Ben 10 Alien Force
Homecoming 10 – Assault on Ben
By Crystalquirt
Violence and angst. Ben's injuries become worse after a battle with Albedo. Joe rushes him off for medical attention before they can continue on their trip to get home.
[[[[[((((((((((B|e|n|1|0|A|F)))))))))))]]]]]
From the LAST chapter, 9 – Aerial Bombardment
"Ben? What are you saying? You can't give up!"
"Why can't I? The watch came off before. Tetrax can take it back to Azmuth. I hope Grandpa is still ok in the Null Void-maybe I can go help him so he can come home sooner."
"If you don't have the watch, how can you help him there? Please Ben, don't give up."
"Your right, if I am just plain old Ben, I am worthless and can't help anyone, but I won't get my friends and family killed either."
"No Ben-that isn't what I meant at all. . ."
"But you're right. First, I am going to get rid of Albedo if I have to die in the process. Maybe I can make a deal with him, if he gets my Omnitrix and has his 'revenge' he will have no reason to go after any of you anymore."
"Ben?" Gwen couldn't think of anything to say to get him to change his mind. They heard the truck coming and Ben got up and walked away from Gwen slowly with Plumber walking behind him. Gwen sighed and got up to follow him back to the truck.
[[[[[((((((((((Ben10AF)))))))))))]]]]]
Thirty feet from the truck Gwen stopped, "Ben, wait - please - just promise you won't do anything until we talk some more." Gwen tried one more time to reason with Ben. The pain in his arm was becoming more and more intense so he stopped willingly and hugged his arm to his chest with his eyes squeezed shut.
"I don't know what you think talking will accomplish. Albedo and several other entire species are after me to kill me. You can't deny that. You, Kevin and now even Julie have been hurt fighting with me and trying to protect me. Another fact! I just want to give up and die every time one of you is hurt, and maybe everyone would be better off if I did both."
"Since WHEN is it all up to you - huh? What an EGO you have! We fight to protect the earth just like you do – we will help however we can. This isn't all about you-ya know! You don't have a say in when or how we might be hurt in this fight."
"I know, but . . ."
"Even if you give up - we will continue to fight," she poked him in the chest with her finger until he backed up a step.
". . . and you know what? I hate to admit it, but without you – the fight will be harder, maybe impossible - and we stand even more of a chance of getting hurt – but we still won't give up until we win!"
Gwen stomped off toward the truck but about ten steps later she turned back around to face him. "SO - IF YOU WANT TO GIVE UP AND HIDE, AND BE 'SAFE' YOU GO RIGHT AHEAD – We-will-do-FINE-without-you!"
She left Ben standing there by himself staring at the ground. He had been holding onto a small tree to stay on his feet but let go and sat back down. It occurred to him he couldn't move his arm at all anymore from the elbow down.
Ben used his right hand to pull his left arm into his lap, and nasty dark, thick blood was soaked through the bandage and it really had begun to hurt again. He exhaled loudly and let himself fall back in the sandy dirt.
[[[[[((((((((((B|e|n|1|0|A|F)))))))))))]]]]]
When Joe and Julie first got back to the truck to take it out to pick up Gwen and Ben, Kevin tried to sit in the front seat but the rough, four-wheel trek through the brush and waterways wouldn't give his back or leg any peace. He got back on the bench on his stomach and held on to the sides.
Julie stayed on the other bench and quietly watched Joe drive from behind him. She was so happy they had found Ben alive she couldn't stop smiling. Joe stopped as close to where Ben and Gwen were as he could get with the large vehicle and went to the back of the truck.
The medical bags had spilled most of their supplies all over so he began gathering them back together. Fortunately the sterile items were wrapped well and stayed sterile. The drugs in the ice chest were still cold and upright. Julie got down and helped Joe pick stuff up.
"Kevin, how are you feeling?"
"Fine Dr. Joe."
"Well, you don't look fine." Dr. Joe instructed him to raise up so he could get his shirt and sweat pants off and left him lying on his stomach naked.
"Come on Doc! I'm naked here!" Kevin pulled his shirt back over his butt to try and hide some part of him.
"Not my fault you don't have extra underwear and I gotta get to the back of your leg to clean the wound."
Julie sat in the front and looked out the window to give Kevin some privacy while Dr. Joe got ready to work on him. She was really hoping Gwen would return so she wouldn't have to help Joe with Kevin's injuries if he needed it. The sight of blood always grossed her out, and after the last couple of days, it bothered her more than it used to.
"Here comes Gwen – but I don't see Ben!" Julie hopped out of the truck and met Gwen.
"Where's Ben."
"I guess he's still back there feeling sorry for himself."
"Why? What's wrong with him?"
"I don't know. He's being totally, infuriatingly irrational. Go see if you can talk some sense into him." Gwen climbed back in the truck and greeted Kevin with a whistle when she saw him.
"Alright, alright - Is Ben ok?" Kevin asked too.
"Ben-is-an-idiot." was all Gwen would say and she took his hand in her's and gave it a squeeze. Kevin knew now would be a good time to stop talking, so he kissed her hand and told her she was pretty. She grunted at him.
"Ok Kevin, We need to play 'doctor' again. Get on your side with your back to me before you get in trouble with Gwen."
Gwen held Kevin's leg still with a pan under it while Dr. Joe flushed all the sand out of the gunshot wound. Then they repeated the procedure for his torn open, burned back. Dr. Joe packed ointment and fresh bandages on each and then cleaned the two new burns on his lower back. While he had easy access to Kevin's butt, he gave him another shot of penicillin.
[[[[[((((((((((B|e|n|1|0|A|F)))))))))))]]]]]
Julie and Ben were both silent when they came back to the truck and got in. Gwen grunted at Ben, otherwise she ignored him. "Kevin? Thanks for saving me out there." Ben sounded pretty exhausted and very sad. He didn't even seem to notice when Dr. Joe grabbed him by his hips, pulled his waistband down a little and gave him penicillin shot too.
"No problem Ben, you would have done it for me." Kevin smiled. "Hey guys, what do you think if we spend a little longer out here away from the highway before we go back to the rest stop? I think we could all use a nap."
Everyone agreed with Kevin and they turned their backs to him so he could put his sweatpants back on. Gwen stretched out next to him by the wall and stroked his hair and rubbed his neck.
She whispered in his ear and made him giggle like a girl. Hearing Kevin giggle even made Ben smile as he and Julie traded places. She got the bench and Ben stayed on the floor with Joe and Plumber.
[[[[[((((((((((B|e|n|1|0|A|F)))))))))))]]]]]
Almost three hours later Joe woke up and quietly went to sit in the driver's seat to look at maps. Plumber crawled over closer to Ben. He scratched the dog's ears and repositioned his hurting arm. The pain didn't let him sleep at all.
Joe startled and gasped when Tetrax appeared and looked at him through the windshield. He got out as quietly as he could and they stepped away from the truck.
Joe told Tetrax that everyone seemed ok but were exhausted. The only one he was really worried about was Ben. He had noticed that Ben was not able to use his arm at all and would probably need surgery at some point. Too much of the muscle and probably several tendons had been cut. Tetrax worried that Ben would need repair and wondered how long he would be in the 'shop'.
Joe smiled and said ideally it would take a few weeks for him to heal correctly and then a few more weeks of physical therapy. He knew that probably wouldn't happen.
Tetrax said he would help in any way he could – watching them at the hospital and guarding them while Ben recovered. Joe thanked him and told him he hoped Albedo would be captured before Ben would have to have surgery.
"We're gonna pull out as soon as the others wake up, but I don't want to wake them up any sooner than we have to. They are all exhausted and if they have to fight now it would not be a good thing for any of them."
Tetrax flew off along the river a little way watching for signs of trouble and staying out of sight of the other humans. Joe climbed up in the driver's seat again and found himself looking at Ben sitting in the passenger side front seat. He smiled at him, wondering why he wasn't sleeping.
"Joe is Kevin going to be ok?" he whispered.
"Yes Ben, he will be better faster if he does what I tell him. Same for you-come on-lets go out and talk and re-bandage that arm of yours so we don't bother them." Joe reached next to the seat and got some bandage material and the scissors before getting out.
They sat under a tree in front of the truck "Ben, how is your arm feeling?" he asked before he started to change the blood-soaked bandage.
"It's ok."
"Really? . . . and 'ok' isn't a good answer and not what I asked you. I wanted something a little more specific."
"My arm feels fine."
"I think you're lying Ben," Ben looked at the ground. ". . . and I can see you aren't using it at all, I told you to tell me if it gets worse."
"Sorry Doc – I was just hoping it would pass. Albedo hurt it when he picked me up by my arm in the truck and later he twisted Jetray's wing while I fought him in the air, and crashing through the trees didn't help at all - it really hurts, but I can't be out of commission-I have to protect everyone."
Joe picked his arm up gently and even that small movement made Ben look away and cry out through gritted teeth. "Easy Ben."
"It's ok." Ben took several fast breaths and winced as he continued. Joe cut the old bandage off and even he was a little surprised at the damage, the bruises, swelling and the dark discoloration of the skin below the cut and even his hand and fingers look pale and blue. Even the lights on the Omnitrix looked dim.
"Ben we have to get this taken care of now. I don't mean to scare you, or maybe I should scare you - you could lose your arm - it looks like there is very little circulation. We have to go, now."
"But what about getting home? Albedo is still out there too."
"You will just have to trust your friends to take care of things." Joe put a light clean wrap on his arm and they went back to the truck.
"Hey guys, wake up. We are taking Ben to the nearest hospital." The three in the back awakened and Gwen asked "What happened?" and Julie panicked a little "Why, what's wrong Ben?"
"Joe wants to fix my arm."
"We HAVE to fix his arm, NOW."
Joe started the engine and got it pointed back to the rest stop. The few people that had parked and walked around the rest stop all stared as the huge, odd looking vehicle crashed out of the brush and crawled through the sand. Joe drove back over the curb and landscaping to park beside Kevin's car.
"Oh man – not my car, again." Kevin limped over to his car and saw the broken window. He inspected his car from all sides, and started it. Gwen got in and watched Kevin get in very carefully as he sat on the wound in the back of his leg. "Hurts huh, Kev?"
"A little." He pulled out to follow Joe and the others in the truck.
On the way through the next little town, Kevin stopped at a junkyard right off the highway and found a replacement window for his car. It only took him a few minutes to install it and another several minutes to clean it to perfection.
"No streaks." He smiled when he was done. Gwen was feeling a little impatient, but Kevin had no trouble catching up quickly to the others when he was done.
[[[[[((((((((((Ben10AF)))))))))))]]]]]
In the next little town, there was an urgent care center, but no large hospital. "It will do nicely," Joe said as they pulled in.
It was still a pretty big facility in a three story building with the urgent care on the first floor, then a dozen doctors' offices on the second and surgical and recovery rooms on the top floor.
Joe parked as close as he could, but had to leave room for ambulances to get in and out in the tiny driveway. Kevin had to park three parking spaces from the truck. Plumber was left in charge of the truck.
Dr. Joe went in first and the others followed more slowly walking with Ben. His arm was hurting him so bad now, he held it pressed to his stomach and stopped twice on his way in to hug it close and close his eyes for a moment.
If Kevin hadn't been walking behind Ben and caught him, he would have gone to his knees the second time. Gwen got on his other side and they both helped him in the rest of the way.
They didn't know what story Joe told them, or arrangements he made, but they went straight to the third floor and waited while a surgical suite was set up for them.
Hospital administration arranged for two of their own staff members to assist, an anesthesiologist to monitor Ben while he was under anesthetic, and a nurse named Margaret to assist Dr. Joe.
Gwen thought it odd that they weren't asked for insurance cards, to fill out paperwork, or even for their names or ages.
Ben and the others waited in a waiting room next to surgery while they set up. Dr Joe came into the waiting room himself to set an IV catheter in Ben's right arm. No one else was around, and he did it right there in the waiting room. Before he stood up to leave he gave Ben a little something in the IV from a syringe.
"This will help with the pain and soon you will feel very relaxed. Let it work Ben-let yourself relax ok?" Ben had his eyes squeezed shut and Gwen could feel him shaking. Julie sat on his other side and held his hand.
Ben spoke without opening his eyes. "Guys, be careful while I'm out. Albedo could be anywhere. I really hate to leave you alone."
"Don't worry Ben, we can manage without you and Tetrax is nearby." Gwen still sounded a little irritated, but she was worried about him. "It's time for you to take good care of yourself, so you can be at your best when we do have to fight again."
Joe went back into surgery and found Nurse Margaret was very efficient, and already had everything set up the way he had requested.
"We are ready." Joe announced when he came back to get Ben. He was going to let Ben walk in on his own, but when he got up, he collapsed and Kevin had to catch him and carry him in to surgery across his arms.
Ben slurred his speech a little and giggled while Kevin sat him gently on the surgical table. "That's some pretty good stuff you gave me Dr. Brackenpuss"
"You like it huh? You are definitely more relaxed than when we got here." Dr. Joe and Kevin took Ben's shirt off over his head and guided him back in position on the table. Kevin took Ben's shoes and socks off and rolled them up in his shirt.
"Is Julie here? I reeeally like her you know."
Kevin smiled at him. "Ya Ben she's here, we're all gonna to watch and we all know you 'reeeally' like her."
"Would ya tell her for me?"
"Sure Ben, I'll tell her."
Nurse Margaret stopped Gwen and Julie at the doors and told them they could watch from the observation booth. They had to go back out in the hall, to the next door over and up a few stairs. There were chairs in a line and huge windows. They could see the whole surgical area below.
Kevin joined the girls in the booth and put Ben's bundled shirt and shoes on an empty chair. Julie picked up the bundle and hugged it to her chest while she watched.
"Hey Julie, Ben told me to tell you that he 'reeealy' likes you." Julie smiled and wiped tears out of her eyes. "I reeealy like him too."
They watched while Dr. Joe positioned Ben's arm and told him to leave it still. Nurse Margaret started shaving and scrubbing his arm and even she made a face and looked surprised at how bad his arm looked.
Ben said 'Ow' a couple of times while she was prepping him, but the pre-anesthetic made him feel very relaxed and soon he was feeling no pain at all.
Margaret put the heart monitor electrodes on Ben's chest and turned on the machine. The comforting, strong, regular beep could even be heard in the observation booth where his friends were waiting.
"Should we really all be in here? Maybe we should take turns watching for Albedo. I'll be back."
"Call me if there's any trouble." Gwen offered.
"Ditto."
Kevin left to walk the halls while the girls watched Joe and Nurse Margaret scrub their own hands and put on gloves. Julie fidgeted nervously and Gwen reminded her that Tetrax was watching too from the rooftop and to try not to worry.
"I am worried about his enemies, but more worried about Ben. He has been so depressed. He told me he wanted to die when we spoke before."
"I'm sure it will pass. He gets moody sometimes. Ben ran away from Grandpa and me once when we were kids when Grandpa got hurt in a fight. He blamed himself then too and now he is feeling guilty because you and Kevin got hurt."
"I just hope he is alright." Julie looked back down at Ben lying on the table looking very helpless.
[[[[[((((((((((B|e|n|1|0|A|F)))))))))))]]]]]
"Well? Come on!" Joe looked at the doors impatiently. "We are ready except for the anesthesiologist. He better get here soon." Just then the doors opened and in walked a very young guy with reddish brown hair sticking out from under his cap. He was already wearing his surgical mask too.
"Sorry Doc, got delayed." He mumbled too quietly for Gwen and Julie to hear through the intercom and sat down near Ben's head. Ben looked up at this new guy's chin as he covered his face with the oxygen mask.
Ben mumbled and with a goofy smile said, "You are me!" The anesthesiologist adjusted the oxygen flow and the gas and told Ben to breathe deeply.
In a few short moments Ben was asleep and Dr. Joe got started. Julie looked away when she saw him cutting the dead flesh away and trying to find the viable ends of the veins and arteries and muscle that had been damaged.
Dr. Joe spoke to them through the intercom. They heard him say that there was a good blood supply and everything was going ok so far. Julie thought it looked terrible and didn't believe something that looked like that could be 'ok'.
In another few minutes, Kevin came back to see what was going on, and Julie was feeling more and more impatient. "How long did he say this would take?"
"I don't think he said. He probably wouldn't have known until he saw how much damage there was. It looks like everything . . ."
Gwen stopped talking and they listened to Ben's slowing heart rate at the same time Dr. Joe noticed it. He asked the anesthesiologist, "Hey, what's going on with his heart rate? What flow rate for the anesthetic do you have him on?"
The anesthesiologist didn't answer him so Dr. Joe leaned over and checked the machines himself. "FIVE!" What's wrong with you? That is way too high-he is too deep." Joe looked closely at his face and Ben's lips looked blue under the mask, he checked another gauge.
"You moron! The oxygen is turned off! Are you TRYING to kill him?" The anesthesiologist just looked at him with big green eyes, and under the mask he was smiling. Julie, Gwen and Kevin leaned forward and put their hands on the glass trying to understand what was going on.
Joe yelled, "Do what I tell you NOW! Disconnect him - turn the gas off, turn the oxygen up all the way and blow out the line before you hook him back up!"
Joe still got no action on the part of the anesthesiologist so he broke his sterile field and went around to the machine to do it himself.
The anesthesiologist stood up and it looked like he just stepped out of Joe's way. Really he was reaching for the instruments. He pushed Margaret away from the table, grabbed a bone saw from the pack and plunged it into Ben's chest.
"No!" Kevin screamed and ran from the booth first. Dr Joe pushed the creep away, but he pushed back and they both fell. Nurse Margaret got up off the floor first and ran to Ben. She got to him as the heart monitor showed a flat line and emitted one long - eerie beep. She immediately started CPR.
"BEN!" Dr. Joe scrambled out from under his opponent and jumped up to the table with Margaret. He gave quick orders and she got him what he needed while he took over CPR. Each time he pressed on Ben's chest, more blood oozed out from around the blade that stuck out just a little lower than where he had placed his hands for compressions.
Kevin tackled the anesthesiologist as he tried to get back to Ben and in the process tore off his mask. "ALBEDO!"
He tried to kick Kevin off but he punched Albedo in the gut. Albedo fought harder and twisted out from under Kevin. He fell and cried out as Albedo brought his elbow down on his back. Kevin grabbed Albedo by an ankle and yanked him back to the floor.
It only took a few seconds to get everything ready, and once she did, Margaret took over breathing for him, she held the mask over Ben's nose and mouth and squeezed the bag to continue to use the machine to breath for him.
After delivering three deep breaths to him using the mask, she stopped long enough to intubate him. Now she could use the machine to force more oxygen straight into Ben's lungs through the tube.
Anger, fueled by fear for Ben gave Kevin enormous strength and he delivered a punch that slammed Albedo into the wall so hard the plaster caved in, his human body stunned. Gwen stepped in and enveloped Albedo in her force field.
Albedo laughed weakly and activated his Omnitrix. He went Swampfire, blew out of her energy field and blasted the counter tops and drapes that covered Ben's legs with fireballs.
Joe covered Ben with his own body when the fireball hit, Margaret jumped to put the fire out, but saw Julie was on it. She quickly grabbed another stack of surgical towels and started smothering the flames. Margaret and Joe were able to continue Ben's CPR without missing a beat.
Kevin touched the stainless steel surgical table and absorbed it up to his shoulders. He grabbed Albedo Swampfire from behind and tried to pin him down even though he knew he didn't expect to beat him.
Albedo laughed at Kevin, but at the same time Gwen pounded Albedo with energy bolts from the front and he bent over like he was defeated for a moment but then he stepped back and slammed Kevin against the countertop. Kevin refused to let go.
Albedo Swampfire's arms disappeared as he reabsorbed them and then re-grew them above Kevin's hold and shot more fireballs at Ben. Gwen got an energy bubble around Ben, Margaret and Dr. Joe just in time and the fireballs hit it and went out harmlessly.
Albedo turned into Humongousaur and slammed Kevin high against the wall with a hit from his tail. Kevin slid down the wall and landed on his stomach with the wind knocked out of him, the armor on his arms dissolved as he gasped for air.
Humongousaur made a hole in the wall as he stepped through it. As he dropped through the air outside the building from the third floor, Albedo went Big Chill and flew off. Big Chill went invisible before Tetrax saw him.
Tetrax saw the hole in the wall, and heard the commotion. He swooped down on his hover board and looked inside at the chaos.
Gwen ran to Kevin and helped him up and then they hurried to put out the other small fires that Albedo Swampfire started. Some other members of the hospital staff came to see what had happened and just stared at the destroyed room. They saw the Doctor and Nurse doing CPR for their patient.
One of the staff members that showed up tried to escort Kevin, Gwen and Julie back out, like that would make a difference to the sterile condition of the room at that point, or hide the condition of the patient. Joe heard what was going on and quickly demanded that they be left alone, but told everyone else to get out.
Dr. Joe had resorted to the defibrillation machine to try to bring Ben back. He put the paddles in place on Ben's chest and when the machine was ready he yelled 'Clear!' Margaret took her hands away and Ben's whole body jerked when Joe zapped him.
Kevin hugged both Gwen and Julie and looked up at the ceiling. A tear ran down his cheek too when Ben's heart didn't start after the first zap. Dr. Joe wasted no more time and called for Intracardiac Epinephrine. Margaret handed him a large syringe and he planted the needle up to the hub straight into Ben's heart.
Julie cried out Ben's name and tears ran down Gwen's face as she covered her mouth with her hands. Kevin looked away. "No Ben, don't leave us like this." he said quietly. Julie couldn't speak as she tried to blink away tears so she could watch. Kevin held them both tighter.
And there it was
. . . A solitary beep on the monitor, followed by another and another until Joe yelled they had "rhythm."
Now Kevin had tears running down his cheeks with the girls, because they were all so relieved, Ben still had a chance. They watched Joe work to get Ben stable and Nurse Margaret helped expertly.
"Margaret, do you have someone that can quietly type and cross match Ben's blood?"
"Yes, it is no problem." Joe drew a small vial of Ben's blood and handed it to her. She made a call and soon met someone at the door to hand it off to. Margaret and Dr. Joe took turns scrubbing again and putting on sterile gloves while the other monitored Ben.
The three sat down on the floor with Kevin in the middle, right where they had been standing and leaned back against the cabinet doors. Julie leaned her head against Kevin's shoulder and he put his arm around her.
Exhausted, Gwen relaxed on her back with her head on Kevin's leg and watched Joe. Kevin gathered both of her hands and held them over her stomach. Tetrax watched through the hole in the wall left by Albedo's escape.
The tech that took Ben's blood, returned with sacks of blood. He hung one with the other bag already dripping into Ben's IV and set another line in his neck for it. They thanked him and he left.
Joe was speaking to Margaret, but they were all listening. "I don't want to take the blade out until his blood pressure comes back up 'cause he is likely to bleed some more. His breathing is not sounding good. It may have ruptured his thoracic diaphragm. The machine will probably have to continue to breathe for him. We will give him a few minutes while I work on his arm."
Gwen, Kevin and Julie didn't like what they were hearing and watched while Dr. Joe repositioned Ben's arm where he could continue to repair it. He kept talking while he worked. Margaret nodded in understanding from time to time.
"He already lost a lot of blood on Sunday when his arm was injured during an assault. Now he is losing even more and today is only Tuesday he didn't have time to fully recover in between. His heart just stopped from an overdose of anesthetic and trauma. He is very weak, we can't afford for anything else to go wrong."
The other three listened and grew more worried as the minutes passed. Finally they heard Joe ask, "How is Ben's blood pressure now?"
"90 over 58 Doctor."
"Still a little low but much better than it was. I'm gonna need more clamps – lots more." Joe instructed as he prepared to remove the blade. Margaret was already sterile so she instructed Kevin to get her another instrument pack and showed him which one. She told him how to open it using 'sterile procedure' across Ben's lap where Dr. Joe could reach it easily.
"I'm also gonna need another one of you to monitor him and the anesthesia. He is coming out of his close call pretty well - considering, but we don't want him to completely wake up while we still have his chest open."
"But we don't know how-what if . . .?" Julie was worried. She wanted badly to help Ben, but was terrified he was going to ask her. She didn't think she could do it.
"I will tell you how-don't worry. Gwen-you do it, come on, there are clean masks and caps in those boxes on the counter."
Gwen tied her hair back, put on a cap and mask and moved over to sit on the little stool by Ben's head where she could see him under the drape. It frightened her all over again to see Ben up so close with a tube down his throat and taped in place for him to breathe through, and his eyelids taped shut.
A little melted goo ran out of the corners of his eyes from the ointment they put in them to keep them moist while under anesthetic. To Gwen, it made him look like he was crying.
She whispered, "I know you didn't mean it when you said you wanted to give up and die, Ben. Please keep fighting . . . keep fighting now like you've never fought before." Gwen reached under the drape and found his right hand to hold it.
Joe told Gwen how to monitor how deep Ben was while under anesthesia, but assured her he would be watching too. He told Margaret to get the suction and once ready he pulled the blade from Ben's chest. It made a sickening sucking sound and Gwen gasped as blood quickly filled the hole and spilled over on his skin.
Julie hugged Kevin tighter as they listened to Joe shouting orders. "Suction-more gauze-pack it off, Ooops-there's another!" Joe inserted clamp after clamp to close off anything that bled.
Once satisfied, he started repairing the damage and knitting Ben's chest closed. Nurse Margaret kept up with him like they had been working together for years.
Tetrax wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew it wasn't good. He continued to patrol around the hospital returning to the hole to look in from time to time. Everything was much quieter than it had been for a while. Kevin saw him and went over to tell Tetrax what happened.
"Ok Gwen, we will start letting him come up from the anesthesia again. I am almost done with his arm now too."
His announcement sounded very good to everyone. Gwen reduced the flow rate as Joe instructed her. Joe stitched Ben's arm back together while he slowly woke up from the anesthesia. He timed it perfectly and got the last stitch in just as Ben's fingers moved for the first time.
Joe unhooked him from the respirator and watched him breath. "He's breathing on his own!" As soon as he swallowed around the tube Nurse Margaret took it out of his throat and monitored him closely. She went back to the mask to give him some more oxygen.
[[[[[((((((((((B|e|n|1|0|A|F)))))))))))]]]]]
One of the other nurses braved Joe's wrath and came in to see if their patient had survived, and pretended to care about it if they needed help getting Ben ready to go to recovery.
She was an older nurse with her gray hair pulled tight into a bun under her cap and she really only wanted to find out what was going on and who they were. Tetrax hid outside behind the wall when she came in.
Joe informed her that Ben would be staying right where he was until he was awake and could travel. When they were finished with the room they would all leave together.
"Go ahead and charge my account with whatever amount the care center thinks is reasonable for the use of the room. I gave you my insurance information. They will pay for any damages."
"But what happened here? There will have to be reports written and where are this boy's parents?
Joe told her "I am Ben's dad-in fact these are all my kids." She looked at his blond hair sticking out from under his cap and then around at each of the kids. "Different Mothers." He offered to explain it.
"All nearly the same age huh? And you are not old enough to have all these teens."
"Someone very bad is after us and it is all top secret government stuff." He thought one destroyed room and one hole in their hospital was enough so he told her they would be leaving as soon as possible. "Please excuse me so I can take care of my kids and patients properly."
The nosy nurse repeated "patients? As in more than one?" and looked around at the others. She saw Kevin's blood stained back and leg and the marks on Julies face and arms. "But what kind of top secret government stuff could these KIDS be involved with?"
"Top Secret, remember?"
She put her hands on her hips, "This is all a very strange and dangerous mess you all seem to be in – I think you have endangered all of us."
Joe pulled his mask down in a huff and glared at her. She told him that the police were waiting in the hallway to talk to them. Joe said "ok, whatever" as he turned to tend to Ben more closely. The busybody nurse was still not leaving and continued to ask questions she didn't need to know about.
Kevin got up and stood very, very close to her. She turned around and found herself staring into his neck. He said nothing, but remained very close to her until she got the idea to leave.
After she was gone, Kevin stood behind Gwen while Dr. Joe checked Ben's legs where the fire burned the surgical drapes. Joe happily reported his skin was undamaged. At least one part of Ben was ok. Dr. Joe backed up and sat down on the floor and exhaled loudly.
Gwen was still sitting on the stool holding Ben's hand. Margaret gently took off the tape that held Ben's eyes closed, and then checked the machines and Ben's vitals before she rolled up all the bloody surgical drapes and towels.
Julie stepped close to the table on the other side and smoothed Ben's bangs off his face. She watched as he took each breath.
Julie dared to breathe again, and told Joe, "Thanks Doc. You were amazing, and you too Margaret."
Gwen pulled Ben's right hand to her cheek and held it there, "I can't believe Albedo did this. He snuck up on all of us, and got away. He is so devious and underhanded, and with the same alien powers as Ben - how are we going to stop him." she looked at his face hoping his eyes would open when she felt his fingers twitch again.
Kevin tensed up and his eyes got big as he looked at Gwen who just spoke about Albedo, aliens and all, and then he looked at Margaret who was standing right there cleaning the blood off and bandaging Ben's incisions.
Joe saw Kevin's panicked look, "its ok, Margaret knows."
"What? Knows what?" It was too late for Kevin to be sly.
"Margaret knows about the aliens and the Plumbers. We didn't wind up here completely by accident." Joe smiled at Kevin as he squirmed.
"Nice to meet you again, Margaret." Gwen added.
"How did Albedo get so close? How. . .?" Julie mumbled.
Kevin guessed that he must have seen where they were going and listened to the arrangements made at the desk in the emergency room. He could have been Big Chill and been invisible. Then he just replaced the real anesthesiologist. "Oh ya, Margaret, we should probably try to find the real anesthesiologist in case Albedo injured him and he needs help."
Margaret got on a phone at the wall and informed the police waiting for them, that while they waited they should be looking for the missing anesthesiologist.
Kevin got Julie a stool from the counter so she could sit by Ben. They all sat quietly for a few minutes, and listened to Ben's heart beat on the monitor. Joe got up.
"You know, if one of them comes back in here and sees that surgery is over, they are going to send everyone else in, including the cops and we can't leave yet. I think it best to avoid as many questions as possible, right?"
"Right Doc." Kevin agreed.
"So we should keep on doing surgery . . . Julie? I would like to do something for you. We are here and have the stuff. I would like to take the scar off your leg that the Forever Knight put on you."
Julie blushed and looked at the others, everyone knew about it anyway. "Are you sure? I would really appreciate it." Julie was a little reluctant to step away from Ben but walked over to Joe.
"You up for a little more fun Margaret?" she smiled and helped Julie up on the other table.
[[[[[((((((((((Ben10AF)))))))))))]]]]]
Albedo sat hidden in a tree two blocks away from the hospital, but as Big Chill, he could still see far enough to catch a glimpse of Tetrax as he moved into the open every now and then. He knew they were watching for him to come back.
He was sure he had succeeded in killing Ben Tennyson. Knowing how fragile these stupid human bodies are, he thought he had killed him for sure.
The only problem as he saw it was that they stopped him before he was able to get the Omnitrix off Ben's dead body. He kicked himself for not just pulling Ben's arm off after he went Humongousaur but he was really not cut out for all this fighting.
"It is truly not my fault I panicked. They don't fight fair." He consoled himself.
That red haired female is stronger than I thought too. They will come out of there sometime, and I must have another plan. With Ben dead, the Omnitrix would have released from his arm. I don't know if one of the others will wear it or not, but even if they do, they won't be experienced enough with it to stop me.
"What to do-What to do. . ." he mumbled to himself.
[[[[[((((((((((Ben10AF)))))))))))]]]]]
Julie woke up very quickly from the light anesthesia Joe gave her for a very short procedure. Now she had two small incisions, one on each thigh where he took a little skin to graft where the burn scar had been. "How are you feeling Julie?"
"Fine, how's Ben?"
"He's ok - we are just waiting for him to stabilize some more before we move him." Joe told her about the procedure and that the scars would be small and continue to fade with time. She told him how grateful she was and he helped her to sit back by Ben.
Joe called "Next" and pointed at Kevin. "I need to treat your burns again." He took off his shirt and reluctantly got on his stomach on the table Julie vacated.
"Ooooh – the table is cold!" he whined, but smiled and held still while Dr. Joe cleaned and re-bandaged his wounds.
"Now we have to figure out how to get out of here without all the questions. At least it is dark outside again." Margaret told Kevin to hang on a second and went out in the hallway. Joe went over and waved at Tetrax who hovered quickly down to the hole and stepped in.
"Can you carry Ben very gently down to our truck with Julie at the same time?" Tetrax said of course he could. Joe picked Ben up off the table and placed him across Tetrax's arms with a mask and a small tank of oxygen. He even re-shaped and smoothed his arms to support Ben's head and keep his body flatter.
"Julie, when you get down there, put him back on the oxygen."
Julie stepped up on the hoverboard and held on around Tetrax's waist as he descended and went low across the line of vehicles to their truck. Joe and Gwen piled supplies and equipment with Ben's clothes on the gurney and covered it with a sheet while Kevin watched the door.
Margaret came back with two attendants. "It's ok - they understand how important it is you get out of here without being seen. These two friends of ours will wheel the gurney out with your supplies while you go out through the hole in the wall."
"Well, there's no time like the present." The two guys left with the loaded gurney and the police didn't even look their way as they passed them. Gwen formed an energy slide that went right across the parking lot to the back of the truck below. Kevin and Joe slid down first and Gwen dissolved the slide when she landed.
Plumber wagged his tail quietly to greet them all as they came back. Tetrax placed Ben on one of the benches and flew up to be hidden in the trees. The guys put the gurney in the back and Julie put the oxygen on Ben before she unloaded the supplies between the front seats.
She and Gwen picked Ben up and placed him on the gurney before folding the legs and putting it back up on the bench. They tied it down, and then strapped Ben down so he couldn't fall off. Gwen stayed to help Julie watch over Ben, Kevin got in his car and they left quietly.
Albedo watched the whole operation from his hiding spot. "Well the Omnitrix is still on Ben Tennyson's wrist – somehow they saved his life-AGAIN! I will not fail the next time."
[[[[[((((((((((Ben10AF)))))))))))]]]]]
To be continued . . .