Epilogue: Being There for Them

July 28, 2000

Gwen picked at the hem of her t-shirt as she waited by the front door. "I don't feel good," she mumbled.

Her mother looked at her. Then she reached up and put her hand on Gwen's forehead. "You're not running a fever. And you felt well enough to go to hang out with your friend last night."

"I must have caught something over while I was over there. I thought her dad looked icky."

"If you did, it won't kill you in the next few hours."

"But..."

Her mother sighed and gave her a look. "Its your Grandpa's birthday, Gwen."

"I know." Gwen hung her head. The next words made her feel awful, but she said them anyway because they were the last chance she had to get out of this. To get away from Ben not looking at her. "But I thought you were still mad at Grandpa."

"Grandpa Max lied to us. I know he only did it so we wouldn't worry on that awful day, but he did." Lili looked out of the window that was built into the top of the front door and when she looked back down she looked embarrassed. "And I over reacted. We all did. We were worried sick already and when you all pulled up in Aunt Vera's car we took it all out on him. We've all apologized and worked it out, but even if we didn't - even if we didn't, I wouldn't keep him from seeing you. Especially not today. Besides, he's promised that he wouldn't do it again if you guys ever go on another road trip."

Another road trip? She wasn't worried about another road trip. She wanted this one back. She wanted...

"I can't imagine how you must have felt after the car accident, Gwen, and I wish so much that you would talk to me or your dad or your Grandfather about it," her mother said. "I do know you're tearing yourself apart because of it. I don't know why, but I know that you are."

Gwen was blaming herself because it was her fault. She'd thought of a dozen things since that night that she could have done that would have fixed everything if she'd just been faster, or stronger, or smarter.

And then her mother said something that made her stop.

"Ben's blaming himself, too, even worse than you are."

Gwen opened her mouth to deny it, that he was just mad at her, but the only thing that came out was a sob.

Her mother pulled her close and ran her hand through Gwen's hair as she repeated, "I know that you don't believe it, but he is. I still don't know why you two ended up being friends after all of these years, but you're such good ones now. And friends don't leave when things get bad. I know its hard , but you have to try. If for no other reason than the fact that school is coming up and he needs his best tutor back."

"He won't show up," Gwen said. She thought he would at the first karate class. She saw him, and she knew he saw her, but he just drove away.

"He'll show up today, I promise. He will if Carl and Sandy have to tie him to the seat," Mom said. "We all kept hoping that if we gave you two enough space that things would get better, but it didn't. All you did was hide all summer. You're better than that. My little girl has never hid from anything in her life. Except from spiders."

She laughed at the last and shivered at the image of the creepy little things. She started to say that she wasn't hiding, that she was just waiting for the guilt to go away, but she couldn't. She kept waiting, but it wasn't.

And she just felt guilty and lost.

She felt guilty, lost and alone. She used to be good at being alone, but she hadn't felt like that for so long that she'd forgotten how to deal with it. The other day she pulled out her old planner and markers and tried to plan out her weeks like she used to, but it didn't help. It just felt... pointless. She ended up just doodling all over the planner until the markers went dry.

"It'll be okay, Gwen. It'll only be for a few hours. You put up with Ben back when he was a lot worse for a whole summer."

"He wasn't-" She started to say he wasn't that bad, but he was. He was so bad that she wanted to strangle him half of the time, but only half. The other...

For once, her mother saw through a lie. She pulled away from her daughter and looked down at her with a smirk. "Gwen."

"I was pretty bad, too."

Her mother grinned. "You were horrible back then."

"I was not!"

"You were, but you were ten. Everyone is horrible when they're ten." Her mother looked at her and was quiet for a long moment. Gwen squirmed because she knew that her mom had the whole 'oh God, I remember holding you for the first time' look in her eyes right now. "You've both grown up so much since then. And you are both stronger than this. Stronger than some stupid car accident."

Gwen wished she was, but she heard the squeal of brakes outside and she still just wanted to run.

She wanted to, but she didn't.

She startled a little when Grandpa knocked, but the second the door opened she ran forward and hugged him so hard that he was actually knocked a step back. She had barely seen him since he brought them home and she missed him almost as much. "Well, my birthday's already off to a good start," he said as he hugged her back. "Hi Lili."

Gwen felt her mother lean over her to hug Grandpa, too. "Hi Max. Happy Birthday. It sounds like you found the new RV you were looking for."

"You did?" Gwen said. She let go of Grandpa and looked past him to see it. She imagined one of those fancy ones, with the internet and a whirl pool bath that was all slick and modern. That was not what she saw. "You got another Rust Bucket? You could have gotten a nice one!"

"Nah. The new ones have too many doodads. I like my home to have character."

"Is it - ?" her mom started to ask.

Max nodded. "I've gone over it twice, and so have a few of my buddies. It doesn't look like much right now, but everything is ship shape."

Her mother nodded and knelt down to give Gwen another hug. "Have fun. And tell Ben that we miss him. Tell him he can come over whenever he wants."

Gwen just nodded. He wouldn't come over. She knew he wouldn't even look at her because he still hated her.

If he didn't. He would have called. He wouldn't have...

"And don't forget to give your Grandpa his present," her mom said with a smile.

Gwen blinked in confusion before she realized. She picked up the new stew pot with a bow tied around it from off of the couch. "Happy Birthday, Grandpa."

He grinned as he took it. "I knew you liked my cooking."

"Its grown on me." Gwen said. Literally in some cases. Its been months since she had octopus, but she swore she still felt it inside of her stomach sometimes. Like right now. Grandpa put his arm around her and they walked out to the Rust Bucket together. She would have stopped a dozen times, but he wouldn't let her.

For a second she thought that Ben wasn't inside the new Rust Bucket. The Rust Bucket II. That he had avoided this too and she just wanted to...

Then Ben sat up from the dining booth and he looked at her. He looked tired, and thin and his hair was a mess even for him, but he was there. He wasn't even tied up. He was there and he didn't look away.

And, for once, neither did she.

She went and sat down across from him. She wanted to sit next to him, but her whole body felt as tight as a piano wire and she was afraid if she sat next to him she would snap.

He was there.

She didn't even notice the drive, even though it must have taken half an hour. One second she was in front of her house, and the next second they were next to the small pond where Grandpa Max had taught her to fish when she was five. It still looked just like she remembered it.

Grandpa stood up and walked back. He stood at the end of the table and just looked at her and Ben. She could tell that he was thinking about something, something big, but she had no idea what it could be. Finally he nodded to himself and said, "Thank you for the gifts, guys, but there's only one thing I want for my birthday." he said.

Gwen blinked and thought. She knew all of his cooking stuff was gone, and he loved to cook. She thought that the stew pot would be a perfect start to a new set. She looked over to make sure that he hadn't already gotten one, but the only thing she saw was the stew pot and a shiny new skillet. He didn't even have dishes yet.

"I told Mom we should have gotten you a new shirt," Ben muttered.

Grandpa grinned and shook his head. "No. You guys did good, but there's only one thing I want." He looked at the two of them, and he mouthed the word 'try' to them both. Then he looked out the side window. "Its been an age since I was here and there's something I want to check on. You guys talk, I'll be right back."

And then he left. He left them by themselves. For the first time since they watched an alien sunset, they were together.

"What did he want?" Ben asked as he watched the door close. "A waffle maker?"

"You are such a Doofus," Gwen said as she shook her head. She saw a spark of fire in his eyes and got ready for the name calling contest, but he didn't say a word.

If they couldn't even fight...

She looked at him. For two months now she had wanted to talk to him, but now she didn't know what to say. A part of her just wanted to keep saying I'm sorry over and over again, and the rest of her was just blank. A thought wriggled out of the nothing and she seized it up. "Dad said you made the soccer team."

Ben nodded, but he sounded bored when he said, "They're making me goalie."

"Good. You'll be go -" And the word caught in her throat. She couldn't do this. She couldn't sit here and lie. Not to him. "You don't even care about soccer."

He reached up and rubbed the back of his head, but he didn't meet her eyes. "Yes I -"

"You don't even care. You never talked about it at all," she tried to get control over her mouth because this was the first time they'd talked since forever and she was yelling at him and if she didn't stop he would walk away and... "You were good at karate. You went through all the belts that I did in half of the time."

He blushed. "I had a good teacher."

Her cheeks colored because she knew he didn't mean Sensei. Every time he had a problem with a move he came to her for help. He did what she said and never complained. When he finally got it right he always looked so happy, and she felt so proud. "You liked karate. You can come back. I know you can come back."

For a second he looked like he wanted to, but then he looked at her. "No."

"But why!"

"Because we would have to..." Ben's eyes looked panicked, trapped. He fidgeted like he was about to bolt. If he left... Then he closed his eyes and whispered. "I hit you. You were so hurt, and I..."

Gwen blinked in confusion and wondered for the first time how much he even remembered from his breakdown. "You didn't. You've never laid a hand on me. I promise, you didn't."

"That's not true. I put you on the mat twice."

It was a weak joke. And a weaker dodge. She was about to call him a Doofus, but she knew it wouldn't fit. Not now. "Ben. You didn't. I wouldn't have let you."

"You aren't that good."

"I so am."

Ben gave her a little nod and seemed to relax a little bit. Then he looked around and made a face. "This place doesn't feel right. Wanna go for a walk?"

She nodded because he was right. He stayed right next to her as they walked through the woods, but he didn't say a word. The place was still beautiful. They saw a rabbit, and there was a huge fish in the pond. She wondered if it was the first one she had ever caught. The one that Grandpa had talked her into putting back because it was such a small thing.

She had fought so hard to keep that fish.

Why did she fight so hard for a fish, but not for them? She could feel him slipping away from her even though he was right next to her. She had to try. So she finally forced herself to say the words. "I'm sorry."

And he stopped. He stopped and looked confused. "For what?"

"I'm sorry that I let you down. That I made you face that animal by yourself. If I had stopped that drone -" her voice caught.

"You're sorry?" He repeated and he looked away. She should have known it would take more than a half assed apology. "There wasn't anything you could have done."

"There was plenty I could have done!" She shouted at him. "I could have made a shield, or a tornado or a - "

"He was waiting for us. If it wasn't the drone it would have been something else," Ben said as he squeezed down on her hand. "He told me. He attacked the city just to lure us in. Lure me in. He was waiting and he was ready."

"I still could have..."

"It was all my fault"

And instantly she forgot her own guilt, just for a second. "What?"

"If I had just left the Omnitrix alone, he wouldn't have bothered with us. He wouldn't have attacked that city." Ben looked down at the pond.

"Vilgax was a monster. You aren't responsible for..."

"He only hurt you because of me."

"Ben - " she said as she tried to cut in, to take away the horror in his eyes.

But he just kept going. "I keep going through the fight in my head and I need a break. And soccer is... Its not bad. I just need to get away."

"Oh," Gwen said. What could she say to that? She shouldn't have pushed him about karate, but that was the only way they would spend any time together. She should have realized that he needed to get away from everything for a while. And if he needed time away from her, too, then...

"I need a break from fighting," Ben repeated, without looking at her. "But the soccer field is only a couple of miles from the dojo. And I checked the schedule, we're out a half an hour before you and Mom keeps saying that waiting a few minutes wouldn't be a problem."

She just stared.

He glanced at her, and then he looked down. "Yeah. I under..."

She jumped him with a flying hug before he could even finish the word and he wrapped his arms around her and they went down together in a tangle of limbs. He landed flat on his back, and she ended up on top of him. She felt his arms around her and was almost giddy. The guilt was still there, but just a couple of seconds it didn't matter. She finally had a way to start. For two months she'd been trying to think of a way to even start to fix things and here it was.

She felt something break in her chest and all of the sleepless nights hit her at once. She felt so tired that she closed her eyes and laid her head on his chest. She laid there and listened to his heart beat. She counted it and realized that it was speeding up. For some reason that fact made her happy.

She was just about to fall asleep when he asked, "Are you going to get up?"

He felt too warm under her for that to even be an option. "No."

"I could make you."

"No, you can't. You don't have the watch anymore." She winced when she realized what she had said and was about to apologize when he laughed.

"I don't need the watch to move a Dweeb," he said as his hands slipped from her back to her sides. They used to do this to each other all the time before they started school, and he still knew her worst spots.

"Don't you- !" She tried to scream, but she was too late. His fingers danced against her ribs and she exploded in laughter. She tried to roll away, but he followed. She tried to slap him away, but he just grinned. She tried to kick him away, and he just sat down on her hips to keep her pinned.

She was just about to beg him to stop when he did. She felt his fingers on her stomach, and she giggled a few more times before she realized that he wasn't trying to tickle her anymore. She looked down and realized that her shirt had ridden up in the struggle and her stomach was bare now. His fingers were just barely touching her as they moved over her skin. The last of the bruising had finally faded a few weeks ago and it looked normal. At least to her.

Ben wasn't smiling any more and his eyes were looking at something far away. "You almost... I thought I lost you. I saw the fireball and I thought..."

"I let you slip out of my fingers. I see it every night. I try harder every night to hold on to you and I can't."

"I wanted to talk to you. Every day," she heard the words, but she didn't know who said them. It didn't matter.

They sat like that for a long time as he kept looking for bruises that weren't there. Gwen looked up at him and whispered. "I'm fine. Everything's - "

His lips were on hers before the word ended. Their first kiss was hesitant and over almost before she knew it happened. Their second wouldn't end, and it seemed to say You're alive, you're alive, you're alive, thank God you're alive every time their lips met. Once he did he try to pull away, but she wasn't quite convinced that he was okay yet so she caught his head in her hands to hold him in place.

She heard a rustle in the bushes, but it didn't mean anything to her until she heard Grandpa say, "There you guys are."

And they jumped apart as they discovered bold new frontiers in blushing. Ben went scrambling back as she tried to yank the hem of her shirt back over her stomach. She was always so careful when they were together, because she knew that people wouldn't understand, that their families would tear them apart if they knew. She'd been so careful that only Michelle had ever noticed anything, and now...

She had almost gotten Ben back, she thought as she shared a horrified look with her cousin. She had almost gotten him back, she couldn't...

Not again.

"We were just playing around, Grandpa!" Ben said as fast as he could and she nodded as they climbed back up to their feet.

She expected to see horror on her Grandpa's face, or disgust as she waited for him to drag them back home and tell their parents and she would never see him again...

But instead her Grandpa was blushing and looking up at the clouds. He glanced down second later and let out a relieved sigh when he saw that they were both decent. "I brought you guys out here today because there's something I wanted to show you. Something I thought would help."

Gwen felt as confused as Ben looked as they followed their Grandpa through the woods. Grandpa didn't lead them back to the Rust Bucket II like she dreaded. Instead he lead them halfway around the lake to a tree. "It took me forever to find it. I was starting to think that it had gotten knocked down in a storm, or that I'd forgotten which one it was."

"It's a tree," Ben said in a flat voice. He might be busted and nervous, but he was still him.

"It's a nice tree!" Gwen added. Ben gave her a look and she just shrugged as they followed their Grandpa around the tree.

After a moment he started talking. "I used to bring your Grandma Verdona here. This was our favorite place to get away to whenever we had a chance. One day we did something a little silly. We had a bit too much sun and bee – lemonade to drink and, just for a few minutes, we forgot that we were both closer to forty than thirty and we acted like kids again."

Her and Ben walked side by side as they followed him. They stood so close that their hands brushed with each step. Grandpa stopped on the other side and reached up to touch something. Gwen followed his hand with her eyes and caught her breath and put her hands over her mouth as her eyes blurred. There was a heart carved in the tree, with an M and V carved inside of it.

Grandpa ran his hand over the V. "I was gone so much back then, but I thought I would always have time to make it up." He was gone for just a second. Gwen could see it in his eyes. She gave him a hug while Ben patted his back, but he didn't seem to notice. After a second Grandpa came back and turned to look at them.

Something in his eyes made them both her and Ben back up and reach for each others hand. There was no point in pretending any more.

For just a moment, there was doubt in Grandpa's eyes, but he shook it away. "I've watched both of you grow up. I've seen you at each others throats and risking your lives to save each other. And I've seen you both so happy and I hope the last few months are the worst you ever have to deal with. I've watched you both and..." And his voice failed him.

Grandpa reached into his pocket and pulled out the knife he had gotten when he had first joined the Air-force and had kept ever since. Once it had been painted and stamped with an Air Force logo, but that had all been brushed away years ago. "I carved that with this knife. It's still plenty sharp, and tree should last a long time."

Grandpa reached down and took their joined hands and slipped the folded up knife between them. He looked them both in the eyes and said, "Just promise me you'll be careful."

Gwen could only swallow and nod because she couldn't believe that he knew and he was okay with them.

"I'll be waiting back at the Rust Bucket. We have to head back soon for my birthday dinner soon." He looked at the two of them again and then he walked away.

Ben looked at her, and she looked back, but neither moved. They had danced around this for months. The dinner, the night under the stars, the kiss. No, they've danced around this for years now. Since their first summer together.

Ben looked down at the knife in their hands. "If we do this... If we do this it won't be a game anymore, will it?"

"No." Gwen as she looked over at Ben and remembered the last two years with him. The most terrifying and fun and thrilling and way too often stinky years of her life. For eight minutes she had seen her life without him, and what she saw scared her so much she hid for two months. She would still be hiding if it wasn't for their parents and Grandpa. She would have hidden for years without them. "No."

Ben looked at her and for the first time there was more than pain and guilt in his eyes. They were still there, just like she knew they were still inside of her, but there was more. He smiled as she nodded. Then he took the knife and opened it. The blade caught the sunlight as he turned and pressed the tip of the knife against the bark a foot under where their Grandpa had a long time ago.

"Let me do the letters," she said before he could get started.

"Stop being so bossy," Ben said, but he pulled the knife back.

"My handwriting is better than yours and you know it."

"That's not the same thing, Dweeb."

"Is too, Doofus," she said. "Both do half?"

He nodded and carefully carved out a G and a curved line around it before he handed over the knife. She pressed it to the bark and started carving the B.

To be continued in Ben 10: Breaking Point

Ben and Gwen explore their new relationship and struggle to overcome the trauma of Vilgax's final attack while enemies old and new search for them and the future shown by Ben 10,000 comes ever closer in Ben 10: Breaking Point

Authors note. Little Moments changed from what I had planned when I started the story. I had intended for it to be a bridge to Alien Force, but by the end I realized that the characters at the end of this story didn't match what they were in the beginning of Alien Force. So rather than trying to force Little Moments into the Alien Force mold, I rewrote the epilogue. There will be elements of Alien Force in Breaking Point, but it won't be a direct take off anymore. I want to apologize for anyone who was waiting to see my take on the Alien Force series.

I would also like to give a special thanks to Mr BG, Pyoko-chan and Porahgon-X for all of their advice. They added so much to this story. And to knife23, who was kind enough to recommend this story on tvtropes. And thank you to everyone who reviewed, it means a lot to me.