Chapter 38
Hope and I wanted to keep the gender of our new baby a secret, but we weren't prepared for how big of a secrect it was. She's had seven ultrasounds since we discovered we we're expecting. Once to prove we really were pregnant, and determine a due date. Another one to hear the baby's heartbeat. Which we only heard once. Then Hope had a few more to check for any abnormalities to avoid another miscarriage. The nurse last time said she saw something odd in the scan. It's worried us for a while. She informed us that by now the baby should be developed enough that we would be able to make out its body and gender; as well as the spot the nurse noticed last time. More or less this ultrasound should confirm everything we want to know so we can move forward.
Hope paced the floor as we waited in a room for a technician to greet us.
"Hope?"
Hope sighed heavily.
"Hope you alright?"
"No...Ben I...I'm really scared...We couldn't really see the baby last time and then there's that spot near the baby, and they said it could be ectopic...and I thought about that...and I thought that maybe the baby-"
"Hey...stop its alright calm down...whatever happens I'm right here."
"Ben...I...Hold me please."
I walked over to her and embraced her. She squirmed and pushed me away.
"What?!"
"Nothing...I...I have to pee."
I touched the side of her face and kissed the top of her bed. A nurse tech finally entered.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." She said with a smile.
"Not at all." I answered for Hope.
I helped Hope lie down on an examination table. The technician started applyling a gel to her abdomen and pelvic area.
"Listen...if something is wrong...because you saw something on the last scan...don't tell me just yet..." Hope began.
"Just relax...I don't think there's anything wrong...it was just something I noticed that I couldn't quite make out..." She responded as she placed the transducer, onto Hope's belly. She began to move the transducer to capture black and white images onto the ultrasound screen. A vision of a baby appeared.
"There's the little one..."
The nurse moved the wand a bit to the right to sneak a peek behind the baby. This area is where she saw the spot. Upon moving it we all noticed that the spot was larger. It had developed into something we never saw coming. There were two babies.
"Look at that!" The nurse said ecstaticlly beaming a smile. "The other little one tried to hide from me, well we can now confirm that you are having twins!"
I felt my heart flip, and my breath run short. I had no control over my legs.
"Ben?" Hope questioned as a smile left her face. I felt a large amount of weight pulling me forward and backward. I swayed a little as my hands trembled.
"You two are so lucky... My cousin has twins and they can be a handful but they are so blessed to have them!" The nurse continued.
To me her words slurred and the room began to spin.
"Ben!" I heard Hope shout. She grabbed the sleeve of my jacket, but before I knew it my face hit the floor and I was out. Everything flashed red for a split second as the blood rushed to my head, then black. In the darkness I could feel someone touching me. They were patting my face. There was a chill and a breeze on in my hair. I slowly opened my eyes. Hope was standing near me as I lied on my back on an examination table. To the left a desk fan turned on high moved left and right. Hope stroked the fringe in my bangs.
"The...the ultrasound..." I uttered.
"They finished it."
"And you..."
"I've been to the bathroom..."
"But the gender..."
"Ben...honey..."
She took my hand and placed it near her chin.
"Genders...we're having two boys."
I groaned and held my head.
"Ben..."
"How long was I out?"
"About 10 minutes...they moved you in here and finished my ultrasound."
"Twins?" I whispered softly. "Twins though Angel..."
"I know."
Even though I was slightly out of it, her smile never left her face. Her eyes glittered and her face lit up. She wasn't afraid. She didn't tremble. She was at ease. She was warm and happy. I started to say something but I couldn't find the words. A doctor entered.
"You're awake?"
She and I looked at the doctor as she entered.
"I'm sorry I passed out."
"Don't worry about it hon, you're not the first or even the last father to do that."
My face grew red.
"Hey nothing to be embarrassed about...and you don't have a concussion, and you're wife is moving along just fine in her pregnancy, that's the main thing."
When we told Harmione the news, because this was something we couldn't keep to ourselves she squealed and jumped around. She was thrilled to be having not just one but two brothers. After the talk I had with her she was even more confident about it. Things would work out fine. We desperately wanted to call up everyone we knew but we didn't. It was much harder to keep Harmione from telling; she was so proud. Hope hugged Harmione, and Harmione hugged her tightly around the neck. They giggled and grinned from ear to ear.
"Two baby brothers Mama!"
I smiled at the sight of them. My phone rang and I quickly answered it without looking at the number.
"Tennyson."
"Ben..."
"Julie..."
"I know I'm the last person you want to see but...can we meet up somewhere and talk?"
I sighed. I knew if I didn't I'd have her and Herve on my ass, and I couldn't toss that and two new babies up in the air. It just wasn't gonna happen.
"Where?"
I met with Julie in the park by the pond. She waited for me on a park bench. When I arrived she seemed upset and scared. She met me half way and grabbed my hands. I slowly pulled away and put my hands in my jacket pockets. She then grabbed my arms.
"Ben...I'm sorry...I did talk with Herve and I did tell him everything that went on between us and what didn't but he twisted my words around...and I'm sorry if it's messed up your marriage with Hope!"
"It's not messed up...Hope trusts me...its messed up that you let him come into my home and threaten me and slander me like he did."
"I know I'm sorry...I can't control what he does...he just cares about me and-"
"Apology accepted...okay if we're done here."
I turned to leave and she grabbed my arm.
"No please!" She screamed.
"Julie don't do this...you're just embarrassing yourself."
"No please listen...thank you for accepting my apology but that's not why I wanted to talk to you!"
Tears began to form in her eyes.
"When I called him out on it he told me that you were responsible for the hardships in our relationship...he wanted to get back at you but he didn't know how at first...he knew he wouldn't be able to hurt you by himself so he left to get help...he wants to hurt you really bad Ben!"
Julie sniffled a bit and wiped her face.
"I know we're not friends but I still care and I don't want you to get hurt...so I couldn't keep that to myself!"
I stared long and hard at her for a minute. Then I placed my hands on her shoulders.
"Thank you Julie...That's...Look, there's no one he could find that could possibly hurt me...In fact I'd like to see him try..."
"I just don't want you to get hurt."
I smiled.
"If you feel that strongly about it then maybe I was wrong to push you out of my life indefinitely."
She shyly smiled back. Suddenly an explosion rang out. And another near us. We screamed and I rolled on top of her, shielding her from the blast. She screamed loudly. A few trees caught fire.
"Stay down, and stay here."
I got to my feet and looked around. Smoke engulfed my vision. I turned and out of the grey abyss of smog stepped out a creature with blue colored fur, and black markings on his face. His ears were pointed and he carried a Proto-Tool on his shoulder and dawned blue-and-black Proto-Tech Armor.
"Rook?" I breathed.
"Hello sir...or should I call you traitor?"
He pointed his proto-tool at me and it became a blaster.
"Rook...wait."
He aimed at my chest.
"Rook...please don't."
I moved my hand over the Omintrix.
Rook wasn't speaking anymore.
"Please don't make me fight you."
I turned the dial when I realized he wasn't backing down. I saw the whites of his eyes turn cold as he shot at me. I dove under the blast and somersaulted into Swampfire. As I charged for him he contiued to fire, and I continued to dodge him.
"Hold still damn it!" Rook shouted.
When I reached him I grabbed the blaster and pulled. He grunted as he lurched forward into my fist. With a hard punch he spun and fell over into the pond. I wasn't finished. He growled and used his tool as a sword. He got me a couple of times with the blade. Only I kept regenerating. I turned into Spider monkey and climbed up a tree near the pond.
"Talk to me Rook, why are you doing this?!"
"I have nothing to say to a traitor like you!"
He grunted as his tool transformed again, this time into a bow. He shot a few arrows. Several missed but one finally struck my shoulder. I fell from the tree and landed in the water. As I hit the shallow depths of the water I transformed back into myself.
I grunted furiously pulling the arrow from my shoulder. My body went numb and I couldn't move. It was a paralysing arrow with some sort of tranquilizer drug coating the tip. My veins now submerged in the stuff. Unable to move Rook stepped through the water over to my position. He squatted over me and grabbed my face.
"Rook, what's happened to you...you've changed."
"I'm the same as I ever was...it's you who's changed Ben!"
I could feel his breath. His body heat so close to mine. Without warning he dunked my head underwater. Unable to fight him off my face went under. I didn't have time to inhale. I didn't have time to think. I was under for a few seconds and he pulled my head back up.
"I never thought I'd ever do this to you!" He shouted.
I spat and coughed and tried to form a sentence.
"Then why are you doing it?!" I spat out, and coughed heavily again.
"Don't play dumb, I'm trying to knock some sense into you, you think you can just fraternize with the enemy and I wouldn't find out about it!?"
"What are you talking about?!"
He swiftly dunked me again. This time he kept me under longer. When I came back up I was coughing and wheezing.
"Stop that!" I yelled through my uneven breaths.
"Not until you give me the answers I want to hear!"
He grabbed my shirt tightly in his fist.
"8 years ago it was just you and me when Miss Tennyson and Kevin went off to college...then one day you completely changed!"
"I told you why!" I shouted.
"You said you wanted to be alone, that you preferred it that way, and I go off to train at the Academy only to find you with Charmcaster!"
"It's not what you think Rook!"
"It's not what I think huh, but you're with her aren't you Ben, what did she do put you under some kinda spell!?"
"No!" I yelled. "You don't understand!"
"I understand that you're with the enemy, and I understand that you lied to me!"
"I didn't lie!"
"You did lie, maybe you forgot your promise to me, but I'll make you remember one way or another...I thought maybe I could snap you back to your senses...but seeing as I can't, the next time I see you I will have to take you down...you and Charmaster."
"Rook, no listen to me!"
He dunked my head under again and left me there. As Rook disappeared I began to drown. Suddenly I was pulled from the pond by Herve and Julie. I coughed furiously. They pulled me over to a tree and propped me up, sitting in the grass.
"Ben, Ben are you okay?!"
I coughed again.
"Back up and let him breathe Jules."
I looked up at Herve.
"Thanks..." I exhaled. "But I thought you wanted to hurt me...did you find Rook?"
"Oh no...I'm just as shocked as you are, honest, I was just going to buy some extra film in an attempt to blackmail you."
Julie glared at him.
"What, it's true."
Herve folded his arms.
"Then why save me?"
"Because...Julie made me see the error of my ways...and where I come from we defend a woman's honor...and because she seems to care about you...a lot."
Herve turned away avoiding eye contact. Julie stood and kissed his cheek. Seeing her happy and relieved did make me smile honestly. But as my thoughts returned to Rook again, the smile vanished. My fist clenched tightly.