Chapter 206
Unlike many of his colleagues Ben didn't mind working Christmas day. People needed doctors, regardless of what the calendar said, and Ben didn't even know what his own birthday was, why care when someone else's was? Ben had now survived five predicted apocalypses. The meteorite that was suppossed to destroy the earth in 1994, Y2k, Harold Camping predicting the rapture in May 2011, Camping predicting this again for October 2011, and now the Mayan thing. Despite his own past, and dangers, Benjamin Wilkinson actually felt confident that he would survive for a long life. On this December 25th a number of teenage girls came to the hospital in labor. Ben had heard about an alleged pregnancy pact, although it seemed odd that they would all go into labor on the same day. At any rate Ben wound up treating Harmony Kendall. Her friend Cordelia Chase stood by her. But there were complications. Ben told Harmony that he might not be able to save both of them. Harmony was scared, but told her doctor to save her baby. Ben did this, Harmony ended up giving birth to a healthy baby girl. But Harmony lost conscioussness. Ben did what he could, but he was unable to save her. Ben knew Harmony was never going to wake up, she would die in a matter of hours. Ben saw the clock, 3:15pm. He thought about this newborn. No mother, no father, likely to wind up in the foster system, might carry guilt over being inadvertedly responsible for her mother's death. But maybe, Ben could keep Harmony alive for a few more hours. If Harmony died the day after her daughter was born, maybe that could alleviate the child's guilt. If nothing else Ben could make sure she didn't have to think of her birthday as the day her mommy died.