My Lovely Family

Chapter 18 - Choices

Four years have passed. The Tennysons were still living at headquarters in Keystone, South Dakota. Both the couple and their children had changed a lot.

Despite working hard, it seemed that time was not passing to Gwen. She was now 39, but she looked to be 20. She still had a delicate face and a beautiful body. Her hair was longer, with completely red strands. Of course, the technological advance helped her a lot with the administrative work.

It was a very different situation from what Ben lived. Although he was the same age as his cousin, his appearance was older. Much of his hair was gray. Cassandra sometimes called him "Grandpa Ben". His body, however, remained the same as before.

As for the Tennyson Bunnies, they grew a lot. Cassandra was now 10 years old. She had an Omnitrix on her wrist, which Ben had promised to give to each child on its 10th birthday. The result could not be otherwise: she was just like her father at the same age, except for a few differences. Their aliens were the same as Ben was 10 years old. The other girls, Gwendolyn, Gabriella, Talitha, and Karina, used magic for almost everything.

Kenny, 8, was the most surprising child. Since he was the only boy, everyone thought he would be just like Ben, but he was the exact opposite. From an early age, he was an obedient, polite, and intelligent boy, like his mother. In the past, Ben was a gross boy, who used to walk in dirty clothes, spent days without a shower, and belch. It took years for this image to fade away (though Natalie always rubbed it in). Kenny on the other hand, like his sisters, had impeccable hygiene and refined education. Their grandmother Sandra called them "five ladies and one English lord."

(Opening theme)

That Saturday, the Tennysons were at Ben's parents' house. Carl played with his grandchildren while Sandra talked to the couple.

"They don't stop, Ben. After Congress put cousin marriage back on the agenda, they got worse. They keep making horrible comments…" Sandra was almost crying. Ben took her hand.

"Take it easy, Mom! If need be, we bought you another house just like we did with Aunt Natalie."

"Natalie left because of this?"

"No," Gwen replied. "I wanted to make my mother's dream come true, living in a quieter place with richer people. She knows how to defend herself against foul people like her neighbors."

"And she's fine?"

"Unfortunately…" he lamented.

"Ben!" Gwen interrupted him. "She's fine, thank God! And if you have to, Aunt Sandra, we buy you a house too. One in a place with more evolved people who have no prejudice with cousin marriage."

"Thank you, dear ones! Ahhh, if you only knew what they said to me…"

The truth is that the biased comments weren't the biggest bother. But when a neighbor mentioned what she did (or tried to do) in the past, Sandra held back the crying. These comments were never made when Ben saved the world, only when he did something his neighbors felt entitled to condemn, attributing each fact to his mother's past.

The Tennysons did not return to headquarters until it was nearly midnight. The children slept peacefully while Ben and Gwen talked in the bedroom.

"Did you notice your mother was very upset?"

"Yes, that's since neighbors started talking about our marriage. But I already did everything. If I start away from each neighbor with Ghostfreak, someone will find out and attacks will get worse."

"I have the impression that it's not our marriage the reason for the attacks…"

"And what would it be?"

"Doesn't your mother say they comment this is a punishment for something she did in the past?"

"Yes, but what would it be?"

"That's the point. Didn't she say anything to you?"

"No… I really don't know what bothers her so much."

"Well, we got this sorted tomorrow… now we'd better sleep for we go to my mom's house tomorrow."

The next day, Ben woke up very early. Gwen was still sleeping. Sandra's problem did not go out of his head. He had just had breakfast when Paradox appeared behind him.

"Hello, Ben!"

"Aaaaah! Paradox! You scared me."

"I'm sorry about that, but I had to be here before Gwen and the kids woke up."

"So… you know about my problem."

"Yes, and I know what you're thinking."

"You know?"

"I know! You want to travel to the past to find out what happened to your mother."

"That's the only way."

"There are things it's better to leave in the past, Ben."

"But what am I going to do? The neighbors will not leave my mother alone. I'm afraid she'll try something like… better not say."

"I can take you, but I'll warn you it's pretty shocking…"

"Do you know what it is? Tell me, please…"

"That sort of thing we don't tell, we see!"

Ben assured him that he would take whatever risks it took to help Sandra. Paradox took him on a trip where they could observe the past but not interact with it.

"We're in Bellwood, Ben, 45 years before your present time."

Carl and Sandra were younger. They lived in a comfortable house in the center of the city and were in good financial condition, although they were not rich. She was pregnant with their first child.

"Tests say it's a boy, Carl!"

"A boy? How wonderful, Sandra! Oh, I'm crazy about this baby to be born."

"We have to wait a little longer to know exactly, but the tests show it's a boy."

"Well, let's wait. But we can keep thinking of the names in the meantime."

"Yes… of course! Do you like any?"

"I like several. But I wanted our first you to choose."

"Ohhh, Carl!" she kissed his cheek. "You're so sweet! Well, I like the name, Yuri. I think it suits babies."

"Then it's Yuri!"

The vision closed. Paradox and Ben were taken to another moment in Carl and Sandra's life. At just 20 weeks pregnant, she lost her baby. They were very shaken. They cried day and night. They spent a month visiting the place where Yuri was buried. Ben was saddened by his parents.

"So my mother lost her baby at 5 months? Grandpa once told me she got pregnant twice before me, but I didn't know it was that way."

"And your grandpa is right, Ben." Paradox took him another time, a year later.

Sandra was pregnant again. Carl caressed his wife's abdomen.

"What do the tests say?" he asked.

"That it's a girl."

"A girl? Oh my God! A little girl!"

"Yes! A little girl!"

"Oh, she'll be beautiful just like her mother! What name you thought?"

"May I choose again?"

"Sure! It's our first daughter! You can choose."

"I think the name of Layla is very beautiful. It's a name I'd choose for a daughter."

"Then it's going to be Layla!"

Paradox and Ben were taken to another view. As before, Sandra lost her child in the 20th week. The couple was devastated. They visited the graves for a month. The following year Carl lost his job and their financial situation worsened. Over time, they kept up some savings until they needed to sell the house. They moved to a simpler neighborhood in a small house. They received financial help from Max and Frank.

It was the third year Carl and Sandra were in this situation. Ben noted that despite this, they were happy that day.

"What happened?"

"They are happy for your Uncle Frank and your Aunt Natalie. They announced that they were expecting a baby, which would be… "

"Gwen!"

"Bingo!"

Back to the vision…

"Ah, I'm so happy for Frank! Imagine, a baby!" said Carl

"God bless them! And may this child be so beloved!"

Suddenly, Sandra felt a strong sickness.

"Alright, love?"

"I'm kinda sick…"

"Again? What can it be? "

"I don't know… I must have a virus…"

Sandra decided to go to the doctor. Carl had gone off to look for work but got nothing. When he returned, he found his wife crying a lot. She took a while to explain what was going on.

"I'm pregnant, Carl!" she said in tears.

"Oh my God!"

"That's all we didn't need! How are we going to raise a child under these conditions?" Sandra collapsed. Carl tried to calm her down.

"It's going to be alright, Sandra... wait and see."

After a few days, she made a drastic decision.

"If this child didn't come when I needed it, it won't come now!"

Ben was shocked.

"You mean she will… but she… but how?"

"I warned you it would be shocking, Ben. But someone saved you from a cruel fate."

Sandra had scheduled an appointment at an abortion clinic. She was near the door when someone took her arm.

"Don't you dare do this, Sandra!"

"GRANDPA!" Ben shouted with excitement.

"Max! Let me go! Carl agrees to that and it's our choice!"

"This is not your life, Sandra!" Max argued."You're going to kill an innocent for your own problem."

"I'm not going to have this child under those conditions, Max! Let me go!"

"Only let you go if you give me your word that you won't destroy this child's life."

She paused for a long time but eventually agreed to continue the pregnancy.

"My mother tried to abort me?" Ben asked with tears in his eyes, trying not to cry.

"Tried, Ben. And it spread throughout the neighborhood. A neighbor was passing by and told everyone about it."

Sandra and Carl moved to New York, where Natalie and Frank lived at the time. They began to live in subsidized housing. Max paid health insurance for his daughter-in-law to have prenatal care in the same places as Natalie. The two were together throughout the pregnancy. Their children were born on the same day and in the same hospital. Natalie's daughter was born just 7 seconds before Sandra's son.

"See, Ben. You and Gwen are side by side in the nursery. "

"Really…" - he was very happy, trying to contain his crying - "Grandpa showed me a picture of that day…"

"How cute! They look like twins!" said Max. "Benjamin and Gwendolyn. Ben and Gwen."

The last sight showed a night when Carl and Sandra were holding the baby in front of the Rust Bucket's door. Max answered them.

"Dad… I know it's hard what I'm going to ask… but we want you to stay with our son," Carl said as Sandra handed the baby over to her father-in-law.

Ben, who until then was confused, was shocked at his parents' attitude.

"Carl, I can't do this. Are you going to have children and give them to me?" Max asked.

"No, Dad. That will be the only one. But we can't raise him."

"No, you do! You just don't want to raise. You're going to stay with the child and take care of him pretty well. Besides, you'll have a vasectomy and tubal ligation so you don't risk having more children."

Paradox brought Ben back to the present.

"Your parents' situation got better when you were five."

"That's why they went back to Bellwood."

"Exactly! Your father found work in the city. And five years later your Uncle Frank took a job at Bellwood… "

"And Gwen came to live too."

"That's right! Well, I see you know more about your mom's past now."

"Yeah…" Ben was a little downcast. "But I don't understand what her neighbors have to do with it."

"There are people who like to make others feel bad, Ben. Others are jealous because you became known around the world. Just remember that the neighbors only started attacking your parents when you and Gwen got married."

"They took advantage of the cousin marriage controversy to bring my mom's past to light."

"Not much you can do to help her with this problem. You can transfer her to a neighborhood where no one knows her, but hope this story doesn't spread around the world."

Paradox went away. Gwen came down with the children. When she finished reading the story for them, Ben called her to talk about what had happened.

"The neighbors are reminding your mother that story?"

"They are. The worse is I don't condemn them."

"Don't condemn them?"

"No. My mother tried to abort me, Gwen. Then she tried to give me to Grandpa. It's evident she never wanted me."

"Ben, I know she did it wrong. There's no excuse. But she raised you later. We have to think about it."

"Yeah, you're right… but I don't know if getting her out of that neighborhood is going to work. She lived elsewhere, and yet the news came. I don't want to spend money on something with no guarantee."

"In that case, I'll see if I have any memory spells…"

"I knew I could count on you, Gwen." Ben got very excited and kissed her hands.

Cassandra was as XLR8, holding Kenny by the shoulders. They ran all over headquarters.

"Faster, Cassie!"

"You're the boss…" she sped up, but the Omnitrix began to beep. She started to stop before Kenny was thrown forward.

"CASSANDRA!" a voice shouted in the background.

"Daddy!"

"Cassie, how many times do I have to tell you the Omnitrix is not a toy?"

"If it's not a toy, why you used it to play with us?"

Cassandra referred to a time when Ben turned into Bloxx to set up a playground for the kids. She and her brothers spent all day climbing, slipping, and swaying.

"I have master control over Omnitrix. I control when I'm going back to being human. Yours has the limiter. An alien may attack now and your watch needs charging."

Suddenly the alarm went off. As her parents left to fight the danger, Cassie returned with Kenny to the main floor. As soon as the clock returned to normal, she shouted to her sisters,

"WHO'S NEXT?"

"Me, me, me…" shouted most of her sisters.

"Daddy said to not play with the Omnitrix, Cassie," Gwendolyn warned.

"Daddy doesn't know how to have fun, Gwen…"

The other sisters wanted to take a walk. Cassandra took the form of the XLR8 again and put Gabriella on her shoulders, leaving for a walk through headquarters.

This time Ben used the Astrodactyl to escort Gwen to the crime scene. Both flew to the alien and fired lightning bolts at him. It was probably a Dr. Animo experiment. While Gwen used mana to hold him, Ben used Spider Monkey to trap him in a web. Rook arrived to take the alien. What they did not know was that someone was watching the fight from inside headquarters ...

"See? Daddy's busy, he won't even notice—"

"That doesn't convince me…"

Gwendolyn had only run with Cassandra once. She knew her sister would get into trouble if she disobeyed and didn't want to be together. The other girls didn't have the same concern. Kenny, on the other hand, was afraid of being scolded, but his affinity for Cassie spoke louder.

But the joy of the firstborn of the Tennysons was short-lived. She had Karina on her shoulders when another XLR8 passed her and took her sister. The Omnitrix disarmed and Cassandra was thrown forward, but Gwen caught her with a jet of mana.

Ben and Gwen were in Cassandra's room, talking to their daughter.

"Cassie, we don't put this rule to upset you, but to your safety," said her mother.

"But I play carefully, Mommy. I haven't hurt anyone so far."

"It's not just about hurting, Cassandra," - her father explained, - "but what can happen when the Omnitrix is reloading."

"Just take the limiter off," she said, a bit angry.

"You still have no responsibility to get rid of the limiter. You can't obey even a simple rule."

"It was no big deal!"

Gwen remembered Ben said the same words when Max scolded him for unauthorized entry into an area of a hotel that had a Sumo Slammers game. He refused to admit his mistake and ended up causing trouble by getting involved with Kevin that day.

"I can't let you get away with this" Ben picked up Cassandra's car game.

"THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

"Neither it for me to risk my life every day to save the world and have such a naughty daughter!"

"I wish you weren't my father!"

Ben had his back to his daughter hiding her reaction after she says that. Gwen scolded her and punished her. For a week, your Omnitrix would be down. As soon as her parents left the room, Cassandra started kicking everything she saw ahead.

The couple was sitting on the bed. Ben had his head down. Cassie's words tormented him.

"Love, she said that at an angry time. It's not serious." Gwen massaged her husband's shoulders.

"It seems I'm paying all my sins. She acted the same way I did when Grandpa punished me. I knew I was a naughty brat, but I never stopped to think about how Grandpa felt that day."

"There are things we only understand when they happen to us. But relax, Cassandra will apologize to you."

"If I had known she was going to act like that, I wouldn't have given her the watch…"

"Now it's gone, Ben. And she'll still learn to use it just like you. For now, I have good news: I found the right spell to your mother."

"Really?"

"Yes, but it has a side effect."

"What?"

"If something goes wrong, not only this memory of your mother will be erased, as many others related to you. And not only in her neighborhood, as in the whole country."

.

.

.

.

.

.

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Notes

Ben and Max' mentioned in this chapter happened in episode 7 season 1 of Ben 10, "Kevin 11".