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Chapter Nine
Kevin sat outside of Dr. Gravstoun's surgery room, his head in his hands. "Please save Ben…" he mumbled, his voice desperate.
Gwen was sitting next to him, just watching him. It broke her heart to see him like this. She never thought she'd see the day when Kevin got so close to crying. She wrapped her arm around his big shoulders and laid her head against him. "It'll be okay, Kevin. Ben will pull through."
Kevin shrugged her off and stood, beginning to pace the room. "Don't Gwen," he said gruffly.
Dr. Gravstoun entered the room, wiping sweat from his brow. "I have good news and I have-."
"Cut the chatter and just tell us about Ben!"
The doctor jumped at Kevin's anger. He knew that the anger from their previous visits was just him trying to act tough, but this was real anger. Anger that pierced him and frightened him a bit. He supposed this is what humans in love were like when the object of their affections lay close to dying. "Yes, I apologize. Both Ben and his mother will make a full recovery."
Gwen let out a sigh of relief. "And the bad news."
The doctor's face was grim and he shook his head. "Perhaps… you should see for yourselves." He turned and led the two inside. Kevin pushed his in front of Gwen. He had to see what was wrong or he would go crazy.
Ben was sleeping peacefully on the hospital bed, his stomach sewn up like a ragdoll. His mother was on the bed on the other side of the room. She was awake and crying into her knees.
"What happened?" Kevin asked frantically.
"I was forced to deliver the babies early," he said, eliciting a gasp from Gwen. "They wouldn't have made it if I hadn't. But that's not the bad news."
Kevin suddenly noticed the incubators near Ben's bed. He stared at them for a moment, trying to figure out what was wrong with the picture. Suddenly, he noticed. His voice was rough as he spoke. "There's only two of them…" he said. It came out as a whisper, but that was because that was all he had the energy for.
The doctor nodded solemnly. "Yes. I'm afraid… one of the children did not make it."
Gwen was quiet for a moment before walking over to her aunt and talking with her quietly, tears running down her cheeks. Kevin walked over to the incubators slowly. He didn't want to believe it. Even though he hadn't been so enthusiastic about having three kids, he couldn't believe that one of them was dead. His child was dead. He peered into the incubators and saw both babies wrapped in pink blankets.
"My son is dead…" he whispered, his arms lifeless by his sides. "I can't… I can't…"
Dr. Gravstoun walked over and put his hand on Kevin's shoulder, and this time the teen didn't knock it away like he had Gwen's. "I'm so sorry. I did everything I could."
Kevin nodded. "I know you did. It's not your fault. It's Vilgax's fault. I swear, if he hadn't run off the second we showed up, I would have strangled him. When I saw Ben laying on the ground… his eyes were open but they were lifeless… When I thought that he was dead… I didn't know what I was going to do." He closed his eyes and forced himself to turn away from the incubators and face the mother instead. "When will he wake up?"
"Should be any time now," he said. "Would you like to bring you in a chair?"
Kevin only nodded and stared down at Ben's body, watching the slowly rise and fall of his chest. It was the only thing that indicated that the boy was still alive. A small part of him didn't want to be here when Ben woke up. He didn't want to see his face when he found out that one of his children was dead. But he knew that Ben would need him more than ever when he got the news.
He sat in the chair that Dr. Gravstoun brought him and just waited. He hated that there was nothing he could do but wait.
Ben woke groggily. It was the second time he'd woken up in Dr. Gravstoun's office and he didn't like the experience too much. He groaned and tried to force himself to sit up, but gave up when pain bloomed across his chest. "Where's Vilgax?" he asked hoarsely.
Kevin looked up from staring blankly at the floor. He'd been just sitting there, doing nothing, since the doctor had left the room three hours ago. "Ben? You're awake!"
"Yeah, I figured that out. You didn't think that stupid ol' Vilgax could take out the amazing Ben Tennyson, did you?" he asked, smirking. He subconsciously reached down to his stomach and rubbed it lightly, but something was off. He looked down and saw that his stomach was flat. His first thought was to panic. "My babies!"
Kevin gripped his shoulders and shushed him, pointing at Ben's sleeping mother. "Ben… There's something you shoulder know about the babies. Your son…" He paused and looked back at Ben's mother to make sure that she was asleep and that they were the only ones in the room. "Our son. He didn't make it. The doctor tried everything he could."
Ben just stared at Kevin's face, hoping that this was some kind of cruel joke. But he knew better. Kevin would never lie about something like that. "My son is dead?" he asked, his sleepy brain still not quite grasping the implications.
Kevin nodded slowly and idly ran his hand up and down Ben's arm. "Yes. I'm so sorry Ben. I should have been there to protect you from Vilgax. I should have known-."
"No, it's not your fault. You couldn't have known." He was quiet for a long time, his eyes closed, as he tried not to cry. Suddenly, they snapped open. "My daughters? Are they okay?"
Kevin nodded and stepped to the side to show him the incubators. "They're perfectly healthy. Just a bit small because they had to come out early. They're beautiful, Ben."
Ben smiled a little, even as he was aching inside and out. "Can I hold them?"
"I don't see why not," Dr. Gravstoun said, walking in the room. He gave the brunette a solemn look and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Ben. There was nothing that I could do about your son."
Ben nodded and stared at his hands. "I understand. It's just…" Ben couldn't hold it in any longer and started to sob. He was too dehydrated to form tears, but his chest racked with sobs and he buried his face in his hands anyway. Kevin reacted instinctively and climbed into the hospital bed as best he could to wrap his arms around Ben's body.
"You can still name him if you want," Kevin suggested quietly, gently rubbing circles on Ben's back.
Kevin was being so gentle. It was so unlike him, but he was glad for it right now. Ben nodded, his face still pressed against Kevin's shoulder. "And bury him?"
"Of course," the doctor said, nodding. "I will pay for the burial, if you don't mind. It's the least I could do."
Ben didn't answer. He was looking around Kevin's shoulder at his daughter's incubators as one of them began to make noises. The doctor smiled and picked up the crying baby. She only began crying louder until he put her in Ben's arms.
"Hello, little baby," Ben whispered, sniffling, and her crying instantly stopped. Her eyes wouldn't open, but Ben could make out tuffs of brown hair on her head. He smiled and ran his fingers over her soft scalp.
"Have you come up with any names?" Kevin asked. He looked a little surprised when the doctor suddenly thrust the other baby in his arms. He looked at it with an eyebrow raised. He'd thought that it'd be weird, holding such a tiny baby, but it was quite nice. She was extremely beautiful, and she had her mother's hair as well.
Ben laughed. Kevin looked so awkward with the baby in his arms. "Dwayne," he said, looking at his sleeping mother and smiling sadly. "I want my son's name to be Dwayne."
Kevin nodded, but he couldn't take his eyes off the little bundle in his arms. He reached up and gently touched her cheek. Her mouth opened a little and started moving until she took the tip of Kevin's finger in her mouth and started sucking. "She thinks that my finger is a nipple." He said.
Ben laughed again and watched as Kevin's finger was sucked. "You'll be a good father," he said suddenly. "I know it. Thank you for what you've done for me, Kevin. And you're right. I'm glad that it was you rather than someone I never met. It's nice to have you there with me." He looked at the little girl in his arms and then back at his friend. "Do you have any names in mind?"
Kevin blushed a little and finally looked away from the baby sucking on his finger. "Well… I kind of thought about it a little. But they're your kids. You should name them."
"They're your kids too, Kev. If it'll make you feel better, we can tell everyone that I came up with the names myself."
Kevin was quiet for another long moment before answering. He finally mumbled something. "Do…."
"What was that?"
Kevin looked at him and narrowed his eyes at Ben's, upset that he had to repeat himself. "Dorothy!" he said loudly. The baby in his arms started to cry and he looked frantic, bouncing her gently. "Shhh… shhh…. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Please stop crying. It makes me uncomfortable."
The doctor chuckled and walked over, taking the baby from the man's arms, even thought he looked upset at the loss. "She's a bit hungry. Since Ben can't nurse them, I've developed a formula. I'll give it to you when you leave." He noticed Kevin's longing look at the child and smiled. "You can have her back when she's finished eating. Until then, why don't you continue talking about names with Ben?"
Ben chuckled at the childish look on Kevin's face. "Kevin," he said, gaining the man's attention again. "I think that Dorothy is a perfect name. I read somewhere that a nickname for Dorothy is Dot, which I think is pretty cute. She can be our little Dot. Why did you pick that name?"
Kevin shrugged. "I… I read it in a baby names book."
"You went out and bought a baby names book? I thought you said you didn't put a lot of thought into it."
"Of course I put a lot of thought into it! What kind of father do you think I am?"
Ben chuckled. "So, if the one that the doc is feeding is Dot, what is this little girl's name going to be?" He wiped the forming tears from his eyes and started thinking about more girls names, mostly to distract himself from the lack of a third incubator. "I like Parker for a girl. What do you think?"
Kevin stared at the baby for a moment before nodded. "I fits her," he grunted. He tried to seem indifferent, but he couldn't take his eyes off the bundle in Ben's arms. After a long moment, he whispered something that even Ben couldn't hear. "I'm a father…" he mumbled, unable to keep the joy out of his voice.
