Author's Note:

I'm sorry it took a while to get this next chapter posted. There was a recent death in our family and it has been a heavy blow to all of us. It took a while before I could get myself to start writing again and I'm not sure if I was even able to write this chapter properly. However, I poured my heart into this chapter and I would like to dedicate this to my Grandfather "Daddy".

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Ben 10

Chapter 12 –

The trip to the hospital was a quiet one as Gwen could only stare off at the scenery that they were passing by. Her mind was completely in the clouds now as she couldn't stop thinking about how Ben could be doing.

"Please be okay." Gwen prayed.

After a couple of minutes the hospital slowly came into view. It was no more than a minute or two away and soon she was going to see Ben. This made her only more agitated than how she already was. Her hand tightened on the seat in front of her as the anticipation was eating her from the inside.

"We're here honey." Natalie said before looking at the passenger seat to inform Gwen.

Unfortunately, there was no one to listen to her as Gwen had already jumped out of the car as soon as they had stopped. Gwen had a bad feeling about this and Grandpa Max calling her was not a comforting thing for her.

"Please be safe... Please be safe..." Gwen chanted to herself as she rushed towards the nurse's station.

She was a complete mess when she stopped in front of the nurse's station. A lot of things were running through her head and she didn't know what to do and what to expect, but then she heard a familiar voice from the other side of the desk.

"How may I help you ma'am?" The nurse asked her.

Gwen blinked a couple of times as she tried to remember where she heard it before. It was definitely familiar and while she was thinking about it the voice asked her once again. This caused her to snap out of her pondering and look at the woman standing on the opposite side of the desk.

"How may I help you?" Michelle asked as the young nurse smiled at her. Gwen saw the tag on her chest and noted that it was the same name that called her last time for Kevin's accident.

"I'm here for Benjamin Tennyson." Gwen told the young nurse as she continued to fidget in her position.

"Oh," Michelle exclaimed. Gwen saw the sudden change in the young nurse's facial expression when she heard who Gwen was looking for and this didn't help with what the redhead was feeling at all. She could see that there was a hint of hesitation and fear in the young nurse's face and it was only feeding the monster that was eating her inside.

"Please come this way." Michelle finally told Gwen before guiding her.

Michelle pulled her towards a long corridor heading towards a big white door. Each step she took felt like an eternity, the next longer than the first.

Gwen felt her heart sunk as she was slowly getting close to the door of the ICU. Slowly everything seemed to be blocked out and she felt herself getting heavier. It was like her feet were boring into the ground, preventing her from reaching her destination.

"No... No..." Gwen repeated as she shook her head vigorously. Being there was both something she was fearing and something that she knew she had to do. Tears started to roll down her cheeks as she finally reached the door of the ICU.

"I know it is hard Miss but he's holding on." Michelle tried to comfort her.

"I can't..." Gwen told her as she took a couple of steps back. She wanted to move away, to run from that spot but at the same time she wanted to rush in and be by Ben's side. Gwen was lost in this mental struggle when she saw Grandpa Max walk from the ICU.

"Gwen." He muttered when he saw her standing just a couple of feet away from him. He slowly walked towards her, weak from the emotional turmoil he was feeling inside.

It was like time had stopped for her as she watched him get near her. Gwen wanted to run to him and meet him halfway but she was planted in her spot. She just stood there like a statue as she waited for him to reach her.

"Grandpa," Gwen said weakly as tears once again rolled down her beautiful face.

Strong arms wrapped around her just in time as her knees finally gave out. Gwen collapsed into his embrace as Max locked her in a tight loving hug.

"He's in bad shape." Max Tennyson whispered into her ear. "But he'll pull through... He always does." He added before bursting into tears.

Gwen hugged her grandpa while she let her own tears fall down.

"Yes he does." Gwen replied after a couple of sobs. "He's Ben Tennyson."

"pft." A figure scoffed. This made both Max and Gwen turn to look at the source of the noise. Kevin sat at the far corner of a room beside the corridor they were in, hand cuffed and tied. He was all covered in blood that Gwen had to look at him carefully to make sure that it was in fact him.

"What did you do to him?" Gwen asked. Anger seething through gritted teeth when she noticed the blood on him wasn't his.

Kevin smugly simply smiled at her before avoiding her gaze, uninterested in what she was asking him. This made Gwen's anger fully engulfed her. She wanted to get near him and beat him to death even though she didn't know yet what had happened to Ben.

Lucky for Kevin, Max was able to hold both of Gwen's arms and he was able to somehow stop the redhead from beating the life out of him.

"Let go of me Grandpa." Gwen pleaded as she tried to break free of Max's hold. She kicked and struggled as she tried to break free of his hold but it was no use.

"What did he do to you for him to deserve this?" Gwen asked as she finally fell down on the floor after her knees gave way. Tears rolled down her cheeks once more while sobs escaped her lips.

"What did he do Gwen?" Kevin asked incredulously. "What do you think? What!" He screamed at her as he struggled to break free of his bonding.

"He deserves everything he got." Kevin spat at her. "I guess there wasn't anything great about Ben Tennyson after all." Kevin added before giving off a maniac laughter.

Gwen could only cover her ears and shake her heard while she waited for the echo of his laughter to die out. She was completely lost now as the mixture of emotions flooded her completely. A part of her wanted to kill him, a part of her wanted to leave the room and rush to Ben while the rest of her wanted to just sit there and cry.

"He's more of a man than you'll ever be." Max Tennyson finally voiced out. "He didn't fight you when you attacked him because he still thought of you as his friend, his brother and yet you still attacked him. You were so blinded that you didn't even see that he didn't use the Omnitrix at you for fear of hurting you more."

Kevin was silenced by what Max had said. He was so proud that he had bested Ben and that he had gotten his revenge for what the two had done to him that he didn't even notice that. Images of the fight flashed in his mind and this completely silenced him.

"I don't even know anymore why I even loved you before." Gwen told him before she turned around and walked out of the room followed by Max.