Homecoming: the sequel

After Homecoming

By crystalquirt

General plot suggested by Wolfpelt13 from DA - thanks for helping me to get going even if it still took a while. :D

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Description : The Forever King decides to finish the job that Albedo started while they were in California. The task is turned over to Forever Knights' Scientist and Director of Technology, Dr. Joseph Chadwick. Impressed with Ben's friends' skills, but sure they would be easier to capture than Ben, he sent Sir Morton and a team of twelve Knights to kidnap Kevin and Gwen so they can use them to defeat Ben and get the Omnitrix.

Warnings - mild language, violence so far

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At the conclusion of part 12.

When they got home, and Julie and Ben were alone in his room, Ben was worried and told Julie that he didn't want to see her anymore because it was dangerous for her. She ignored him and gave him a kiss, and a hickey. Kevin in a wishy-washy way, proposed to Gwen. They said their goodbyes to Dr. Joe Bracket and his dog, Plumber and separated to get some rest.

[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[BEN10AF]]]]]]]]]]]]] After Homecoming

Ben was finally alone in his room. It seemed to him like it was the first time in a very long time that he had any alone-time. The clothes that Joe bought for them were clean, but lying unfolded all over the bed and he really wanted to lie down. The dirty sweats that he was still wearing from their last day on the road had to come off. These garments, he didn't even put in the laundry. Each piece of clothing flew across the room after he stripped it off and landed in the garbage can by his desk. He hoped he would never have to wear any of those clothes again, but some were nearly new and he couldn't stand to just throw them all away.

The lean teen, even leaner after his last adventure, let himself fall back on the bed in only his boxers. The sudden movement caused a mildly painful ache in his chest and he thoughtfully covered the bandaged wound with his hands. I think they aren't really telling me what happened in the operating room. I must have come very close to dying. They all fought so bravely to save me - some hero I am. Ben shuddered and actually felt a stress induced pain in his stomach too. Gwen told him that Dr. Joe, Kevin and Julie acted quickly to take care of him and stop Albedo from doing anymore damage. I owe Gwen and all of them my life. To think, even with all their help and them risking their lives to stop him, Albedo still managed to stab me in the chest while I was already helpless on the operating table, oh man that was too scary. I guess it was lucky for me I was already deep asleep under the anesthetic, but then again, if I wasn't helpless like that, perhaps I could have stopped Albedo right then!

Julie. The image of her smiling face flashed through his mind. He wished she had never been put into danger, and she had been hurt and tortured because of him. How can she even still look at me? Fear welled up inside him and made his chest hurt again. I can't let her get hurt again because of me! She doesn't even have powers, and didn't even know about the aliens or the earth being in danger until let her get close. I ruined any chance she had of being blissfully ignorant. Tears welled up in his eyes and spilled out of the corners, running into his hair. He pulled the pillow out from under his head and covered his face with it.

At least Kevin and Gwen knew about what they were getting into and I'm glad for their help. Shit. Even the first date we had, she got kidnapped by aliens! After a few minutes, the tears ran dry and stopped flowing. I guess I have to do something to change this so she can't get hurt again. It would be so much easier if she were angry with him and wanted nothing to do with him anymore. That was not the case, he knew. He thoughtfully felt his neck where Julie gave him a hickey. My first hickey! That thought made him smile, and even though his cheeks were already hot and red from crying, he felt them get hotter from blushing.

Turning his thoughts to less serious worries, Ben wondered how mad his parents would be when they saw the possessive love mark on his neck. Then another disturbing thought came to him, how did Julie even know how to make a hickey? He frowned.

"I wouldn't know how to make a hickey." He said out loud, and remembered it hurt a little too. Hickey's hurt - why should she want to hurt me? Of course at the time it was the sort of pain that he kinda enjoyed, because she was the one doing it to him - and he would have let her do, almost anything she wanted - but still, it hurt and now his head hurt thinking about it.

The mark she made, claiming him as her own was up too high on his neck to easily cover it with clothing. The weather was too warm to wear a scarf anyway, without raising suspicion.

Thoughts about hickeys were interrupted by a knock on his bedroom door. Ben's mom, Sandra asked through the door if she could come in and he jumped up throwing all the pillows off his bed. "Just a minute!" He picked his pillows up and looked in the mirror. Yep that hickey was not going to hide. He grabbed a book and lay back down on his bed with the book in front of his neck.

"Ok, Mom - Come in!" he already sounded guilty. She opened the door and he added, "Hi Mom."

"That's Sandra, sweetie, been telling you for years."

"Alright um . . . Sandra what's up?" To his horror, Sandra came in and sat on the edge of his bed. He moved the book up higher trying to be sure his neck was covered, the top edge on his chin.

"Ben, your friend Dr. Joe is such a nice young man, how fortunate you met him and he was around when you needed him!"

"Yeah, we were lucky." He watched while she took gauze and tape and ointment out of a bag. "What are you doing Mom?"

"Dr. Joe said your bandages need to be changed before you go to sleep."

"It's ok Mom, 'er Sandra I can do it."

"Don't be silly I will do it for you and I want to see where you were hurt! You are my son, I should know these things."

"But . . ."

"No buts . . ." Sandra pulled the book away before he could stop her and saw the hickey. She gasped audibly and yelled for Ben's father, "Carl!"

Already on his way with supplies, Carl came in carrying clean washcloth, towels and a pan of warm water with soap.

"Look at your son's neck!"

"Wow Ben, Good Job - er, why would you let someone do that to you - I hope it was Julie at least."

"Julie was just teasing she was really happy to be home!"

"How could she do that to you? I didn't know she was that kind of girl!"

"Come on Sandra it's not like you have never had a hickey."

"Carl!" She hit him on the shoulder, more of a love pat really between Ben's gentle parents.

"Well, okay Ben - but you better not be up to anything else with Julie do you hear me. You are too young!"

"Yeah Mom." Ben turned his head to the side while Carl helped Sandra take the old bandages off of his chest. His mom almost fainted when she saw his chest. "If that was another three inches higher it would have pierced your heart!"

"Sandra! Don't say things like that and scare him. The fact is you're ok Ben! And you're home safe."

The bandage change on his arm went with a little less drama. His dad still hopeful, "I know I can't take it off, but can't you take the Omnitrix off until your arm heals?"

"No dad, I might have to use it. I might as well tell you, besides the aliens there is an organization, a big one called the Forever Knights and they are after me and my friends."

"Why would they be after? . . . Never mind."

"Yeah, well they smuggle alien tech and often work with the Highbreed, but I don't think they understand how bad the Highbreed really are. While we were in California we messed up one of their smuggling operations. They followed us for a while, but I think we lost them, or they gave up or something."

"I do understand. We wouldn't want you to take a chance to be caught without it, even to allow yourself time to heal."

"I just hope you don't have to use it again."

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[To be continued . . .]