Chapter 11: Baby-Mama Drama
It was the middle of the night, and Ben was gone from the couch–called away to deal with aliens behaving badly. Sandra had been prepared for that. She knew the lives of cops–normal ones–and she had expected her son to be missing when Attea's time came. When the screaming started, Sandra grabbed the bag they had packed for their daughter-in-law. Carl grabbed Attea, and they got on the road. Having practiced this a few times, it took only minutes to reach Bellwood General–scene of so many good times when Ben was a young boy.
Striding up to the counter, Sandra explained their predicament, and immediately Attea found herself on a gurney while the older couple answered some questions. A nurse took Attea's hands and coached her on counting seconds between contractions. She was completely unflappable, paying no attention at all to the little woman's green skin, three-toed feet, or the missing pinky on the hand she was holding. Sandra was far more upset and worried. The staff was having a bit of trouble with the paperwork. Attea's age made her a minor, and they wanted to know where her husband and her parents were. They were also having a bit of trouble with such basic information as blood-type and demographic. In the end, Carl intervened, announcing, "put down other. Other-dash-Incursean."
Momentarily the nurse announced they were taking Attea away, leaving the Tennysons to bicker with the admin over Attea's paperwork. That left the young woman in a state of terror. Beyond returning to her ship to work, Attea hadn't been away from the Tennysons for more than a few minutes at a stretch. "I's gon' be ok, honey," said the nurse. "I'm not gon' let anything bad happen. You'll be fine." Somehow that did make Attea feel better.
In spite of being moved, the Princess got no closer to giving birth, and she ended up in the prep room for several hours. Phone calls got made, dragging Betty Rush out of bed. While the nurses tried to prepare the new mommy to give birth, Betty was in urgent conference with the admitting doctor.
"No, not alien as in Mexican, Dr. Polk," said Betty as she gathered on some clothes. "More like E.T. Attea is of a race of humanoid amphibians from space. She's giving birth to triplets. Two female. One male. They are half-human, so expect anything..." Dr. Polk was silent on the other end of the line, making Betty nervous. She'd come to care about Attea too. "Tell me you can handle this," she said. Taking deep breaths, the doctor confirmed that he had things in hand. "I've given the Tennysons an anaesthetic that's safe for her," said Betty. "I'm on my way."
Things didn't quite go to plan when Betty Rush reached the hospital. The anaesthesiologist had taken one look at the prescribed med and refused to use it, and one of the nurses was on the phone with the FBI trying to convince them to come down. Betty got that shut down. In the now, it was important to get Attea through birth and out of the hospital.
As the contractions got stronger, Attea was moved to the OR, and the Tennysons occupied a bench, waiting. Inside, the Princess was in hell and wondering why she'd wanted to do this in the first place. These little bastards would just get greedy and depose her anyway. The lack of anaesthetic had her holding Betty's hand in a white knuckle grip as she screamed in pain. Somewhere at the height of birthing her son, she thought of the man who was responsible–who'd given her so much grief. "Ben Tennyson," howled the lovely frog-girl!
Outside, Carl Tennyson jumped in startlement at that shout. He'd heard Attea scream Ben's name a time or two, but never like that. "Oh, I screamed your name when I was birthing Ben, hon," quipped Sandra. Every woman there gave Carl a dirty look. Blushing, he sank down in his chair.
Inside, the nurse brought Ben Jr. to the new mom. He was adorable, and, in spite of the pain, Attea cradled her baby lovingly. And then a powerful contraction reminded them that there were two more to go. Over the next hour, Sandra and Betty joined their brother in the world. All were breathing normally and looking alert. Mom was exhausted. As the babies got carted to post-natal care, Attea got wheeled to a private room. Still wearing scrubs, Betty led the in-laws there.
Their daughter-in-law was sound asleep when they slipped into her room. "I gave her a sedative," explained Betty. "I'll call and check on her in the morning. You and Ben should be able to see her in the afternoon." Sandra went to Attea's side and stood there a moment, staring down at her. She loved her daughter-in-law. Smiling, she tucked Attea's arm under the covers. Rejoining her husband and friend, she slipped out.
It was noon when Ben finally broke free of work and got to the hospital. Rushing up to the desk, he anxiously announced, "my wife's given birth. I need to see her..." "Name," queried the nurse in her sardonic voice. "Attea," said Ben. "Attea Milleosa Tennyson..." "Oh," said the nurse. "You would be Ben..." "Yeah," Ben replied. She directed him down the hall to the elevator and up to the third floor. Thanking her, Ben got on his way. Arriving on the third floor, he met another nurse. "Oh," said she, "you're Ben. Rose'll take you." Rose was a plump black woman with an infectious smile. As she lead the way down, Ben met the doctor, who announced, "so you're Ben..." "That's kinda weird," rumbled Ben. "Oh everybody knows your name, honey," said Rose. "Your girl screamed it last night while pushin' out your son." Ben blushed to his hairline. That didn't sound good.
More seriously, Dr. Polk explained, "I'm afraid there's a problem..." A chill of fear shot through Ben. Voice betraying his fear, he asked, "she's alright, right? Are my kids ok?" "It's not that," said Dr. Polk. "Well... How old are you, Ben?" "I just turned nineteen," replied the hero. "Phew," breathed Henry Polk. "Listen, Child-Welfare is here. They had some questions..." Ben's hackles went up. That didn't sound good.
The doctor led Ben back downstairs to a small office where state employees customarily worked when visiting the hospital. There Ben found himself facing a very serious looking woman who was in her late twenties. The severe cut of her pants-suit suggested she was a nasty customer, and Ben resolved to be polite and do his best not to make her angry. The hero tried a smile on her as he sat down. "You are," she asked? "Ben," Ben replied. "Pleased to meet you, Ben," she replied. "I'm Heather..." You don't look pleased, thought Ben. "What's this about," he asked?
Eyes narrowing, she replied, "we get concerned when a minor shows up pregnant at a hospital. People ask who the father is and where the parents are." That made Ben more than a little nervous. "Attea's parents are both in prison," replied Ben. "Who's her closest living relative," asked Heather? "Her uncle Vanos, but he's kind of a jerk," replied Ben. "And how do I contact Mr. Vanos," asked Heather, as she scrawled in her notebook. "You kinda don't," replied Ben. "He's in outer space..." "Is that a joke," asked Heather? Face hot, Ben replied, "uh, Attea's not human... I mean, didn't they tell you..." Heather gave him a frosty look. Coldly, she told him, "I need to speak to this Vanos. Either you can give me his contact information, or I'll have you and your parents arrested..."
Elsewhere, Attea was in the middle of her first breast-feeding. She had awoken from a nice dream of being on holiday with Ben and the kids. The nurses had been good enough to bring her kids, freshly diapered and looking hale. Ben's parents had come by and spent a little time with her before going in to work. Now she was experiencing her first breast-feeding.
"He's sucking kinda' hard," opined the new mom as her son went after her teat. "Kinda like his dad..." Rose stared for a moment, then laughed. Betty joined her a moment later. Frowning, Attea asked, "speaking of which... Where is Ben? I thought he'd be here..." Rose replied, "the Child Welfare people asked to talk to him. Guess they wanted to be sure he wasn't over eighteen..."
Frowning, Attea asked, "why's that matter?" Blushing, Betty explained, "on Earth, you're considered under age, Princess Attea." The young woman goggled at her. Rose goggled too. "You mean this little girl is Royalty," asked the nurse? "Technically it's Empress," sniffed Attea. "Since Daddy had to abdicate..." Then, "what does it matter how old I am?" "Most parents on Earth don't have armies to keep bad men away from their young daughters," replied Betty. Attea blushed and grinned.
Just then, Heather Blake walked in with Dr. Polk. Henry Polk wore a hang-dog look, and his expression suggested there was a rather serious problem. Betty turned to cross the room and intercept the newcomers. She didn't want them upsetting Attea. Before Betty could move, Dr. Polk announced, "Social Services is here to speak with Mrs. Tennyson..."
Heather Blake, usually unflappable, found her mouth opening in shock. She had believed that kid was lieing when he claimed this girl was an extra-terrestrial, buy she really was an alien. Regaining her composure, the nasty social worker announced, "Miss Myrdral, I'm here to work on your case. I need to know how to contact your uncle. Given your situation, we need to contact him immediately." Attea stared at her.
Calmly, Heather said, "it's for your own good..." Betty stepped in and retorted, "you think contacting a man who's trying to murder her is a good idea?" That almost stopped Heather, but the city council and state government had been trying to find a solution to 'Undertown' for three years. She wasn't going to let this go. "You are," demanded the social worker. "Dr. Rush," replied Betty. "Empress Attea's my patient. Her uncle isn't going to sign any papers regarding custody. He's going to murder his brother's sole heir–and anybody with her..." "You're a doctor," opined the nasty government employee. "Leave the legalities to me."
"Mr. Tennyson wouldn't give me the information," said Heather. "So I had him arrested. Now you can give me what I need, or I can have you sent to juvie as a runaway." Attea glanced to Betty. She had no idea what juvie was. Dr. Polk spoke up, announcing, "you're not moving Mrs. Tennyson..." Heather retorted, "that marriage is a sham! A nineteen year old kid and his parents can't decide to kidnap somebody's kid and marry her." Face red, Henry Polk told her, "she's a nursing female who's just given birth. She's not clear to leave for a week. Now get out before I call security!"
Elsewhere, Ben was experiencing the joy that was booking. They'd bundled him into a squad car that smelled of vomit and urine, hauled him to their precinct house, and brought him before the booking Sgt. Now Ben had come to the place he had been afraid of landing. The cops wanted to take the Omnitrix, and that was a no-go.
Sgt. Porter said, "all jewelry comes off, kid, no exceptions..." Just then, Mike Stack came through the door–the first friendly face Ben had seen so far. "That ain't jewelry, Sarge," announced Officer Stack. "It's his service-weapon..." Which didn't exactly help. Thanks, Mike, thought Ben. In moments, he was surrounded, with guns pointed at him. "Put down the weapon," snarled the desk Seargent! "I can't," replied Ben. "The Omnitrix is not a gun. It's... I can't really explain it, but I'm not giving it to you. There's a lot of really bad people who would destroy Bellwood to get it." The shouting and commotion brought the captain out of his office. He found his men surrounding a perp with Officer Stack in the middle of the fray with his gun holstered.
When it looked like his fellow officers might start shooting, Mike got in the way. "Hold it! Hold it," he interrupted! "We're all cops here!" Turning to Ben, he asked, "is there anybody you would give it to?" Ben thought a minute. "Magister Tennyson," said Ben. At the Captain's questioning look, Mike explained, "their Captain, sir. I'll make the call. I got the number..." To Ben, he said, "be right back, Ben. Don't make any sudden moves." Like scratching my nose, thought Ben? He could do with a good scratch right now.
Ben was forced to wait on his knees with a dozen guns pointed at him for fifteen minutes while Mike argued on the phone with the stooge who manned the Plumbers' front desk. Finally the cop came back, announcing, "he's on his way..." Captain Murphy announced, "Stack! Since you seem to be our liaison, why don't you escort this kid to segregation?" "Sure, Captain," replied Mike. "Sure..." Turning to Ben, he said, "c'mon, Ben. Got a nice, padded cell for you..." The Plumber nodded, as he got to his feet. "The way my life is going, I'm gonna' need it," said he.
As they walked, Mike asked him what happened. "Pregnancy happened," sighed Ben. At Mike's questioning look, Ben explained, "I got my girlfriend pregnant. Naturally we got married... When she went to give birth, the state decided she was under age, so now they want to see her uncle..." Which was normal enough. Mike didn't get why this was a big deal. With a heavy sigh, Ben told him, "my wife. She's an alien... Vanos's her crazy uncle who's been trying to kill her for the last year." "What," stammered Mike? "You bangin' some chick in Protective?" Blushing, Ben admitted, "it's kinda like that. At the time we were stranded a thousand light years from Earth. The three killers Vanos hired had just blown up the ship we were on, and we barely got off it... as in the ship was coming apart when we got off it..." "And boy do girls cling when shit like that happens," whistled Mike. Funnily enough, he got it.
"We got Attea home...," said Ben. "...but she had a bun in the oven," sighed Mike. Most of a man's problems tended to come from not keeping his dick in his pants. Ben blushed at that comment. "Listen, Ben," said the older man, "shit happens. You did the right thing, marryin' that girl. You're a good cop. You're gonna' get through this. You and your girl will be back together in no time." Oddly that did help. "Thanks, Mike," said Ben, as he stepped into the cell. Mike gave the younger man a pat on the back before closing the door.
Magister Tennyson didn't look like much. He looked a lot like somebody's grand-dad, and Sgt. Porter said so. The look the old man gave the Sgt. quickly changed his mind. He's a Captain, alright, thought the Sgt., as the gentleman went into Captain Murphy's office. The door got shut, and the waiting began.
After an eternity of nervous waiting, Max Tennyson and Captain Murphy exited the office. "Take the Magister to retrieve Officer Tennyson's service weapon, Mr. Stack," announced Jim Murphy. The tension in the room evaporated. Mike was happy to take Ben's granddad in to see him. "Got him segregated," explained Mike. "He'll get arraigned in the morning. You'll be able to bond him out..." Max acknowledged that with a nod.
A dejected Ben approached the bars. At the sight of his grandfather, he spoke the code that unlocked the Omnitrix. Max took it from him, asking, "what the hell happened?" "The City of Bellwood and the state of California decided I kidnaped Attea from her crazy uncle, and they want Vanos's contact info to ship her back...," muttered Ben. Even to Mike, it sounded crazy. Irritated, Max growled, "I was afraid this would happen. I've told you before, Ben. Plumber business doesn't involve regular people..." Ben retorted, "and that worked well for you and grandma, huh?" Max's face went red hot, but he answered that with, "the world was younger and less cynical, Ben, and Verdona was an adult."
Mike stared at Ben. This kid was part alien? Magister Tennyson announced, "I'll be back in the morning. Officer?" As they walked, Mike opined, "you know that 'do as I say' shit don't work..." Blushing, Max replied, "yeah, I know." As they exited the lockup, Mike said, "Plumber business is starting to affect us, Magister. Might be time to look at a change." For a moment, it looked like the chief Plumber would lose his temper. In a sign of just where Ben got his calm, even temperament, Max Tennyson replied, "maybe... Thanks, officer." Mike shook his hand, answering that with, "he's a good kid, Magister." "I know he is, officer," sighed Max.
Returning to the lobby, Mike walked the older man out before returning to the office to face the music. He didn't even wait to be called. He just headed on into the Captain's office. Sgt. Steele was already there. "Shut the door, Mike," said the Captain. After the door was shut, the Captain said, "need you to be straight with me, Mike. What's going on with that kid and the old man?" With a heavy sigh, Mike explained, "Officer Tennyson suffered a lapse in judgment while working protective custody, sir. The young lady in question's now in a family way. Family Services believes her to be a runaway."
The Captain blinked. "Are you telling me that kid...," rumbled Jim Murphy? "Her dad's some big-time alien goombah," said Mike. "Daddy's in jail. Her uncle tried to whack her, so he'd be in charge. Kid saved her life..." With predictable results. Rolling his eyes, the Captain announced, "why can't patrolmen keep their dicks in their pants?!" Mike shrugged. He wondered that himself. Between banging other men's wives–sometimes fellow cops–messing around with perps, and hitting on waitresses, there were a whole lot of ways Mike's fellow officers had managed to screw themselves over. He just hoped that Ben didn't end up wrecking his life. "Ben's a good kid, sir," said Mike. "He's tryin' t'do the right thing..." "He your inside man," asked the Captain? "Yessir," replied Mike.
Their 'inside man' had sent them information six times in the last month that kept BWPD officers from being munched on by aliens. The Department owed Ben Tennyson a debt for that alone. That didn't even count all the times he'd literally saved the town, the planet, and everything in between. "He stays in segregation," sighed the Captain. "At least until he gets bond." And his officers would have to be a lot more careful about who they pulled over.