My Lovely Family
Chapter 19 - Hard times
Previously on My Lovely Family (compiled of things that happened before)
(Opening theme)
"So that means…"
"That maybe everyone who met you can forget you exist."
"And it's either this or my mother continues to suffer…" - Ben thought a little - "… do you want to know? She can handle it!"
"Ben!"
"She wanted to get rid of her son, didn't she? She wanted to abort, she wanted to give. Now let her turn around."
He left the room before Gwen could say anything. Using a spell, she captured her husband's intentions at that time and contacted Grandpa Max.
"Alright, Grandpa?"
"Hi, kiddo! Alright!"
"Ben's going there! He's kinda… shaken."
"What happened?"
"He found out a few things from Aunt Sandra's past and it messed with him. Please, grandpa, try to cheer him up. Oh, and one important thing, don't let Ben drink."
"You can leave it to me, Gwen!"
Someone knocked on the Rust Bucket's door. Max opened it and found his grandson. Ben wasn't as bad as the time Natalie and Helene nearly destroyed his marriage, but he didn't look good either.
"Oh, Ben! Come in, please."
"Thank you, Grandpa!" he sat at the table with Max.
"Gwen told me she would come."
"She always knows where I am…"
"She also told me that you are downcast."
"And how!... Grandpa, I want you to be very honest with me. Did my parents try to give me to you? "
Max was speechless. After a while, he finally answered.
"Yes, Ben. It was the night they were taking you home "- his grandfather noted that his grandson's eyes filled with tears and himself could not contain his emotion - "You were a healthy child. I was tempted to accept. I was afraid your parents would give you up for adoption or mistreat you. Especially because your mother had postpartum depression."
That's when Ben started crying really. Max hugged him.
"Calm down, my grandson! I know how hard it is for you to know these things, but we have to see the other side. Your mother recovered soon and she and your father raised you well."
"Did they raise me for love or obligation?" Ben asked in tears.
"For love, Ben. They love you… "
"Who loves don't try to give to the father-in-law raise!" he went to the fridge, but when he opened it, he found nothing.
"Are you looking for something?"
"Yeah, I wanted to have a drink…"
Max grabbed a bottle of clear liquid and served it to his grandson. When he drank, he noticed something strange.
"That's water!"
"Gwen asked me not to let you drink."
"Oh, women aren't easy!"
"She's right, Ben. You won't solve your problems drinking."
"It doesn't solve, but it helps to handle."
"It helps to get another problem, that's it!"
"Grandpa, I'm not an alcoholic…"
"I know you're not, but that's how it starts addiction. If with every problem you decide to drink, you're going after problems just to drink."
Ben knew Max was right, but he still wanted to drown his sorrows. The visions from the past and Cassandra's words still haunted him.
"Grandpa ... I know I already apologized to you, but I wanted to apologize again," he said in a regretful voice.
"For what?"
"When I was 10, I was rude to you when you punished me for going into that hotel room without permission to play Sumo Slammers. It was on that trip to New York, remember? I said horrible things and caused trouble for that."
"But that was so many years ago. Why is this guilt suddenly back?"
"Cassandra did the same thing to me today. She disobeyed me and used Omnitrix to run around with her siblings. I took her game off and she told me she didn't want me as her father."
"Oh my God!"
"I never realized how much I hurt you that day" - Ben cried again - "Now I know how much it hurts! My mother doesn't love me and my daughter wants another father. Oh my God! What am I going to do?"
"No, Ben, calm down…" - Max hugged him - "Cassandra said that because she was angry, just like you that day. I'm sure she will still regret it and will apologize to you."
"Mommy disconnected it?" Kenny asked as he fiddled with his sister's watch, trying to fix it.
"Yeah! She also thinks I shouldn't play with it," Cassandra replied, still upset with her father.
"My God! This thing is complicated!"
"Why don't you try magic, Kenny?"
"My magic is very weak, remember?"
"That's right. Mine is very strong and can damage Omnitrix. But yours can help."
"Oh, I don't know, Cassie… if I break it, Daddy will punish ME."
"I protect you. Please, Kenny, help me!"
"Okay" he tried a simple repair spell, but there were no effects (after all, the watch was off, not broken).
"And the worst is that he took my GP vs. Superbike. He didn't have to do that," Cassie complained as Kenny used various spells. "He should just turn off the watch, or rather, he should just stop being boring."
"KIDS, DRESS UP. WE'LL LEAVE HERE IN 15 MINUTES" Gwen warned.
Although they were young, the Tennyson Bunnies were quite independent. Even Talitha and Karina, the younger ones, knew how to change on their own (using spells).
Shortly thereafter, all the Tennysons gathered to go to Natalie's house. Despite her age, Gwen's mother was conserved: her face was unlined and her hair was as white as Ben's. Frank was in the same situation.
"I told you no!"
"But, Mom… I just talk to Dad through the communication portal and the conversations are quick."
"Because your dad is serving time, Devlin. If instead of going after Gwen's kids he would stay with us, he wouldn't be there. "
"So, mom… if I went there, maybe things would change."
"It's not that simple, son. Your dad is obsessed."
"But maybe the years in the Null Void made him change…"
"I wouldn't count on that. I thought that getting married he would change, and nothing. And I won't put my son there to be eaten by some monster. You've spent too much time in the Null Void when we were going to visit your dad in jail."
"I'm careful, Mom."
"No, Devlin! End. I didn't spend the rest of my life raising a child alone to lose him to the Null Void."
"Ohhhhh, welcome, kids! It's so good to see you again!"
"GRANDMA!" the Bunnies hugged Natalie.
"So beautiful kids... Oh, hello, my daughter!" - she hugged Gwen - "Look at you, it doesn't even look like you're 39 years old, you still have a face and a body of 20!"
"Thank you, Mom! I'm glad to see you too!"
"It's always a pleasure, honey… Oh, hi, Ben!" she hugged him too.
"Hi, Aunt Natalie!"
"You don't look like you're 39 either…"
"No?"
"Nooooo… you look like you're 59 hahahahahahahahaha."
Although Natalie had no more plans to separate the couple since the photo episode, this doesn't mean that your tongue is less poisonous. She loved to make this kind of comment in Ben's presence.
After dinner, the children went to play. Cassandra, however, decided to leave secretly to move away from her father's presence. She was still very nervous, although she didn't look close to her family members. Gwendolyn saw her heading for the gate.
"Cassie, where are you going?"
"Shhhh… I'm leaving."
"To where?"
"Out there, Gwen."
"Cassandra, we can't leave without warning."
"And tell Dad to him not allow it? Ha, that's right…" - she was going to open the gate, but her sister made a mana barrier to prevent - "Leave me, Gwen!"
"You won't leave!"
"You don't order me! I'm older!"
"And more brainless too! Cassie, you're going to get in trouble!"
"Sorry, Gwen, but I want to go out and I will," she threw a small sphere of mana at her sister, who fell to the floor and eventually broke the barrier. Cassandra opened the gate and ran as fast as she could. She used an invisibility spell so that Gwendolyn didn't see where she was going.
"CASSIE !"
Hearing the scream, everyone ran into the yard. Gwendolyn was on the floor, crying with concern.
"What's up, daughter?"
"Cassie left, Mommy!"
"LEFT?" Gwen and Ben shouted at the same time. Grandparents and siblings were concerned.
"I tried to stop her, but she attacked me…" the little girl continued crying.
"Calm down, Gwendolyn," Ben said. "You did what you could. Now your sister will have a good punishment when we find her."
"You'll stay here, Ben. Take care of our kids, I'm going after Cassie."
"No, Gwen! It's already dark and very dangerous."
"That was never a problem. I won't let my daughter run around at night!"
"Then we'll go together! Kids, obey Grandpa and Grandma. We'll be back soon."
"Yeah, Daddy!"
Ben turned into the Jetray and followed Gwen, who was flying to find Cassandra.
By the time the invisibility spell ended, the girl was far away from her grandparents' house. She didn't know a person had seen the fight between her and Gwendolyn at Natalie's house and followed her. Cassandra ended up bumping into a blond woman.
"Sorry!"
"Oh, okay…" - the girl helped the girl to her feet - "I'm kind of clumsy…" - she saw the Omnitrix on Cassie's wrist - "Nice watch!"
"Thank you! It's the Omnitrix!"
"Swear? So you must be…"
"Cassandra Tennyson. Daughter of Ben and Gwen Tennyson," she introduced herself.
"My name is Caroline. Are you alone?"
"Yes, I wanted to get away from my dad. He took the day to punish me."
"Gosh, how boring!"
"He took my favorite game and my mom turned off my Omnitrix. All because I used him to play with my siblings."
"Imagine, your parents should be happy that you use the watch to play and not to attack your siblings. Wait, if you're Gwen Tennyson's daughter, do you mean you can do spells?"
"Yeeeah! I can!"
"How wonderful! And I thought I was the only one in Bellwood. I can help you, Cassandra! I'm good with activation spells. If you allow me, I can return your watch on."
Cassie knew she shouldn't talk or trust strangers (that's what her parents always said), but her anger at Ben blinded her. She trusted the girl and extended her arm with the Omnitrix.
Gwen and Jetray followed Cassandra's trail of mana, but they didn't find it at all. Suddenly a pink ray rose into the sky and created a huge vortex. The heroes approached the site and found Charmcaster using her magic to create tornadoes and spread terror over Bellwood. She had trapped Cassandra in a bubble attached to the support she carried on her back. Only the girl's arm was out, with the Omnitrix firing lightning that made things disappear.
"CASSANDRA!"
"DADDY! MOMY! HELP ME!"
Ben's mind had a memory of when Charmcaster invaded the headquarters and threatened to kill Cassie as a baby if the Tennysons didn't give in. Gwen was pregnant with Gwendolyn and managed to defeat the witch and save her daughter.
"Hahahaha… did daddy and mommy come to save you? It's the first time in years I've seen Gwen without being pregnant."
"I'll take you seriously hurt!" the heroine fired a strong jet of mana at the witch as Jetray threw his lasers at her. Charmcaster deflected and attacked the villains with their backs turned. The heroes feared to strike Cassandra.
Jetray changed its shape to Ball Weevil and began to run to increase his plasma ball. Charmcaster tried to hit him but failed. Taking advantage of the villainess' distraction, Gwen punched her and knocked her down. But when she tried to get Cassandra out of the device, Charmcaster hit her with a jet of mana. The witch left the stand where the girl was and began a fight with Gwen.
"Unsquiera Despariot" - Cassandra quietly cast the spell to break the bubble and get out of there. But she didn't know where to go. Suddenly Ball Weevil appeared near her - "Dad! Here!" - the alien threw the plasma ball towards the Charmcaster and returned to its normal form.
"Cassie!" he hugged her.
"Dad, my watch!" she warned him before he disappeared, for the Omnitrix was under the influence of the villainess' magic.
Ben touched his Omnitrix to his daughter's and seconds later he was fixed and active.
"How did you do that?!" she asked in surprise.
"Azmuth taught me. Come on, let's defeat this witch!"
The plasma ball hit Charmcaster hard and she was hurled to a wall. Cassandra turned into the Four Arms, grabbed a lamppost, and tied the witch with it. Rook and Renroh arrived with the Plumbers ship to arrest her.
"Messing with a kid, you ordinary bastard?" - said Rook's boyfriend - "Well, now go get arrested, demon!"
"You can relax, dudes, we'll fix this abused one!"
"Thank you! Make sure she doesn't use spells for a long time," Gwen said.
"Leave it to us, friend!" - Rook replied - "Come on, twink, we have a lot of work with this demon!"
When the ship departed, Four Arms returned to its human form. Cassandra started to cry, scared of everything that happened. Ben picked her up.
"Sorry, Daddy!"
"Oh, daughter!" - he pressed her against his chest - "Let's go back to Grandma's house and forget about everything."
"But where did you get your head, girl?" Natalie said. "Do you have any idea how worried we were about you?"
"Sorry, Grandma!"
"You're just like your father!"
Cassandra looked at Gwendolyn.
"I'm sorry, Gwen!" - she hugged her - "You tried to help me and I attacked you. It will never happen again."
"I hope you learned, Cassie! But the important is that you're fine!"
Back at headquarters, Ben and Cassandra were at the kitchen table.
"I'm sorry, Dad! I just dropped the ball today. "
"I know that, Cassandra. I love you and everything I do, including your punishments, is always for your good. But it's gonna take a long time before I trust you again."
She lowered her head.
"At anger times we drop the ball," he continued, "but we have to learn to control ourselves so we don't end up like today. Have you wondered what would have happened to you if your mother and I had not gone looking for you?"
"Charmcaster would have killed me" tears began to fall from Cassandra's eyes.
"I'll never let anyone try to kill you. I once saved you from Charmcaster when you were a baby, and since then I've tried to keep my children as safe as possible."
"That's why you don't want to see us fighting against villains."
"Exactly! I gave you the Omnitrix for emergencies. And I hope you learn to use it correctly. "
"I will, Daddy!"
They hugged and Cassandra went to her room. Ben took a while to go up to his bedroom.
Gwen was in bed, finishing reading something in her spellbook when she saw her husband arrive. He had a bottle in his hand and was drinking.
"Ben, drinking again?"
"It was a tough day, Gwen…"
"For me too, but you don't see me drinking beer because of it."
"You don't understand. You're a woman."
"Woman with a brain."
Ben was going to lie down, but Gwen held him with her magic.
"You won't sleep next to me smelling to drink. You'll go take a shower and brush your teeth, now!"
He obeyed. After a while, he went back to bed.
"Now we're talking!" she kissed him. Ben positioned himself to hug Gwen and spoon with her.
"What were you reading?"
"Looking for a spell for your mother. There's just that one, and the contraindications are high."
"Better not to use it then. I was so worried about Cassie that I forgot about my mom."
"We make the best decisions cold-headed, Ben. She regretted it and you understood the circumstances."
"Yes: she's a 10-year-old girl just like me."
"And knowing Cassandra the way I know her, she'll try to repair her mistakes. Thinking about it, you'll make the right decision."
At that moment, Ben realized something. Perhaps that was the solution to another problem he was facing.
The next day he was at his mother's house. Unlike Natalie, Sandra was well-aged, with white hair and wrinkles on her face.
"My punishment is to remind me every day that I almost took my son's life! God had given me a chance to be a mother and I almost blew it! I'm sorry, my son! I'm a monster!" she burst into tears.
"No, Mom, you're none of that. It was hard for me to know everything, but I know you and Dad were desperate. Didn't want to raise a child in poverty."
"If I could, I'd give you a palace, Ben. I wanted so much that we were rich like your uncle Frank, but we didn't make the right choices."
"And despite all the hardships, you and Daddy raised me."
"Aren't you mad at me?"
"I forgive you, Mommy!"
Hearing this, Sandra hugged Ben immediately and wept with excitement.
"I love you, Ben! I love you so much!"
"I love you too, Mom!"
From that day on, no comments from neighbors plagued Sandra. She was calm to know that her son forgave her for everything.
Author's Notes
The fusion between Omnitrix and mana and its effects come from movie "Ben 10: Destroy all Aliens"