Falling Skies 1. Chapter 1

My name is Charlotte Ava Berlin, I was fifteen year old when the aliens invaded earth. My brother Nathan who's sixteen and I were away at camp when they invaded. My brother hid me away before the aliens got to our cabin. Those aliens had no problem rendering my brother unconscious and took him away. Now I have no idea if he still alive or not. Once the coast was clear it was time to get moving.

It was time to get home. Charlotte needed to make sure the Mason family were still alive. Tom was her second father. Rebecca was a mother to both herself and her brother. Charlotte and Nathan's mother had died in a car accident two years ago. Hal was her brother's best friend and an older brother to her. Matt she consider her younger brother.

Ben was entirely a different matter for her. He was a minute older then she was. They grew up together and were inseparable. Of course they went through the fazed of cooties and all. As she got older she started to notice things about him which wasn't normal thought about. She kept quiet. She did talk to Rebecca about her feeling and found out she had a crush. Rebecca didn't want to embarrass her, so she didn't ask her who she had a crush on. As time went by Ben and Charlotte became closer.

It was a month before she went to camp, when Ben asked to talk to her. They went for a walk and ended up at the park near their home. Ben and Charlotte took a seat on the swings. Charlotte could tell he was nervous about something. It took a couple of minutes before he came out and told her why he has asked to talk to her. He had brought her a promise ring. Charlotte had done the same thing earlier that day; she brought him a promise ring. She was going to tell him how she felt about him before she left for camp. Guess he had the same idea.

She was surprised when he announced the promise ring was also an engagement ring. She was happy to know they would end up together in the end. They promised each other the rings wouldn't be taken off. Ben then leaned over and kissed her on the mouth. The kiss was soft but passionate. They told each other they would see each other soon, then Ben left. Charlotte got ready to go to camp with a smile on her face.

The Mason were the only real family her and her brother had now. Things were going to be different from now on, she was going to change. There was no doubt about that. It wasn't clear if it was a change for good or a change for bad.

**Eight Months Later**

"Lieutenant you are now in command of the Crystal Brigade." Captain Williams told her before he took his last breathe. Graham looked over at her, as he used his hand to closed their commander eyes.

"Captain Berlin what are your first order ma'am?" Graham asked. Charlotte looked over at him.

"First order is we got to find out how many of the Crystal Brigade is left. Then we need to figure out where we will be heading." Charlotte said, as she rubbed the ring on her left ring finger.

"Yes, ma'am, I will go and get that information. We needed to get moving soon, we don't know when they will be brining reinforcement." Graham said, as he left her side.

Eight months had passed by, she never did get home. She ran into the Crystal Brigade a few days after she made her way back. Thanks to her father training she was able to help fight in the war. Fighting did come with a price. She had lost friends she had made in the Brigade, it changed her. She wasn't the sweet and innocent girl at the beginning of the war. Felix Dagabar had taught her everything she knew. It was after his death a week later after she joined did she change. Charlotte was a no nonsense sort of woman now. If you wanted an emotional woman she wasn't your woman. Charlotte shook off the feeling of everything going wrong. She had to think positive, if things weren't going as plan she would have to make it better. There was no one else who would make it better for her.

"Ma'am we have fifty fighters and thirty-five civilian." Graham reported back, he would help her as much as he could. Now that Captain William was dead.

"Mr. Hartford you are now my second in command."

"Yes, ma'am," Graham said, as they heard engine in the distance.

"Everyone scatter," Charlotte said. She had said it loud enough for everyone who was near her to hear. A few moment went by then the car came into view. There were two other motorcycle along with car.

Charlotte and Graham came out with guns raised. The car was turned off and the motorcycle stopped beside the car.

"Who are you guys?" Charlotte asked, as she pointed her gun at the young man on the motorcycle. He seemed familiar to her for some reason, but could place it.

"We are from the Second Mass. We heard the commotion and came to see if we could help." The young man said. Charlotte had heard about the Second Msss they were making a name for themselves. Graham looked over at her.

"Can we trust them?" Graham asked her. She knew what he was asking. Charlotte concentrated for a moment and scanned their minds. There were clear. She did get a shock. The young man who stood in front of her was her older brother best friend and who she considered a brother. None of these emotion showed on her face.

"Yes, we can." Charlotte said, as she lowered her gun. Graham lowered his gun as well. Hal got off his motorcycle and walked over to where she was at.

"Can I ask you guys who you might be?" Hal asked.

"My name is Ava Berlin. I am the Captain of the Crystal Brigade." Charlotte said, as Hal looked her over.

"Are you a little young to be a Captain?" Hal asked.

"No, I am not. Captain Williams make me Captain before he died. This is my family now. I will do whatever I need to do to protect them."

"Okay, why don't we head back to camp we can talk there." Hal said.

"That's fine, let's go." Charlotte said, as Hal, Maggie and Dai got ready to go. Charlotte with Graham helped some of her injured party into the back of the car. Once everything was settle they made their way to Second Mass camp. Graham who walked beside her looked at her.

"What?"

"So he's your brother, so why didn't you say anything to him?"

"Leave it," Charlotte calmly said.

" I am sure he would be thrilled to see you. To know you are okay."

"Just drop it," Charlotte practically growled. Graham put his hands up.

"Sorry."

Graham let her moved a few paces ahead of him.

This completely sucks, she was in charge of eighty-five people not including herself. Now her family is back in the picture this wasn't going to be easy. She had an image to uphold and she wasn't going to let her family break it. It was close to an hour before they reached the camp which was a school. It was good to see they could relax for a bit.

"Graham make sure everything goes smoothly." Charlotte said. She followed the guide to take her to talk to Captain Weaver who was in charge of the second mass.

It was a classroom which was their base. She looked around and saw Tom Mason and Captain Weaver in a discussion, but stopped when she entered the room.

"Captain Ava Berlin of the Crystal Brigade, sir," Charlotte said.

"It nice to meet you. So you're a Captain?"

"Yes, I am haven't been for a long, but I will do whatever I need to, to keep them safe." Charlotte emphasized.

"Yes, Hal told me you said that. I am wondering if you would be willing to join us. We could use all the fighters we can get. It would be a win-win situation for both parties. We would be getting the fighters and you will be getting a place to stay, as well as food and supplies." Captain Weaver said. Charlotte knew it was the best option right now. If it didn't working out, then the Crystal Brigade would move on.

"Okay, but this is only temporary. If I feel like we need to leave then we are leaving. That's the deal, take it or leave it."

Captain Weaver looked over at Tom who nodded his head slightly.

"We'll take it,"

"Thank you."

"You should go and grab something to eat in the gym." Tom said.

"Thank you." Charlotte said, as she headed out to the gym to get some food. There was a line, she moved to the end of the line and waited until she could get something to eat. A little way in front of her there was a commotion. A young man was in line to get some food when an adult gently pushed him. Then the adult commented he wasn't going to stand in line with a razor back. Charlotte stepped back up to see who he called razor back. Charlotte heart skipped a beat. It was Ben. Before she even realize it Charlotte was standing right in front of the adult who called Ben a razor back. Charlotte put herself between Ben and the guy.

"Who are you?"

"I am a friend."

"I think you're a razorback lover. They are inviting trouble to us. They are going to get us killed." The man said. Charlotte was upset how can he be so naive. He didn't need to be rude to a teenager. It wasn't right. Charlotte was going to set him straight.

"I don't know who you are, but listen to me carefully and listen good. This goes for everyone who thinks the same way you are thinking now. This is not a threat, but it is a promise. If anyone and I mean anyone messes and hurts my Ben or any of people who I consider my family; I suggest you hide, because there will be no force on earth to save you from my wrath." Charlotte dangerous and low voice told them. Charlotte watched the guy swallowed. "I suggest you leave now."

The guy turned right around and left the gym. Charlotte could tell Ben had left the gym. She didn't know how much he heard of her conversation. Actually she didn't know how much of the conversation was overheard by one of the Masons'. Charlotte grabbed a couple of granola bars and headed somewhere quiet; so she could be alone. The place she found was an empty hallway with the only lights were the one coming from the other hallways. It was good to relax.

"Charlotte," A voice said.


	2. Chapter 2

Charlotte looked up to see Tom who stood next to her. She knew this would come eventually. She didn't know if she was ready for the time to be right now. One way or another it was bound to happen. She was going to go with it even if she was not ready to handle others at the moment. The quicker she gets the conversation over with the quicker she had time to rest. She needed to recharge herself. She ran herself ragged once again. If she didn't recharge soon then her body will chose when to recharge itself.

"Hi,"

"So, I see you are doing well." Tom said. He wasn't sure if the woman who was next to him, was the same woman he knew six months ago or did she change. He was sure everyone had change since the war.

"Yes, I am well. I see you and you boys are okay as well."

"Yes we are."

"These alien have taking my life away from me and I am going to make sure they pay for what they did to me." Charlotte said.

"We all have lost someone in this war. We will lose more people, but we will never give up fighting."

"I don't even know if my brother is still alive,"

"He is. we saved him when we saved Ben."

Charlotte was glad to hear that, the kid in her wanted to go and find her brother now, but the fighter side had things she needed to work out first before dealing with other things. Tom was sure Charlotte was going to jump on and race to find her brother. He was surprised when he saw her not move a muscle after hearing that news. Something was wrong and he didn't know how he could help her.

"Good to hear. I will talk to him later. Right now I need to figure out something. I will come and talk to you later once I get myself set right." Charlotte told him. Tom could take the hint.

"Okay," Tom said, as he turned to leave her to her thoughts.

* * *

Ha and Maggie were sitting by the swings . It was a little down town before they had to go out to go patrol. Maggie could tell there was something going on with Hal, she was going to help him any way she could. Maggie considered Hal her family along with the rest of his family.

"Hal is there something bothering yo?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah, it about the young woman we found today. She seems so familiar like I know her, but I don't remember where I know her from." Hal said, as he looked out into the distance. Maggie didn't like to see Hal like this, she was going to help anyway she could. He had a hard time when Karen got taken by the Skitters. Maggie knew it was going to be had for him to lose someone he loved, but she was going to stay by his side in good times and in bad times.

"Maybe you meet her before this war happened." Maggie said. Hall went back in his mind to see where he knew her from. It took a moment before he realized who she was.

"Charlotte,"

"Who Charlotte?"

"My sister,"

"I didn't know you had a sister,"

"She's my best friend Nathan little sister. They're not blood related, but she is my sister." Hal told her. Maggie smiled she was glad to hear about something other then war.

"That's good to hear." Maggie said, it was good the mystery was now solved. She looked over at Hal and she could see he was a little more relaxed then he was five minutes ago. This was a good thing for him. He had grown up fast well they all had. Once this war was over how would their lives be? She wasn't sure. The only thing she was sure of was she was going to stick by Hal side, no matter what.

"Your lucky you have brothers and a sister. I am an only child." Maggie said.

"You're not anymore. Matt consider you his sister all ready. Ben I am not so sure of. Nathan also considers you part of the family and so does my dad. So your not alone." Hal told her.

"Thanks." Maggie said, she smiled at him. She leaned closer to him and gave him a small tap. Hal smiled back at her.

"Anytime."

They sat they quietly, they knew it was going to be soon to have to go and patrol, but they enjoyed the time they had to themselves.

* * *

Matt was with Anne, she had giving him a journal to write in. She also had session with him just to discuss his feeling. Matt was a bright young man. He drew pictures and explained it to her. It seemed over the months since the alien invasion Matt's drawing had been getting better. Anne looked at the two pictures he had drawn. One was his family before the war and the second one was where there were at this very moment. In his first picture he had eight people. The seven people was his dad, mom, his brothers Ben and Hal, himself and three other people she didn't know. He had never told her about the three other people in the picture. Anne wasn't going to push to find out about the three other people. She would just ask Tom about them when they got a free moment together.

The second picture had six people in it. His father Tom, his brothers Hal and Ben, herself and Matt. The other person was of the younger guy who was in the other picture. She was going to have a talk with Tom when they weren't busy. Right now she had patients to take care of Lourdes was there to help her. Matt sat at the back of the bus he wrote in his journal as she and Lourdes worked on patients.

* * *

Ben had left the cafeteria, he didn't feel comfortable in there. He had been part of the second mass for two months and had fought with them. Apparently they didn't trust him or wanted him around. Maybe he should leave the second mass and find his own purpose in this fight. What was he thinking he couldn't do that. His family had lost him once, and he was sure if they lost him again it might destroy them. He loved his family, but he didn't want to cause them trouble.

Ben had a stopwatch and a jump rope in his hand. He found a place where he could be alone and no one would bother him. He was glad the skitters didn't take anything off of him when he was harnessed. His promised ring he had put in his pocket before they had harnessed him. He had put the promise ring back on his left ring finger. He knew Charlotte was still alive. He wasn't going to give up hope until he found her. He just hoped she wasn't harnesses. He didn't want her to go the same thing he and her brother went through. If she was the harnessed the skitters were going to pay dearly for putting the woman he loved in pain.

Ben started the stop watch and he started to jump with his jump rope. His mind thought about different things. He wanted to see how long he could go without stopping. He was going to find out. He pushed that thought away and contented what he was doing.

* * *

Nathan was glad that he had been rescued and he was now back with his family. The only thing which would make his family complete was if he found his sister. If the Skitters got her, he would never forgive himself. He wanted….no he needed to protect his younger sister. It was a hard time for him at the moment he was what the people would call a razorback. It was due to the spike in his back. He and Ben were in the same boat. Of course he wouldn't let anyone hurt his brother. They would have to go through him if they wanted to hurt him, but he knew Ben could take care of himself. Nathan was keeping his distant from everyone else. Maybe he could go talk to Tom to see if there's anything he could do to help. Nathan made his way to the command center. As soon as he walked into the room everyone stopped their conversation.

"Excuse me, but I was wondering if we are setting any parties to go out and find more harness children?" Nathan asked.

"Not at the moment son," Weaver said.

"If you need me to I will go out and scout out possible location for harness kids." Nathan told them. Tom could tell in his eyes he wanted to go find his sister.

"Nathan you're sister is safe." Tom said. Nathan looked at him.

"How do you know?" Nathan asked him curiously.

"I had a talk with her a couple of hours ago." Tom replied.

"Where is she?"

"Not sure, but she was in the yellow hallway when I talked to her."

"Thanks." Nathan said, as he headed for the yellow hallway. When he found it he was quiet enough to make sure he wasn't heard by anyone. He looked and saw his sister who sat against a wall, her eyes were closed.

"Hello, Nate," Charlotte said. Nathan was startled by his sister answer. He was sure she was asleep. He knew there was something different about her, he wasn't sure if he like the change or not. He needed to know what had happened to her baby sister.

"Char," Nathan said. He wondered if she talked to any of the Mason, did they know she was there. If they didn't was she going to let them know she was there?

"Yes, I have talked to Tom. No, I haven't talked to Hal, Ben or Matt. No, they don't know I am here and I plan on keeping it that way." Charlotte cold firm voice told him. The woman before him wasn't his baby sister, it was someone else. He didn't like her at all. he wanted his baby sister back.

"What happened to you?" Nathan asked.

Charlotte opened her eyes, then she turned to her brother.

"What happened was this war happened, it made me the way I am now. I am a solider who will fight to keep her family she's know since the beginning of this war together. No one will mess with any members of the Crystal Brigade they have to answer to me." Charlotte said. Nathan could tell nothing he says would change her mind. If he asked her to stop, he knew the answer would be she wouldn't stop from being a soilder. He had to find someway to snap her out of the phrase she was in. This wasn't her at all. There had to be a way to break who she was now….or knock some sense into her. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. The answer to the problem was Ben.

Not getting an answer from him, she closed her eyes again. Nathan went to go and find Ben.


	3. Chapter 3

Ben's jump roping for a bit a little over two and a half hours. He was going to continue to jump rope, but a sound caught his attention. It was of a child crying. He stopped jumping and went over to the child. He still had the jump rope in his hand. He saw a young girl who had tears running down her face.

"Hello," Ben said. The young girl looked at him, she wiped her eyes.

"Hello, who are you?" The young girl said.

"My name is Ben, what's yours?"

"My name is Alexandria. My friends called me Lexi. What are you doing out here by yourself?"

"Nice to meet you. I am just exercising. Can I ask why you are out here by yourself crying?"

"Thomas told me that I would never have a daddy and I would never fit into any family."

"Hey, don't believe what he says." Ben told her, she looked up at him.

"Will you be my daddy?" Lexi asked him. Ben was a bit shocked at hearing her question. The look on her face pulled at his heart.

"Yes, I will be you dad." Ben told her. Lexi wiped her face off and then she smiled.

"Dad can I give you a hug?"

"Sure," Ben said, as he knelled down so she could give him a hug. Lexi gave him hug. When her hands wrapped around his neck it felt right." Ben smiled.

"Mommy is going to be happy I found a daddy," Lexi said. Ben froze for a minutes. He had no idea who her mother was. He didn't know how this arrangement was going to work now. He was sure Lexi was going to be disappointed when he told her he was not going to be her daddy anymore. At least he got to be a dad for a few minutes.

* * *

Nathan looked for Ben, of course there weren't to many places he could be. Nathan figured Ben would want to be alone after the incident in the gym so he looked at the one place he was sure to find him at, back behind the bus which was at the school when the aliens attacked. When he got there he saw Ben who was being hugged by a young girl.

"Hey Ben," Nathan said. Ben turned towards him.

"Hey Nathan how are you?"

"I am good. So who is this?"

"This is my daughter Lexi."

"Daughter?"

"Yes, we have an agreement." Ben said.

"Okay, I need your help on something?"

"What do you need my help on?"

"I need you to talk some sense into Charlotte." Nathan said. Ben looked at him, she was alive. He was grateful she was alive. This was going to be great he hoped.

"Char is here?" Ben asked.

"Yes she is. She was in the yellow hallway last time I saw her."

"I'll go talk to her right now." Ben said, as he was about to put Lexi down. Lexi held on tightly. She wasn't about to let him go. So he was going to have to take her with him.

"I will talk to you later, Nat." Ben said, as both and Lexi headed to the yellow hallway.

* * *

Ben made his way to the yellow hallway, he did noticed the look he was getting from the other people around the school. He saw Charlotte who sat against the wall. He was quite.

"Mommy." Lexi said. Charlotte looked up.

"Lexi,"

"Mommy I found daddy,"

"Ben,"

"Hi,"

"Hold on, he's your daddy. When did this happen?"

"About five minutes ago, if it not okay with you then I won't be her daddy."

"No, I want him to be my daddy." Lexi said, as tears started to form in her eyes. Charlotte didn't want her daughter to be upset. She had been through a lot, and her little girl wasn't going to have any more grief put upon her.

"Don't cry baby. He can be you daddy if he wants to be." Charlotte said. She looked at Ben it was good to see him.

Ben noticed Lexi hold was become more loose. He felt her head lay on his shoulder and then her eyes closed. She was asleep in moments, Ben smiled. Charlotte stood up. She took off her jacket and put it on the floor. Then she took Lexi out of Ben's arm and lay her on her jacket. Now it was time to talk to the man she loved.

"Char,"

"Ben,it is good to see you. I have missed you." Charlotte said.

"Charlotte what going on with you?" Ben asked her. He wanted to know what was going on with her.

"Nothing is going on with me?" Charlotte said, she didn't want to let her guard down, if she let him in, she didn't know how she would react. Ben could tell she wasn't ready to give him anything. Ben moved before she could say anything, his lips met hers.

Within a few moment she relaxed. She was happy, but there was a battled within her now. It was a battle of being the girl Ben feel in love with or the woman she was now. Maybe she could compromised, she couldn't lose either of them. It was a little while before they separated.

"It's been hard on all of us. I just want to know what going on with you." Ben said. Charlotte knew he just wanted what was best for her.

"I lost my brother. It was hard. I ended up with a group of resistance fighter. I became a fighter. It was a month after I joined did I become a fighter. Now I am the captain of the Crystal Brigade."

"Wow."

"Yeah, so where do we stand?"

"We are together if you would like." Ben said, as he smiled at her.

"Okay, I am glad we are together now." Charlotte said.

"So am I,"

We should get some rest," Charlotte said, as they sat down. Ben wrapped an arm around her waist. Charlotte eyes closed. Ben smiled, as he closed his eyes to get some sleep.


End file.

Falling Skies, Mystery, Romance