ben whimpered when another spasm took hold. This time Ben's body eased before the spasm left him. When his muscle's finally unclenched he was staring sightlessly at the hospital his chest still. Tom shakily checked for a pulse before losing his fragile hold on control. Weeping messily he gathered Ben's limp body close and held him the way he had longed to since he had first woken to screams.