Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Ben 10

Chapter 13 – Death, Limbo and a New Beginning

Gwen impatiently paced back and forth in front of the door of the ER. It had already been a couple of hours since Ben was brought inside but even up to now there wasn't any news about him. All she could do was follow the doctor's order and wait patiently for news on what was happening inside.

"He's going to be fine, right Grandpa?" Gwen asked Max as she looked at him hopefully.

Max couldn't say anything but instead simply hugged her in reply. He wanted to tell her that Ben was going to be okay and that everything will go back to normal but he himself was now losing hope. They were still in that position when the door of the ER suddenly swung open.

"Mr. Tennyson." The doctor called out to Max as he exited the ER.

This caught Max and Gwen's attention making them turn their heads in unison to look at the doctor that was slowly approaching them. Each step the doctor took to get close to them felt like an eternity for Gwen.

"Please let him say that Ben will be okay." Gwen mentally prayed as the doctor finally reached them.

"How's my grandson doctor?" Max asked while grabbing both of the doctor's arms.

The doctor was caught by surprise by this sudden action but quickly recomposed himself as soon as Max let him go. He wasn't sure on how to tell the two the news that he had but they needed to know. Showing them the chart he was carrying, the doctor told them everything he knew in detail.

"And that's what we know so far." The doctor finished his report.

"How can your test be inconclusive?" Gwen asked the doctor with a shaky voice.

The doctor couldn't answer her as he himself and the rest of his team were left dumbstruck by the results coming out of the test from Ben. All the results were far from normal and the way his body was reacting to their treatment was not helping as well.

"Easy now Gwen," Max told her as he tried to calm her down.

"I'm sorry." The doctor apologized as he looked at Gwen.

Suddenly the door of the ER burst open once more only this time it was a female nurse that came out of it.

"Doctor, we need you inside." The nurse called to him before going back inside. The doctor didn't waste another second as he quickly went after the nurse after taking his leave from Max and Gwen's presence.

"No!" Gwen cried out as her legs finally gave way.

Meanwhile, inside the ER the doctor and nurses were trying their best to try to stabilize Ben's vitals but it was a losing battle. Every time they think they finally got him stable, he would suddenly start with a seizure.

"What do we do doctor?" The nurse asked the doctor as they checked on Ben once more.

"What we can do." The doctor answered.

The treatment took another couple of hours until they were finally able to stabilize Ben's condition. As soon as they did, the doctor walked out of the ER once more to report their progress to Max and Gwen.

"How's he doing doctor?" Max asked.

"To be honest, it doesn't look so good." The doctor replied weakly before sitting down on one of the chairs beside the ER.

"It's like every time we get to a point where he's finally going to be okay, the injury would suddenly worsen. I'm actually starting to think that it's his body that's rejecting the medication." The doctor admitted to Max. He knew that it was wrong for him to think that way but base on the things that were happening, what was he to think?

"So you're saying that he's body is fighting the medication?" Max asked him in disbelief.

"I'm saying we need to give him a reason to hang on, to get better." The doctor replied as he stood up once more. There was a couple of seconds of silence before Max spoke up.

"I'll go get her." He told the doctor.

The doctor simply nodded in reply and then headed back inside the ER first. Max slowly and tiredly walked down the corridor as he headed for the waiting area where Gwen was resting. It had been a couple of hours since he asked her to stay there and rest but he didn't know if the young woman followed what he said.

As soon as Max turned the last corner heading for the waiting area, he immediately noticed Gwen resting on one of the chairs beside the wall. She had her feet raised up on the chair and held it close to her chest while she leaned her head on her knees.

"Gwen." Max called her name as he gently shook her awake.

It took a couple of tries until Gwen stirred from her sleep and then looked up at Max.

"How's Ben?" Was her first question but as soon as she saw the look on her face, she immediately knew that it wasn't good.

"Come here." Max told her as he gestured her to come to him. Once she did, he gave her the most comforting hug he could give before telling her the things he learned from the doctor. Gwen couldn't believe what she had heard but she knew that her Grandpa wasn't going to lie to her.

Tears rolled down her cheeks once more as she let Grandpa Max guide her back to the ER. Once they arrived, a female nurse assisted them in and then guided them to where Ben was.

"No..." Gwen muttered as she saw his body lying on top of the hospital bed, motionless.

The machine beside him told her that he was still alive but to Gwen it didn't say much. All she could see was her lover in pain and nothing they were doing was helping him. Slowly she walked to his side and carefully reached for his hand. She leaned down and gave him a soft peck on the cheeks before whispering to his ear.

"I'm here and I'm never leaving your side ever again."

The machine beside them suddenly beeped out loud causing the doctor and nurses to come rushing towards them. Gwen was startled by the sudden commotion but what really caught her attention was the sudden spike with Ben's vital that was being showed in the machine beside her. She wanted to double check what was being showed in the machine but one of the nurses moved her aside as they took their position beside Ben's bed.

Gwen felt light headed as she saw everything happen in front of her. The doctor barked orders as they attended to Ben while the nurses followed his orders to the dot. She could see them talking but but she couldn't hear anything. Everything around her seemed to be going in slow motion and there was nothing she could do but watch.

"Ben..." Gwen muttered as she looked at him.

As if answering her prayers, Ben's body suddenly started to glow and then everything around them got engulfed by a bright light. Gwen immediately felt familiar warmth as the light surrounded her. It gave her the same feeling when she was with Ben, the same feeling of love and security.

After the light passed her, Gwen noticed that she was floating in a vast see of darkness. There was nothing to be seen until Ben appeared in the distance talking with two face figures. It seemed to her that they were in an argument and Ben was losing their debate.

"I don't care about the consequence." Ben told them as he looked at one face figure to the other.

"He seems determined." The female face said.

"Indeed he does." The male face agreed.

"I'm sure about my decision and there is nothing that can change my mind." Ben told them with conviction.

"Even if she might not remember what you two shared?" The female asked.

"Or what if you were the one who wouldn't remember?" The male followed up.

Without hesitation Ben answered. "Our love is stronger than anything and there is nothing that can keep us apart."

Gwen could only cover her mouth with both hands as she tried to stop herself from crying out loud. What he said touched her very much as she believes and feels the same way. She wanted to shout out to him and call his attention to tell him she was there but a bright light once again enveloped his body.

"So shall it be." The two face figures said in unison as the light from Ben's body continued to spread and replace the darkness around them. Gwen saw the light starting to cover her body and this time she felt a slight fear. Not because she felt that she was in danger but because she sensed the unknown. She couldn't properly place the feeling but before she could think more about it the light had almost covered her entire body.

She didn't know why but before the light completely engulfed her, she uttered.

"I love you Ben Tennyson, I always will."

Author's Note:

I'm very very sorry it took a while to get this chapter uploaded.. I hope though that this chapter makes up for the lost time.. A lot of things in the works for this story as I had a lot of time to think it through with my muse so I hope that you would still continue to support the story..