Little Moments AU - Side Stories

by delmartian

An AU inspired by the Little Moments Universe. What might have been going on with Ben, Gwen and their families and friends between Little Moments during the year after they turn 12? Explore the confusing mess of the kids lives as they try to sort out their feelings after what happened on New Years. Bwen.

30. Revelations II

Anchor Bay Campground

Point Arena, CA

November 26, 2000

2:17 AM

"Maybe clicking on that wasn't the best idea…" Ben mumbled doubtfully to himself as an unexpected browser window popped up to take over his screen.

He knew he made a mistake as soon as he rashly responded to the link that appeared in the text window. He'd sent similar messages himself, so he knew the risk; he had no clue what the link went to, his impulsiveness kicked in before he even tried to think, like usual. Now he had to deal with the fallout - a saccharine sweet montage of cute puppies and kittens? A horrific mpeg of some truly depraved "sex"? Or maybe a classroom recording of an algebra II class? Yuk!

He breathed a small sigh of relief as a video window opened and a familiar face and voice emerged on his computer, singing to equally familiar, over processed pop music - he'd seen worse. Still, Ben cringed even as his lips curled into a sardonic grin at being caught in his own trap - yep, he got Rick Rolled! Astley was half-assed dancing to his electronically manipulated voice professing his devotion to a pretty blond woman. Cringeworthy performance or not, Ben didn't turn it off - the tune was catchy, and the sentiment was something he agreed with when it came to his Dweeb. He'd never cop to it in public, though - how uncool would that be?

The music and video abruptly stopped at that thought. Ben refocused on the screen to see Rick shaking his head looking directly at him.

"Why do I even try?" Ben blinked his eyes, astonished that the pop singer was talking to him. "You hear the words, and half the time you sing along with me! Don't shake your head at me, I see it! Doesn't matter how uncool you say it is. You're thinking of her when you watch, but you keep it to yourself! When are you going to tell her?!"

"What?! … I, um… I don't need to say it out loud. She knows! I can tell she does!" Ben replied defensively, not a little shocked at how the image of the singer was actively engaging with him about something he could barely admit to himself. And calling him out about it to boot!

"Oh, cut the crap! Stop trying to fool yourself! A lame reference to a song or two once in a while doesn't cut it!" the face on the screen scoffed. "You hope she knows. She wants you to feel that way about her! But she doesn't know. How can she? That girl is definitely awesome but even she can't read your mind." Rick snorted in disgust. "Doesn't she deserve to hear it from you?"

The face leaned closer, as if the young man were physically there. "Listen, kid, you need to say it directly to her. Don't try and get fancy, just say the words! 'Cause if you don't, there may come a time where she stops wondering how you feel and decides you don't care and goes her own way." The figure pulled back with a determined frown. "I guarantee you won't like that! Remember what happened the last time you assumed 'she knows'? "

The video of Astley faded to a static-filled display as a thick gray fog surrounded him, and a familiar female voice he knew and wished he never heard picked up the song in a mocking tone. A voice he never wanted to hear again. "Never gonna give you up… Never gonna let you go…. Never gonna say goodbye.. Never gonna hurt you."

The Liar stopped singing but kept talking. The voice sounded happy and unconcerned, but the words stabbed like an ice pick at his heart. "Just words, Ben. Just silly, empty sentiment you fill her with until you become the Hero of Heroes and take her for granted. Meanwhile her heart breaks, because she loves you! Too bad you can't return it. If you did then maybe she'd stay with you…"

The computer and the sound of the Poodle's airy, disdainful laughing faded away in a shimmer of translucent pink, replaced by a thirty-ish, red haired and stunningly attractive young woman Ben had seen before. He couldn't figure out why she looked so mad until he heard his own, older condescending voice.

"How many times do I have to tell you this, Gwendolyn?!" Not-himself Ben said angrily. "After sixteen years with the Omnitrix I'd think you could figure it out! I can handle the aliens that come for me just fine on my own. I don't need you watching over me! You just slow me down!"

"Slow you down?!" the woman exploded incredulously. "I saved your sorry ass with that shield spell! If I didn't 'slow you down' two steps that plasma bolt would have blown right through your hulking chest! … Geez, you can be such an asshole!"

Ben considered the furious woman glaring at him. The normally emerald eyes that used to look at him with such affection were now flickering the angry violet that used to only appear when she was facing down some off-world horrific threat. He blinked at a sudden thought. How did their lives get to this point, where he was angrier at the woman he almost professed his love to than the aliens who constantly challenged the 'great Ben 10000'? He flinched and looked away from her in a pang of guilt and shame.

And why didn't he ever tell her? He never stopped loving her, not since the summer of Vilgax when the awesome girl she was then did so much to save him from that guilt. Just by being her and watching out for him. How did he let that slip away? When did that feeling of closeness degenerate into this? What was he doing lashing out at the person who literally risked her life to save his?

How could he have forgotten the pain and guilt of seeing her swallowed up by the wildvine, of knowing he lost her, only to feel the wild rush of, yes, love that overcame him when he saw her alive after all? And the same rush when she bowled him over at their lake, when they carved their initials in that tree? His stupid anger drained away as he struggled with how to fix this.

"Gwen, I…"

Her eyes opened wide in shock as the violet flashes flickered out. "Gwen?! Since when do you call me that?!" Then something different flashed over her face, almost friendly, only to be replaced by a defeated, sorrowful look. "You haven't called me that since…" she said to herself.

Then the anger was back. "No. … You know what, Ben? Screw you! I'm tired of your bullshit! I can almost put up with your hero complex pushing everyone out of your life, but being mad at me for having your back, for…"

Her face and her voice broke as she swallowed hard. "… for saving your life?!" She looked down at the ground, her face full of utter misery. He felt his heart shattering, just as hers was. "All this wasted time… I … I can't do this anymore, I just can't! … You can finally be on your own."

Gwendolyn turned slightly and made the hand motions that went with the portal summoning spell. As her hands glowed pink and the portal expanded she looked up at him with wet, broken eyes, the beautiful, vibrant green now dull and dark with pain.

"Goodbye, Doofus…" she whispered, then disappeared through the portal.

As it collapsed shut Ben panicked for the first time since that horrible day in Phoenix. "Gwen! No! Come back!"

What had he done?! His pride and arrogance at last drove her away, and the hurt he swore he'd never let happen again after Xenon and those terrible summers hit him like a hammer. The pain he saw in her eyes, because of him… He'd never told her those three words, and now it was too late - she really was gone. She hadn't left him, he pushed her away…

"Gwen, please don't go." he whispered as tears leaked from his eyes. "Please come back Dwee…"

He kicked against the sheet, flailing his arms as if he was reaching for something. "Come back, Dweeb! Don't leave me! Don't leave me alone!" Ben murmured in a watery voice.

The frantic rustle of his sheets was enough to wake Gwen up. It only took a few seconds to recognize the sound of her Doofus's broken voice, and another few to stand on her bunk so her head was next to his. "Ben?" she said softly. He was facing her, still quietly moaning her name. Tears tracked down his cheeks from closed eyelids, oddly sparkling from the weak silver light of the moon filtering through the dusty window.

She shuddered with empathy - she had enough first-hand experience with what he must be feeling. This one had to be really bad; the brash, over-confident boy never cried, let alone from a nightmare. She gave a short hop and pulled herself into his bunk like they'd done so many times before. She lay next to him, her head on his pillow, and put a hand to his cheek, feeling the wetness and wishing she knew a spell that would take away his pain.

She could at least stop it right now, however temporary - it was always better to wake up from these than have them just keep going. It was for her, anyway.

"Doofus, wake up! I'm here. You're OK." she said, just above a whisper.

His eyes popped open, showing thin circles of green around wild, wide black spots. "Gwen?" He blinked as he woke up. "Gwen! Dweeb! You're back?! ImadeyoyleavejustlikethePoodlesaidIwould,I'msorry,Ididn'tmeanforyoutogo,don'tgoawayagain!" The words rushed out in a panic.

He reached for her, putting his arm around her shoulders and scootching close to her so he could jam his face into the crook of her neck, sobbing. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I don't want you to go! I was such a jerk…"

Bad wasn't nearly a strong enough word to describe his hurt, how his torment pushed him over the edge like this. Seeing him undone this way terrified her even as she tried to console him. "Sshhh, you haven't done anything Ben. I'm right here with you." she said gently into his ear. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders, holding him close until his shudders eased, murmuring words that she hoped were helping, wanting as desperately as he was that she could somehow chase away his demons.

After a minute his sobs ended with a hiccup. He was still for a few seconds, then rolled away from her, facing the wall and scrubbing at his eyes with his sleeve and sniffling as quietly as he could. The pain of the nightmare may have faded, but she knew this boy - it had only been replaced by a crippling embarrassment at his emotions. He scrunched up into a ball, trying to hide what he thought of as weakness from her. Gwen didn't know which of his reactions was worse, the panic and hurt from his ugly dream, or the way he felt ashamed that she saw it. For the umpteenth time she thought she would do anything to stop all of his hurt, to at least share it if she couldn't take it away so he'd know he wasn't alone. Her inability to help the most important person in her life was almost physically painful.

She put a hand to his shoulder and grimaced at the way he flinched and tensed up. In the past she might have jerked away from him, thinking he was mad at her intrusion. Now she felt her lips set into a determined, thin line as she kept her hand where it was and gently massaged the knotted-up muscle. She let out her breath when she felt him relax and uncurl a little.

"Do you want to talk about it Doofus?"

"No." She felt him shake his head as he answered with a raw, shaky whisper. "I'm being stupid! It was only a dream. I'm sorry I woke you up."

"Ben… you're not being stupid! You can't control getting nightmares - and that wasn't 'only a dream'!" She heard him take a shuddering breath, just as she took a deep one and let it out slowly.

"The nightmare isn't real, but it is messing with you! … Let me help you?"

Ben was quiet for a long moment before taking another deep breath of his own. "I, um… I was Ben 10000, and I was still a jerk!" He spoke in a low, trembling voice. "You saved me during a fight but we were arguing about it. I guess I did that too many times, because you said you were tired of my BS, and then you…" His voice hitched, and it took ten seconds before he could keep going.

"Then you left" Ben sobbed again, a sound that tore at her heart. "You looked so sad! All because I hurt you!"

He turned to face her, tears rolling down his cheek. "I'm so sorry! I didn't want you to go, but I didn't say anything…" he whispered as he closed his eyes. He was confusing the dream with being awake and Gwen didn't know what to do, how she could help.

Maybe that didn't matter right then. Maybe knowing she didn't leave, wasn't going to, would be enough. "Doofus, listen! That wasn't real! I'm here now!" She wiggled closer to him and put her arm around his shoulders again. "You can feel me now - that's real! I won't leave you! … What can I do?" she whispered gently.

He shivered at her touch but didn't turn away. "I know…" he said without opening his eyes. He stopped to swallow down the lump in his throat and started again. "I know I can be a jerk. I'm trying not to. And I don't want to be the asshole we saw in the future. But… but when I am like that, just … don't give up on me? Please?" he said, eyes open again and pleading with her as they overflowed again. "Don't leave…"

Gwen moved her hand to his cheek again and wiped the wet track with her thumb. "Oh Doofus…" she said, on the verge of crying herself. She pulled him into a hug, drawing his face against her shoulder. "I won't ever…"

Ben nodded his head against her chest, desperately holding on as she squeezed him tighter. She grabbed a fistful of his shirt so he would feel that he was too important to her to ever let go. Slowly his ragged breathing got close to normal as his sobs faded away. He picked his head up with a sniffle, and Gwen was glad he could look her in the eyes again. The misery she saw in them combined with exhaustion from his awful nightmares, leaving her Doofus bone tired.

"If you want…" the tormented boy hesitated, then his eyes flicked away from hers as he sought out some distant point in the dark over her shoulder. He took a hesitant breath and looked back at her. Those deep green eyes still had pain and fear in them, but there was also trust and affection.

"If you want, you can stay" he said so softly it was almost a whisper.

Stay? Her mind stumbled at what he said.

If he switched the order of his last three words into a question she knew that's what he really meant. 'Don't leave me when I'm scared and alone' is what she heard. The arrogant ten year old boy he used to be would never ask that, would never admit he felt that way. But the caring, brave but broken boyfriend she was looking at trusted her now so that he could admit to her that's how he felt. In spite of how much he hated to be weak, he was asking her for help.

Staying in his bunk and going to sleep, though… That was against the rules they just agreed they needed to follow - it was so against the rules! - even though she knew he wasn't looking for an excuse to fool around. Even if his parents were convinced they would if given half a chance!

But her Doofus needed her, and he wouldn't hesitate to break any rule if she needed him - how could she do anything different?

"Yeah, Doofus, I'll stay with you." she replied gently. "But only until you go back to sleep, right? I can't stay here all night. It's a little cramped, don't you think?" And what would Grandpa do if he found us like this? she thought. The man seemed to be genuinely OK with their relationship, but finding them sharing a bed would really be pushing the limits. She shivered despite her flannel PJs, then wriggled under the blanket to escape the cold air in the RV and snuggled up to him.

The look of gratitude he gave her convinced her she was doing the right thing, but it was almost too much. Almost made her blurt out something she wanted to say, that had become an almost constant ache in her heart, but this wasn't the way she pictured it. She wanted that to be a memory they'd both treasure. Instead she brushed a damp lock of hair away from his forehead, then leaned up and pressed a kiss there, followed by another gentle, soft one on his lips. She pulled back with a small, sad-happy smile that matched his. "You always say I bore you to sleep! Guess we'll find out if that's true." she murmured.

He flinched at the joke she tried to make. "I said a lot of stupid things instead of saying what I should." she barely heard as he laid his head into the pillow. He looked in her eyes and whispered "Thank you, Dweeb."

"Good night, Doofus. Sleep good now." she whispered back as her hand found the soft, warm spot on his side below his ribs. His breathing got slower and deeper as his eyelids fluttered closed and the worry lines on his forehead smoothed out. She told herself she'd count out sixty seconds before going back to her bunk, and didn't notice that her eyelids started to droop as the slow rhythm of her boyfriend's breathing lulled her to sleep, too. She didn't make it past thirty-two.

- X -

A rolling sortof tapping noise, like a medium fast snare drum riff. Not loud, but enough to be noticeable in the quiet, it drew him out of a restless sleep. He slowly increased awareness of the moderate rain beating on the metal roof through closed eyelids. Wherever he was and whatever time it was, he didn't open his eyes because he really didn't want to wake up. He was still drowsy, more than he expected to be after a night's sleep; it had to be morning, since there was enough light where he was that he could tell it wasn't from the moon.

As the fog seeped out of his head, Ben remembered going to bed after watching a movie with Gwen cuddled up next to him. That memory made his lips twitch up - snuggling with her was the best! They went to bed right after the movie, and he fell asleep just a little while after she did, the faint sound of her slow breaths in the bunk below his putting him out like a light.

So why did he feel like he did ten rounds with Animo's rhino-man? He didn't physically hurt, but he was completely drained. Definitely not a good nights sleep…

Ben's arm twitched as he remembered fragments of his disturbed night. He scrunched his eyes tight, not knowing if it was true, afraid that it would be if he opened them.

Gwen. Something about her freaked him out during the night. She was… gone?

His Dweeb was gone! How?! What…?!

NO! … No. … Calm down, Doofus! Breathe. The voice in his head sounded just like her. Like he heard in the middle of the nightmare, a flash of hope fighting against overwhelming anguish.

He sucked in a slow, deep breath. No, the hurt and despair was the nightmare! His momentary panic faded away as he remembered how Gwen was with him after the terrible dream. She helped him come back from it, she held him to prove she was real…. She put her hand on his cheek the way he loved; no one else ever did that to him, never gently brushed his skin with her thumb, the heel of her hand calloused and scratchy from karate…

OH CRAP!

She saw him cry! Bawling like a baby, over a stupid dream! How could he let her see him like that?! She had to think he was the biggest wuss!

Stoopppp… Take another breath, dummy!

No… she didn't. She didn't! Not last night, and not any of the other times she brought him back from an emotional pit the night terrors and panic attacks left him in. Through all those times, especially yesterday, she never thought less of him. She knew what his terrors were, she shared the events that caused them. Just like she shared the whispered comforts that got them both past the hurt. The words and the touches and hugs and tender kisses…

Last night she could only guess at the cause of his dream, though, and she only figured out half of his torment. After he told her the part of the nightmare where Ben 10000 was an ass, she knew another source of pain was what that damn Poodle told him. Ben believed it when his girlfriend hissed forcefully in his ear that everything that monster said was a lie, and made sure he knew she was with him by holding him close until his sobs ended. And carefully wiping away the tears on his face. The look in her awesome green eyes as she did had none of the disgust or pity he was afraid she'd have at his weakness; instead he saw the concern and relief that he was past the awful dream.

And the other thing her eyes couldn't hide, even though he knew she couldn't say it out loud. Just like he was holding it back, too.

Ben let out the tense, half-panicked breath he had sucked in, and finally noticed the weight across his chest. A warm feeling that ran from his shoulder over his heart and weighed down the right side of his body. He almost freaked out again at the thought that he was being forcibly held down - it wouldn't have been the first time that happened, after all.

That couldn't be true, though, otherwise he'd feel the restraint all over, not just his right side. No, he only got this feeling when his girlfriend cuddled up against him…

That meant she was next to him? That couldn't be either, he remembered she said she'd go back to her bed when he went to sleep. They agreed they needed to follow their parents' rules about this…

But… she stayed the night? She stayed the night with me! Ben let that thought weave through his mind for a while. He didn't expect she would stay after he asked her to - his parents would totally over-react if they knew about this! - but he was so more than happy that she did!

He slowly let out the breath he took in so he wouldn't wake her up, and so he could take in the feeling of her body on his. Something he'd felt only a couple times before when they fell asleep together, that only felt wrong when it was gone. Ben smiled and breathed slowly, enjoying the feeling and trying hard to save the memory of it so he could relive it after today. They wouldn't be doing this again any time soon.

He felt Gwen shift her position on him, starting to wake up. He sighed softly before turning his head towards her and opened his eyes. The sight of her beautiful, peaceful sleeping face made him smile again, before he got one last flash of the tragic, hurt look the Gwendolyn in his nightmare had as she disappeared from his life. He vowed he'd do everything he could to never see that in real life.

"I do love you, Dweeb" he whispered to himself, barely more than moving his lips. A warm feeling washed over him at the first time he spoke the words, even if no one else actually heard it.

A few moments later Gwen's eyelids fluttered, then opened revealing the deep emerald green that he could never see too much of and filled him with affection and safety.

"Hey" he said quietly.

He saw a flash of confusion on her face as she quickly oriented herself before she focused back on him with a soft smile. "Hey yourself!" She blinked the remaining sleep from her eyes. "Feeling better?"

Ben chuckled softly; they'd had this conversation in reverse less than two months ago. "Yeah. How could I not with you next to me? Sorry I got you up and made you see that, though. I wasn't exactly at my best." He couldn't stop the cringe that went with that admission.

She smacked his chest lightly. "Stop that! You know that doesn't bother me!" The sheets rustled against the dark blue sleeve of her pajama top as she moved her hand up to caress his face. "I know you think you were being weak, but I don't see it that way. I saw my hero strong enough to ask me for help - I can't say how much that means to me!"

She kissed him on his forehead. "And I will always be here!"

The tightness in his chest that he had been feeling more and more lately was back. "I know you will, Dweeb." He leaned in to give her a kiss on the lips, lingering as she pressed back. "And back at ya." Ben put his forehead against hers and gazed into her eyes. "You mean so much to me…" he murmured, knowing he was acting way too sappy and not caring - his girlfriend deserved to hear it. He wouldn't let the nightmare come true. Until they were in the right place where he could say what he needed to, this would have to do.

They were interrupted by the sound of a forced cough and footsteps on the worn out vinyl floor in the passageway, then Grandpa's voice down the hall. "Oh good, you are awake. I thought I heard some noise back here."

They both turned their heads towards his voice in shock. Ben felt his face turn the shade of red he saw on Gwen's as they cried out "GRANDPA!" He instinctively pulled her close in a vain attempt to shield her, but that was almost impossible with the way they were laying in bed side by side. He thought for a second of pulling the sheet over her head, but Grandpa would see she wasn't in her bunk and he'd probably heard both their voices so he'd know she couldn't be in the bathroom. Gwen stiffened in his arms as they both realized how bad this situation had to look.

Busted didn't even come close to what they felt!

"Oh man! … This isn't what it looks like!"

"We're not doing anything…"

The big man gave them a benevolent smile and chuckled as he appeared in the hallway. "I know." He held up his hands, palms towards them. "I know. I heard you cry out last night, Ben. And I saw how you took care of him Pumpkin." His hands fell back to his sides. "I know you've been doing this for each other since our first trip."

Ben glanced at the girl he held protectively and saw the same poleaxed look on her face that he had. How could that be?! They'd tried so hard not to make enough noise to wake him up during these episodes. He looked back at their grandfather and saw a reassuring grin. He let his tight shoulders relax a bit, and felt the same where his hand rested on Gwen's shoulder - maybe they weren't in trouble from this?

"You didn't really think you could keep that a secret from me, did you? I know what's going on in my own house." The smile shifted to a serious look.

"That doesn't mean we're just going to gloss this over, though. I think it's time we have a chat about you two" Grandpa said. Ben ducked his head as his Dweeb shuddered. Or maybe they were after all.

"I'll have breakfast ready in a few minutes, so come on out." he said before turning back to the kitchen. "Pancakes and bacon and eggs. Don't let 'em get cold." he called over his shoulder.

"Oh shit!" Ben breathed out as Gwen sagged against him. "I'm sorry, Dweeb! I didn't mean to get you in trouble! … You can blame it on me!"

She shifted under his arm so she could glare at him. "I'll do no such thing! I stayed because you needed me to, Doofus! I don't need to be protected from that!"

She cradled his cheek in her hand again. "And I stayed because I wanted to." she said gently.

Ben gazed into her eyes and sighed before wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulled her tight against his chest, her breath tickling his neck. "I'm glad you did. .. Have I told you lately you're the best?"

"I remember hearing something like that, once or twice. Feel free to keep saying it, though." she replied with an affectionate smile.

The hug didn't last long enough. They both knew it couldn't, but Gwen was the first to do something about it. "Come on, Doofus. Let's find out how much trouble we're really in." she said in resignation after another minute, rolling away from him, swinging her legs over the side and dropping lightly to the floor.

Ben groaned. "Right behind you Dweeb." Her hand found his as they turned to face what had to be the most awkward conversation they never imagined having.

The passageway wasn't really wide enough to walk side by side to the galley, but they made it through anyway. Grandpa's eyes shone as they meekly shuffled into the dining booth, glancing pointedly at the way their fingers were interlaced between white knuckles and the nervous way they held their shoulders. "You two can relax" he said kindly, putting a plate of pancakes on the table next to steaming pans of bacon and scrambled eggs. He slid into the bench opposite them and started filling his plate with food. "Breakfast first. Then we'll talk."

Their grandfather's reassuring smile overcame their guilt at being caught, and their dread of the anticipated consequences. No point in letting Grandpa's cooking go cold, though. If the man was going to get angry he would have done that already.

Ben held the plate of pancakes so Gwen could take her pick first while she served each of them several strips of bacon. The man's smile turned into an amused grin at their unconscious display before he finished loading up his breakfast and tucked into it. The two almost-teenagers shot each other a shy look before digging in as well, and breakfast passed with Grandpa keeping an almost-normal conversation going - plans for their upcoming Christmas break from school, ideas for what they could do near their campsite that day, and similar chit chat.

They were almost relaxed when most of the food was eaten and Grandpa sat back in his seat, giving them a reflective look. Ben felt his cheeks heat up as his hand sought and found his girlfriend's again, and a quick sideways glance showed she was as nervous as he was. Grandpa sighed as he moved his plate out of the way and clasped his hands on the table in its place.

"Don't worry, I'm not angry or disappointed or anything like that. And this is not going to be a birds and the bees talk." He briefly looked up at the ceiling before catching their eyes again. "I'm assuming your parents had that with you already."

Gwen replied first, muttering under her breath "Yeah.. More than once…" Ben almost laughed at the exasperated way she said it; he'd also gotten separate lectures from Mom about the need to be respectful of any girls "he might go out with in the future", and Dad awkwardly trying to explain how sex was amazing and special but something he should wait several years to try out with the right girl. Or something like that. He couldn't imagine what Aunt Lily or Uncle Frank would have said to their daughter. He was sure it wasn't intended to refer to him, any more than his parents had the girl next to him in mind as the potential object of his attentions.

They never talked to each other about these cringeworthy lectures - they were hardly conversations - and now that they were focused on them Ben almost wished they had. This part of their relationship was hugely confusing! They both knew the physical part of sex, but knowing what to do turned out to be far less than what he wanted to know! Now that they'd gone a little further than kissing (which was as scary as it was awesome!), sorting out what it meant was getting more important. There was more going on than just 'it feels good', and he knew there were better rules for all this than the boasting he heard from the dumbass guys at school. What Paul told him so far helped, but it felt like barely scratching the surface.

"If it feels good do it!" was too simplistic to cover what they were feeling. Using the Watch drove that home. The consequences of using it with that rule were often more than what he wanted to deal with when he reverted back to normal, and going hero wasn't nearly as emotionally confusing as making out!

If nothing else his parents' Talks drove home that the consequences of going too far with Gwen would have way bigger impacts on them. Mostly her, especially with the various effects on her body; what Mom described sounded awful! He didn't want to put his Dweeb through that!

Sure, he'd heard guys talk and read stuff that said the results of going all the way were really only the girl's problem, but he didn't buy into it. He couldn't! It was just too self-centered for his hero mindset to accept.

Ben took a deep breath and let it back out slowly. He wasn't alone with these scary thoughts and feelings, he knew his girlfriend felt them, too. But if she had any answers she wasn't sharing them with him. Which meant she didn't have any! That had to be driving her nuts!

Even so, he wasn't convinced Grandpa was the right person to have a conversation like that with. Another stolen glance at his Dweeb showed she thought the same. It didn't matter, though, the man was obviously going to go through with this.

"Thought so." Grandpa chuckled, snapping him back from those thoughts.

"I really am happy to see how you two have changed towards each other. I'll admit I still had some misgivings about your feelings after my birthday. … I have less now. I can see how much you care for each other so I'm not worried about that."

Ben saw Gwen's tension fade as Grandpa talked, just as his did. Nice to know the man really accepted them together.

"I worry about the family reaction, though…"

And the tension spiked right back up.

"And then there's what the rest of society thinks." Grandpa continued.

Ben saw his Dweeb cringe and deliberately relaxed the involuntarily squeeze his hand gave hers. "We're not that worried about that" he scoffed. He wished his feelings actually matched that boast. Before he could make it worse, Gwen spoke up.

"A few of our friends know and they don't have any problem with us. But we are worried about our parents. … They wouldn't just reject us because of how we are, would they?" Ben winced at the fear in her voice, and took a firmer grip of her hand. He had the same fear - would their parents stop loving them because they loved each other?

Grandpa shook his head. "No." he said firmly. "No, they want what's best for you. Always remember that! … But it may take a while for them to agree that this is what's best. They may not."

"With that in mind…" He took a deep breath before going on. "I know I told you at the lake to not waste time, and I meant it. Now I'm telling you… Don't rush things! "

"I know that sounds like a contradiction, but hear me out. You two are growing up so fast, faster than your friends and classmates. Largely because of your abilities and experiences over the last two years." He used his left hand to rub the back of his neck. "Sometimes I wish none of that happened… except that you two might never have gotten to really know each other. And that would've been a darn shame."

Grandpa leaned towards them across the table and put his hands back together. "As your relationship grows, you're going to be faced with doing certain, ah… activities that can have a serious effect on your future, often without realizing it because… Well, let's face it, because you are young and inexperienced."

"Before you get swept away by each other I'm asking you both to think about this: You can only do things for the first time once, and those first times deserve to be special memories. So - take your time. You don't need to do everything all at once. That may not make sense to you now, but in my experience at least, it's true."

He paused to let the message sink in. "And it will make a difference in how your parents view your relationship. Not to be too indelicate, but if you rush into being more physical than they can accept, they'll just attribute it to out of control hormones. And if that's all it is, they'd be right with whatever restrictions they think up to keep you two from making serious mistakes."

"Grandpa! You know that's not…" both started to say before being cut off.

"Whoa, whoa! Slow down! I don't think that's what you two are doing! But what I think isn't as important as two other things: What they think when they look at you." He paused again. "And more importantly, you both need to be sure about each other. I know you think you are, but even people with ten times your experience with matters of the heart still need to think about it."

Gwen made a nervous noise, then spoke for both of them. "Grandpa, we…". She took a quick breath. "We know. We've already agreed we need to follow the limits we have." She glanced at Ben with a bashful smile.

"Doofus and I don't like it, but we know why we need to." He gave his girlfriend the same smile back and squeezed her hand quickly. This was so much harder than dealing with bad guys!

Ben looked Grandpa in the eyes. "But we're not going to stop helping each other, either."

Grandpa studied them both for what felt like forever. "Uh huh."

"OK" he said before taking a long breath and letting it out with a sigh. "That's what I wanted to talk to you both about. I'm done with it for now, but if either of you ever want to talk I'll be here." He gave them another encouraging smile.

"Just … what I said at the lake is still true - be careful."

Ben had been thinking during Grandpa's monologue that he should have gotten mad - that crack about being young and inexperienced got under his skin! Literally no one in the world had their experience, him with the only-one-in-the-GALAXY watch and Gwen with her magic. He should have, but then he got that Grandpa wasn't talking about that; they werebrand new to this romance and love and, um, stuff they were feeling and doing. They knew it, and they knew they had to pay attention to it even if they couldn't always figure it out as it was happening - just look at what doing the dishes turned into! If his Dweeb hadn't been Gwen this conversation with Grandpa could have been so much worse! But the way she made him feel…

They both knew the rules they were living with were more than annoying, but they also got how those rules were helping them deal with this awesome and confusing situation. They made the right decision yesterday even if they didn't entirely know why. Grandpa just helped them understand the why a little better.

Ben turned to look at the Dweeb to see how she was taking all this. She was staring at the table with her thinking face on, like she always did when she was analyzing something in that big brain of hers. He could almost see the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle being test-fit in a bigger picture in her mind, the way she did when they had worked on a huge one on the table in front of them once. She didn't get mad like he did when they wouldn't fit - "It's a puzzle, you doofus! It's not supposed to be easy! And it doesn't help to get mad at it, now does it?!" - but she got exasperated, too, when a piece stubbornly refused to fit where she thought it should. When she finally found the right spot, even if he was the one to do it, she got a happy little smile that made the effort worth while.

Gwen finally felt him studying her, and she looked up at him in surprise before that same pleased smile flashed over her face. She looked into his eyes, and he knew she got it then just like he did. When his Dweeb replied, she was speaking for both of them again, and he was more than OK with that.

"Right. We get it, Grandpa! If we want to be taken seriously, we need to be serious about us."

Ben couldn't really add anything to that, so he nodded his head and followed her focus to look Grandpa in the eyes. "Yeah. What she said!"

"I knew you two would understand! … Growing up fast isn't always a bad thing." He grinned before he gave them another appraising look for a few moments.

"There's something else about last night that we need to talk about." Grandpa got another serious expression, but again it didn't include any disappointment or anger. Now what?

"Ben, this isn't the first time you've had a nightmare that bad. Is it? And I'm guessing you have more than bad dreams. Am I right?"

Ben squirmed in his seat and dropped his head. He felt Gwen give his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"And he's not the only one, is he, Gwen?"

Ben looked up to see her staring at the table too, and immediately nudged up against her and put his arm around her, pulling her close with his right hand on her shoulder. She responded by putting her left hand over his right and giving it another squeeze.

"Mmmm-hmmn. That's what I thought. Listen, I know a thing or two about what you're feeling. I've been around tragic situations all my life. I've had my own problems dealing with them, and I've known a lot of men and women who struggled to cope with things that are far less traumatic than what you both have gone through." The man paused to let that sink in.

"I just want you to know a few things. Sometimes it's hard to unscrew the screwed-up feelings you can get from those events. The nightmares and anxiety attacks aren't unusual reactions. And they definitely are not a sign of any weakness." he said firmly.

"I know you two help each other with this, and I'm really happy that you do! But sometimes even that may not be enough, so I want you both to know you can talk to me about anything. And if you'd rather, I'll find someone who's better trained to help than I am."

Grandpa looked straight at Ben as he finished. "Your panic attacks and bad dreams are symptoms of being injured, emotionally and mentally. You don't have to try and work through these injuries on your own, any more than you would try to set a broken arm by yourself. That's what doctors are for."

Gwen looked to her left, catching Ben's eyes with a worried expression. "That's what I told him yesterday, Grandpa. You need to get better, Doofus! I hate to see you like that! Maybe you should talk to someone…"

Ben suppressed the eye roll that was his normal reaction to this kind of stuff. Talk to a total stranger about events and feelings they'd been covering up for two years? That were more outrageous than any of his most fantastical hero comics? Not if he could help it! As long as his Dweeb was there to catch him, he'd be fine.

Gwen's concerned face stopped him from going down that rabbit hole any further. He knew that was wishful thinking. He wasn't getting better; not fast enough, anyway. What if, for whatever reason, she wasn't able to help him? Or worse, if she needed him but he was caught up in his own mess?

Maybe… Maybe Grandpa had a point? He gave his girlfriend a small smile. If it made her stop worrying about him, then he'd do it.

"Listen, I know what you're both trying to tell me." His free hand found the back of his neck. "I just… I know what I need to do. Let me do that, and if it doesn't work… "

He took a deep breath, then exhaled it with a sigh. "If it doesn't work the way I hope by our birthdays … then I'll talk to whoever you say, Grandpa."

"You promise?" Gwen's voice was as full of worry as the look she gave him.

Ben did roll his eyes this time."Yes, I promise!"

Like always, her smile showed he made the right decision. "But if you're still having bad dreams by then, you need to do it, too, Dweeb. Got it?"

"All right, Doofus. If you do it so will I."

Grandpa got a pleased look and put both palms down on the table. "Well then, that's enough about that for the time being. … Now you two can clean up the dishes and go do something fun outside."

- X -

The early afternoon sunlight flooded the dining booth, lighting it brighter than the overhead lights ever could. The Sun was even strong enough to provide heat to the camper through the big picture window next to the table. Both of which were good things, since they couldn't use electricity in the RV while Grandpa was working on the generator; they had to conserve whatever charge was in the batteries in case he wasn't able to finish the maintenance on the generator's gas engine.

There wasn't really much chance of that happening, though - Grandpa was a wizard with mechanical work, as he demonstrated when Ben and Gwen returned from exploring the nearby forest after breakfast. They found him sitting on the ground in front of the generator compartment, bits and bobs of the motor strewn around him, hands filthy with black oil from poking around the uncovered valve mechanism. He explained all the parts and what each did that made the motor drive the generator, pointing out several bolts that had worked themselves loose over the last few months.

"That's where the noise I told you about is coming from, see?" He wiggled the brackets supporting the valve tappets, making a distinct clicking sound. "Between those and the sloppy clearance on these valve rockers it's a good thing I took a look; another hour or two and this thing would have shaken itself to bits. I should have it back in operation before it gets cold again, but don't use any electricity unless you really need it, OK?" Grandpa told them.

Because of that Gwen decided they should finish their homework instead of watching a movie or listening to the stereo. "With the sunlight, we won't need to use any electricity until we're finished." she explained.

"Oh, man!" Ben groaned. "I really didn't want to do any more studying until we drove back to Bellwood."

"Yeah, well, you heard Grandpa. Besides, it's better to get it out of the way now, Doofus. Come on, get your stuff out." she said as she pulled a few books and notepads from her backpack. "And anyway, I think we can come up with something better to do on the drive back. Don't you?" she said with a sparkle in her eyes and an enigmatic grin.

Aaand cue the stomach butterflies! What…? How did she do that?! Only his Dweeb could make him feel like this - warm and fuzzy and incoherent about doing homework!

"Um, yeah, I… I'm sure we can." he stammered. That look, and the way she said it, made his brain stutter worse than his mouth, even though she obviously wasn't angling to make out. Fortunately the time it took to fetch his backpack from their bunks and find his unfinished assignments was enough to get his mind to focus on school stuff.

They'd been at it for a little over an hour and a half, mostly doing their own work in agreeable quiet. Until Ben ran into a snag with a history question; something about explaining the factors leading up to the start of the Civil War, and how things may have been different if Lincoln or Davis had done something besides what they actually did. It would have been excruciating if he had to do it on his own, especially since he had no clue how to even get started. Fortunately the Nerd was all over it, enthusiastically leading him to analyzing the history of the time and thinking about alternatives.

He was happy to just watch her think it through. As a bonus, he was actually able to add some ideas along the way. It still amazed him how she was able to make what used to feel like punishment into something that was almost fun!

And if she ever found out he thought that, he'd deny it to the ends of the galaxy!

"Those are some good arguments, Ben! Just put that stuff down like we talked about and you're done!" She smiled proudly at him before going back to her reading while he finished writing.

When he was done, he looked up to see her gazing at him with a content face, resting her chin in her right hand, arm propped up on the table. How long had she been doing that? It made him a little uneasy for some reason…

"What?" he said, a little self-consciously.

Gwen studied him for another few seconds before answering. "Do you ever do this with other kids in your class?"

"You mean study like this?"

"Uh huh. You've been getting good at it this year."

Ben snorted. "Nah. Those losers aren't worth it, they'd just slow me down. Sometimes I have to do group projects, so I've been doing those with Jamie most of the time."

Two years ago those projects were mostly done by his friend. Jamie actually tried, bless his heart, with Ben adding just enough to claim he did his part. They were always weak efforts and they were lucky to squeak by with a C. Lately, though, Ben was doing more and more of the work, and their grades were up to Bs and A minuses. He didn't mind, though - he figured he owed it to the wanna-be nerd to make up for all the times he screwed around and Jamie scrambled to turn the assignments in on time. And hanging out together had an unexpected plus - the dorky kid with glasses was turning out to be pretty good on the drums; he would tap out some decent licks when they were working together.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "I'm sure there are other classmates who can keep up with you, Einstein." she said with a huge dose of sarcasm. "Really, though, you should give it a try. You might even be able to help the seventh graders."

Wow! That was an impressive compliment from her! He could see from the way she smiled at him that she meant it that way, causing a warm buzzy feeling in his chest. He smiled back, genuinely grateful for her praise, but the snark was right there and he had to use it. He wouldn't be Ben if he didn't.

"Trying to make me into a super nerd like you? Or are you getting tired of hanging out with me?" he smirked.

She snorted back. "Like you could even get close to my level of genius, blockhead! If you tried really hard I might let you carry my books, maybe then you'd absorb some knowledge by osmosis!" she laughed in a particularly Animo-like way.

"And no - a day and a half is nowhere near enough to trigger a Doofus avoidance response." Gwen ducked her head in an endearingly shy way before she looked up at him. "I was thinking more along the lines of helping your Neanderthal team mates. That would feed your hero complex! … Jorge seemed brighter than the others, maybe you could work with him?" Her real smile was back, with a hint of something else… And then the piece slid into place.

"Oh, now the real reason comes out! You're trying to set him up with Army Girl through me!" Ben grinned. "Sneaky little witch!"

At least she had the decency to look away from him for a second, half-embarrassed. She shrugged in reply. "I told 'Chelle I'd ask. … They did seem to click at the dance."

"Yeah, he asked about her the next Monday at school, and a few times since then. Maybe we can figure something out - he could come to my house and you two could meet us there or something." He stared across the dining space for a few seconds trying to figure out how that could work and explain it to his Mom. Lots of potential for awkward, though…

He refocused on Gwen. "At least studying with him makes some sense. Not like some of the other things I've heard lately."

That got her interest. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, a couple guys made some noise about getting together to play guitars. One even played a clip of him playing a bass." He wasn't half bad, either, but… "I don't see how I could do that, though. Not without digging into my time for other stuff." Truth be told, he'd rather play some more with Paul, and maybe even with the band again.

He was not going to interfere with "study time" with his Dweeb, though - they didn't get to spend enough time together as it was. Maybe they could hang out more over Christmas break. You never found the perfect gift on the first visit to the mall, after all, and she was the obvious choice for guiding him around the place. Can't go shopping for Mom and Dad with Mom and Dad…

"And then there's the lame attempts from the cool kids to hang out. As if!" He rolled his eyes at the thought.

"Cool kids? Because of the dance?" Gwen looked at him with a strange expression.

"Um, yeah. That and the team winning. It was only a couple football jocks, really. Although a few of the girls on the social committee said something about a spring talent show." Not to mention wanting to meet up at the mall food court to talk about it. He snorted to himself; why would he agree to that?

His Dweeb's usually happy eyes clouded over, almost like they did when she scowled at him at the beginning of the first summer. "You mean like that dirty blond who took your money to get in?" Her tone of voice matched the look, and the air in the RV started to feel like a storm was a few minutes away. What was going on?

"Um, yeah, she was one. A couple others. I told all of them no." he said cautiously. This conversation just got really weird but he didn't know why.

"Well, I hope so!"

"Of course that's what I said. Why would those girls want to hang around with me? They never did before. They never even noticed me for years! I'm not exactly in their league."

"Ben! How can you say that?!" Now there was green fire in her eyes, but he couldn't figure out why she was getting spun up. The only times he ever saw that crowd outside school was at a couple of his birthday parties in grade school, and that was only because his Mom invited the whole class because she didn't want anyone to feel left out.

"What?! It's true. I'm nothing special." Not to the cool kids clique. Not that he cared. He had more than a few years to learn how to ignore them.

There was no ignoring his girlfriend now, though. The fire in her eyes started to show pink and violet flecks giving her the fierce expression he'd seen her shoot at bad guys right before she started kicking their ass. He never expected to see it aimed at him.

"Listen to me, Ben Tennyson! There are lots of reasons why they'd want to be with you! You're smart, you're talented - can anyone else at your school play a guitar and sing like you did?! And there's a reason you got the MVP award after that game! You care about people, you stick up for kids when they're getting bullied, even the jerks who used to bully you!"

She paused to take a breath. "You're the bravest person I know." she went on. "You're caring, and kind, and sweet, and funny, and cute…" She looked directly in his eyes; the violet and pink were fading, but the aggressive green fire was still there.

She took a deep breath and humphed it out. "Of course those kids figured out you're worth being around! They should have known years ago when you stopped being a doofus jerk!" She glared at him, almost challenging him to argue with what she said.

That was quite a speech! He'd heard her say things like it before, like at the Halloween party. If he had any worries about how she felt about him then, they all melted away at the bashful and honest way she told him the things she liked about him. It made him feel like a million bucks, and she never seemed so … happy, even as she turned beet red while she said it.

She just said the same kind of stuff, but she sounded anything but happy this time.

"Dweeb! Why are you so pissed off?! I haven't done anything. What's going on?!" He heard the irritation in his voice, and he hated it as soon as he did. But she was mad at him and he couldn't figure out why! Ben couldn't stop the glare he shot at her because of it.

One more flash of anger flared in her eyes as she stared back. Then she suddenly looked down as she put her hands together on the table between them, staring at them with a dejected look.

"I…" She heaved a deep sigh before trying again. "I'm not mad at you. Really. It's just… Those girls are trying to pull you in, don't you see? They're around you all the time, every day, and I'm sure they all aren't the losers you make them out to be, and… and they're all pretty." Her voice had gotten lower and lower as she talked, and she sounded miserable at the end.

"There's more than one way for you to not be around any more…" she whispered.

Holy crap! That's what was going on in her head?! She thought he'd leave the best part of his life just because some girls at school acted like he was the flavor of the month?! He thought back to the dance and the hesitant way she acted before it started. Her self-doubt was messing with her again, but he knew the awful things the Liar said to her were feeding it. Seeing his Dweeb this broken tore him up.

He wasn't sure how to fix this. There wasn't any way to crack a joke and make her laugh, not this time. But he had to try something, because he couldn't stand to see her this way.

"Dweeb…" He got up from his seat and stood at the end of her bench. She didn't look up, so he reached out and put a hand to her cheek. "Don't do this. There's no way I would let that happen! Now you listen to me… Don't you know all the things you just said are because of you? You're the one who got me to stop being the class screw-up. You're the one who got me to want to play music for you in public. You're the one who watches my back when we take on the bad guys." He took a breath.

"You're the one who saves me from my nightmares. You're the one who hangs out with me, and puts up with my weirdness and gets my lame jokes and laughs anyway, who makes me feel like I'm worth being around." She finally looked up at him with wide, wet emerald eyes - good, she was listening! He reached for her shoulders and pulled her up from the dining booth.

"You're the one who makes me want to be more than just dumb old Ben. Not any of those morons at school." He said earnestly, hoping that she'd accept his deepest secrets pouring out as he pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her back.

"You're the only one who's never given up on me. How could I want to be with anyone else?" he said gently into her ear.

"You're the one I want to be with. … And none of them is as pretty as you!"

A sob escaped her as she hugged him tight around his shoulders. He kissed the side of her head then held her closer. There was nothing more to say, not right then, the hug took over and said more than any words he could think of. He didn't know how long it lasted - as long as it needed to - but after that her voice came back.

"Thank you, Doofus!" she whispered in his ear. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… " Ben felt her shudder against him. "You're special to me!"

He nodded his head. It seemed the right time to declare study time over, both to move on from being so emotional and because they both actually had finished. Time to get the Dweeb out of her head. Ben gave her one more quick squeeze, then pulled back with a lopsided grin.

"So what makes you think Jorge can keep up with Army Girl? 'Cause let me tell you, that guy has done some things that make me look like a friggin' genius!" He slipped his hands back to her shoulders and pulled her back to the RV's couch so they could sit down. He loved seeing that happy smile on her face and the way she bit her lower lip ever so slightly …

- M -

Max shivered from the chilly afternoon air as he finished wiping the grime and oil off his hands before opening the side door and stepping up into his mobile home. "Well, that's done. The batteries should be charging up now…" He said as he tossed the dirty rag in the bin next to the door and swept his gaze from the front of the camper back to the living spaces. He couldn't help quirking an eyebrow at what he saw as the corners of his mouth turned up.

Over the last day and a half he'd gotten used to seeing his once antagonistic grandchildren sitting close to each other and cuddling while they did homework, watched movies and shared a camp chair around the fire pit he built, but the two of them on the couch now was almost ridiculous. Almost, except for the fact they were so obviously enjoying each other.

"… so here comes Jorge, running as fast as he can into the goal to catch a perfect pass from Fritz off the right wing, and Jorge tried a glory move by doing a volley kick on the fly instead of getting the ball on the ground first. He took a huge kick… " the boy was giggling as he was telling the story, and couldn't stop a laugh before going on. "He takes this huge kick with his left foot, but his right slipped and he went down flat on his butt into a mud puddle! It was hilarious! Even the other team stopped for a second to crack up!" Ben stopped to laugh some more, and his cousin - who was sitting across his lap with her hands on his chest, a grin on her face and a sparkle in her eyes - couldn't help laughing along with him.

Gwen was entirely captivated, whether by the funny story or the boy telling it Max couldn't say. It didn't really matter.

"Well, don't you two look... cozy!" the man said. "I haven't seen you this relaxed since we drove back from the lake on my birthday." He slumped back against the dining booth table opposite them.

They both looked at him with a trusting smile; Ben's hands didn't even twitch from where he was holding her sides, and Gwen actually leaned in to him so her forearms were flat against his front from her elbows to her hands. They were happily absorbed with each other and it made him smile back, despite what he knew their parents would say if they saw this scene. Not that he hadn't caught his boys in similar situations with their fiancés, not too long before these two became such huge parts of all their lives. Had that really been thirteen years ago?

Would his children see themselves in their children now and decide to accept that the kids' feelings were as real as theirs? Not just puppy love, and more than an admittedly awkward and difficult social situation? Would knowing the truth of their last few summers help them understand the exceptional bond these two had? If he was going to follow through on Merlin's direction to get them into Chimera soon, the answers to these questions would be important to that project's success. Not to mention the happiness and well-being of his grandchildren. Max suppressed the worried frown this line of thought threatened to produce.

"Heh - Hi, Grandpa!" Ben said, still chuckling at his slapstick story about his teammate's blown play.

"Well, the seat's still lumpy, but I'm making the best of it…" Gwen said with an affectionate smirk, looking into his eyes.

"And you've still got a bony butt!" the boy replied, returning the look and grinning ear to ear.

"And you still haven't shoved me off" the girl in his arms finished the set. "You love it and you know it!" she murmured before kissing his forehead, then resting hers against the same spot.

Which in the past would have had him jumping away with a yelp to her amused laughter, notwithstanding that her sitting in his lap would have never happened to begin with. Now the little imp looked for all the world like he wanted to pull her down for a repeat of what Max saw on the picnic table on Vera's back porch, and if he weren't right there Max was sure the redhead would gladly oblige him.

Other than the general cringiness of such public displays of affection, Max couldn't really criticize that.

It seemed the unseen mana that he knew surrounded his granddaughter approved of the feelings underneath the PDA, too, because the Keystone resting over the girl's heart started another light show. The soft pink dot appeared and started lazily moving in the lines etched into the stone. That wasn't what almost made Max take a sharp breath like he did the first time he saw it, though. No, it was the way a second, acid green dot appeared, following the line the pink one was in until it caught up. Then they both stopped for half a second, almost on top of each other, before both started moving again. Quicker, switching among the lines carved in the red stone, speeding up and slowing down, all seemingly random motions. Max almost laughed when he realized there was order to the chaotic display - the two dots actually chased each other through the lines, like a pair of playing squirrels.

He wasn't the only one who saw it, either. He heard an astonished gasp, and when he focused his attention on that instead of the colored dots playing tag in the rune he saw his grandson blatantly gaping at his granddaughter's chest. In any other circumstance Max would have taken some action to make the boy stop what looked like ogling, assuming the girl with a blue belt in martial arts didn't set him straight herself with a well placed and unpleasant smack. She'd done it often enough in the past over far less obnoxious trespasses from him. Only Ben's shocked expression saved him as his eyes opened wide.

"Wha.. How… How are you making that happen Dweeb?!"

Gwen pulled back from him, confused at his change of tone and ignoring where his gaze was focused. "Make what happen? … what are you talking about, Ben?"

The brown haired boy shook his head. "The dots of light on your charm! Grandpa, you see it, right?!" he said, as they raced to the edge of the charm before the pink one seemingly flew off, followed by the green.

"Aw, man, they're gone!"

"Doofus, you're not making any sense! What are you talking about?! What lights?"

"The one's playing tag in the lines on the stone! Please tell me you saw that, Grandpa!" Ben finally tore his eyes away from the pendant and looked up at Max.

Max nodded his head. "Yes, I saw it, Sport. You didn't imagine it."

This was finally the opportunity he'd been looking for to have the other Talk, his main purpose for the trip he'd maneuvered when he got back to Bellwood. The old man sighed - he still didn't like the reason behind it or the manipulation he did to make it happen, but there was no way to avoid it for much longer. Merlin was close to the blistering end of his patience. Better to use this time while he could.

He took his own advice from this morning, though. Gently. Don't hit them with everything all at once. What he was about to say was bad enough.

"Wasn't the first time, either." He was pretty sure that'd get the reaction he wanted.

"Grandpa! What are you two talking about?!" Gwen said forcefully.

Ben looked at her incredulously. "Just what I said! There was a pink and a green dot of light racing around in the lines on your Keystone! It was the coolest thing! … You weren't making that happen?!" the pitch of his voice rising.

"Well, no. How could I…" Gwen said, consternation clouding her face.

"Actually, I think you were, Pumpkin. In a way." Max said. He leaned back against the dining booth table opposite them.

"What do you mean? … Come on, Grandpa! What do you know about this?" the young sorceress said with agitation. Her lack of knowledge about her magic always frustrated her. And she always hated not being part of whatever joke her cousin was pulling. Even if this wasn't one.

Max crossed his arms over his chest. "I saw it the first time after Michelle came for dinner. … You know the Plumbers are involved in more than just alien encounters." He winced a little as a pained look passed through both kids' eyes, no doubt recalling the forceful way he acted after finding the Mayan mask and the run in with the Forever Knights. They were younger then and acted like the whole episode was a game, but he knew better. Still, he over did it just a tad.

"We pay attention to magic, too, and dealt with more than a few sorcerers and artifacts. That's how I heard of the Keystone and Bezel. I mostly ignored the legends and rumors, until you found the charm, Gwen. I had my doubts that it was real until Hex proved otherwise, so I did some more digging into it." Gwen slid off Ben's lap, watching Max with an intense look and didn't notice the boy resting his left arm across her shoulders.

"What you've learned about it is true enough - we're pretty sure Bezel did exist, thousands of years ago, and made the Keystone and several other powerful charms. Legend has it Bezel was a man, but there's no definite record of that, and it's just as likely he was really a she. There are references to women and men magic users during those old times. Regardless, Bezel was the most powerful one."

"Just like you, Dweeb." Ben said absently, also entranced by the story. She swatted his thigh. "Oh, shush you, …" she said in mild irritation. She obviously thought he was teasing her, but as she glanced at him the look he gave her made it clear he meant what he said.

Max continued. "I did find out that legend also says Bezel made the Keystone with the help of a close companion. I also heard it could regenerate its power through several magic rituals…"

"Like the one Hex did." Gwen breathed out quietly.

"Right. And there are supposed to be others that rely on other sources of power. But they require a lot of it all at once, and some are…" pretty gruesome, he didn't finish. He didn't want to explain a blood sacrifice to the kids.

"But… when a sorceress has control of the Keystone, it draws mana from her as well as the environment and slowly re-charges. We don't know much more than that, and it's all from legend."

The girl's growing excitement during the story fell away at that. Seeing her head and shoulders drop at his last statement was almost tragic.

And then that wonderful boy did his own magic. "See! I told you! The lights mean it's charging up, because you have it! Pink is your color."

The grateful smile she gave him lit up the dining area, and the way she started to lean into him, Max was sure she was about to reward her boyfriend with her lips before she stopped. The way both of their faces flushed when she caught herself was adorable!

"I think you're right, Sport." Max grinned for a moment before uncrossing his arms. "Unfortunately, that's a problem."

"Huh?! Why would anything that awesome be a problem?!"

"Because it attracts attention, that we're not ready to handle." Max emphasized the 'we' part; the kids had to know they couldn't deal with it by themselves. "If your parents or classmates see it, they'll have questions that don't have easy answers. And more importantly…"

Gwen and Ben nodded their heads at that. Max paused to let them think it through a little before dropping the bigger bomb.

"More importantly, there are other entities that might notice, and they have more in mind than just finding out what the Keystone is doing."

"Other entities?" "What does that mean?!" they said together.

Here it comes. So much for letting them live as normal kids.

"You know Charmcaster is on the loose, and she'd be very interested in any news about the Keystone. We got some reports that she may have teamed up with Kevin. The two of them together could be a problem."

Both kids got a grim expression. Gwen could handle either threat on her own, but Ben wouldn't just let her. His karate skills wouldn't be enough to take on Kevin, though. The small hero probably already came to the same conclusion.

"Then there's the Forever Knights. The story you heard about them fighting in DC is true, and there have been others. It seems the different factions are more active in fighting for dominance. There's one that just got a new leader that appears to be gathering the splinters into a single organization again. Once that happens, they'd pay close attention to reports about the Keystone, too."

Now they both had a frown. For all their internal squabbling the Knights caused a lot of trouble, not least at the new base outside Bellwood. Gwen unconsciously rubbed at the faint burn scar on her arm.

Max sighed again. This last part was the worst. "And we're having more frequent skirmishes with Vilgax's race."

"Vil- !" Ben exclaimed. Stormclouds filled his eyes as Gwen put an arm around his back in a side hug with a concerned look. "What do they want?!" he growled.

There was no way to sugar coat this, but they deserved to know and it was getting harder to hide. "They want you, Ben. And you too, Gwen." Max said simply. "They know what you did at Phoenix, and the Chimera Sui Generis have vowed blood revenge. We think they'd prefer to capture you for a show trial on their home world, but they'd accept seeing you dead." Some things couldn't be done gently. Blunt was better. But dammit, they weren't even teenagers yet! He knew this would add to their anxiety; he hoped they'd remember what he said earlier about getting a proper doctor.

"I know this is sudden and a lot to absorb. And it isn't remotely fair. … I know what it's like to be on a capture or kill list, but I was an Air Force officer fighting in a war, and I was trained for it. You shouldn't have to deal with this, but…" he gave them a dejected look. They knew better than anyone how Phoenix went down. It was more important now to focus on the future. "I will help you any way I can."

The two sat for a minute, staring at the floor, hugging each other closer as their free hands latched together. Gwen looked up first, her eyes hollow from that last terrible revelation.

"I guess this means I should stop wearing the Keystone, and put it in a safe place?" she said sadly. Her reaction was heartbreaking - unable to do anything about the real problem, Gwen was trying to solve what she could.

Ben's head snapped up. "What? No! It belongs on you, all the time! The safest place for it is around your neck, Dweeb! You keep it safe! And if Grandpa is right maybe it will eventually keep you safe." he said, as emphatically as Max had ever seen him. "It already shows off how pretty you are." he mumbled. If he thought he said that too softly for her to hear, the hug she threw around his neck cleared that right up. As did the bright smile spreading over her face again.

"Doofus!" Was all she said before kissing his cheek, rules and propriety be damned.

"I think Ben's right about this, Pumpkin. But you will need to keep it hidden." Max said, then winked at Ben. "When anyone besides your doofus is around, anyway."

"Maybe you could put a spell on it to keep it from falling off. Like you did with me when we were flying on your magic pad…" the boy blurted out before realizing he said something they thought they shouldn't talk about and clamped a hand over his mouth. Gwen gave him a brief dirty look and an eye roll. Max really didn't need to know all the details of their earlier 'hike in the woods' - they had earned his trust so far. And knowing how to fly with her without falling was bound to have some utility in the future. He quirked an eyebrow at them anyway, and was delighted at how both faces turned pink.

"I don't know about that" she said slowly, ignoring the question hanging in the air. "I wouldn't want to interfere with whatever it's doing."

"Yeah, that makes sense - don't mess with the dancing lights." Ben agreed, then recovered with another suggestion. "Hey, you could put a spell on the necklace to keep it in place. I can put a stronger wire on the charm to hold it better."

The way these two worked together, mentally and physically, was always great to watch. The grin on his Pumpkin's face was icing on the cake. "That's not a bad idea, Doofus! … Look at you being the smart sorcerer's apprentice! Clever boy!"

"I don't know why you're surprised. I keep telling you, I'm just that awesome!" His smirk lasted for a moment before he had the flash of insight Max was waiting for. Unfortunately.

"Wait. … Gwen wasn't the one who…" Ben gulped before saying the rest. Max cut him off before he could dwell on it, hoping to prevent a panic attack.

"No, but she did destroy one of their best combat drones."

"But that was nowhere near what I did! That means they're really after me. Gwen shouldn't be on that list! Right?"

Max winced. "Sort of. We've intercepted several of their surveillance drones following you separately, but they recently switched to only using one. They know when you're together, and they're clearly targeting both of you."

Gwen took in a sharp breath. "You mean they're watching us?!"

Max nodded. "Yes. They have been since late summer. And we've also caught a completely different kind of drone doing it. We can't say for sure where those are coming from, but assuming the Forever Knights are behind it is a safe bet."

"But we never saw them! How are we supposed to be safe from that, Grandpa?!" she cried. "We can't just stop going to school! And all the other stuff we do!"

Max stood up from the counter he was leaning back on and looked at them with what he liked to think of as his leader's face. The one he used when he was briefing his team about a seemingly impossible mission, and needed them to trust that they would accomplish it anyway with minimal casualties. And they did.

Most of the time.

"You two don't need to do anything different. A sudden change right now would be a tipoff that you know what they're doing. But that doesn't mean we're doing nothing! Like I've said, Earth forces have intercepted a number of these surveillance missions. And we've gotten intelligence about their plans from off-planet." The details of those intercepts could wait for another time.

They looked up at him with concerned, almost scared expressions. Max felt torn again between protecting his grandchildren and letting them have a normal life, and following Merlin's order to get them into Chimera training right away. As that SOB said, Max saw the intel and after action reports, and the threats were as real as the ones Jim had been responding to since the 1950s. Real and becoming more imminent, due in part to the reputation of these kids. Like it or not, their reputations were deserved, and that made them vital additions to defending humanity, not just targets - they just needed to get more focused on how to use their unique abilities. And that included more than just being the Watch and the Witch.

But not today! They were his grandkids, and he was going to hold that miserable old bastard to the promise he made - Max would stay active with the Plumbers as their handler, so he'd be in a position to manage the kinds of trouble they got exposed to. Merlin's reputation as a hard ass was well and truly earned, but he almost never went back on his word.

And that meant Max would be able to keep the kids safe, for now anyway. As safe as anyone under the Plumbers' considerable protection could be.

"The Plumbers will keep on watching out for you! I promise you we will keep you safe!" Max said firmly. "You and the rest of the family!" He'd protect them, just like he'd been doing since he married their grandmother.

Ben stared out the RV's picture window. "There's…" he started before swallowing hard. "There's something else I can do…" he said in a low, hollow voice.

Max knew what his grandson was thinking, and was both proud and horrified by it. "Ben …"

Before he could finish, Gwen interrupted him. "Ben! No! … You can't!" she almost shouted at him. She clutched at his hands as he gave her a haunted look.

"If it'll keep you safe…" the young hero started to say with a firmness in his voice that his eyes didn't share. Max interrupted him again.

"Gwen's right, Sport." But not necessarily for the reason she had in mind. He wanted to share her view that the watch could wait a few more years, and he hated that he couldn't. But if Jim was right about the need to defend Earth from off-world and paranormal threats, Ben would have to put that damn thing back on. Just as Gwen would need to get better at using her magic. Unfortunately, Merlin was right more often than he was wrong.

Still, they could afford to be almost normal teenagers for a little while longer. "You can't wear the Omnitrix right now. The power surge when it turns on can't be hidden, so it's better to keep it quiet for now." He gave them both a reassuring look before saying what he knew needed saying, and hating it even more as he said the words out loud.

"But we can't completely control when bad guys might come. As much as I hate to say it, you need to think about wearing it again, maybe sooner than you hoped when Azmuth took it off." Gwen shot him a poisonous look that lasted three heartbeats longer than Max expected, but even her fiercely protective attitude softened. They all knew when they left Azmuth's home the odds he'd put it back on were way better than even, but none of them wanted it to be so soon.

Max stepped in front of them and knelt down on one knee, hiding the painful grimace that normally went with that act. Instead he reached out and gathered his two heroes into a bear hug, hoping he could keep them as safe as he promised. That son of a bitch can wait a few months more before getting his grubby hands on them.

- X -

Sunday

Late morning

Ben stepped down from the side door as the brilliant sunlight filtered through a layer of thin white clouds in an otherwise clear blue, windless sky. A very deceptive scene - even two months ago it would have been warm and inviting, beckoning him to relax in one of the camp chairs next to Grandpa for a mid-morning snooze. Instead he pulled his green jacket a little tighter in the weak late fall sun as he dropped into a chair anyway, sighing when he felt the heat from the fire the big man started.

Grandpa looked up from his book. "What are you doing out here, Ben?" He looked at the side door of the RV. "Is Gwen coming out, too?"

"No, she kicked me out…"

"What did you do? I didn't hear any yelling."

"Nothing!" Ben exclaimed, then chuckled. "Well, nothing besides being my adorable self."

Grandpa snorted and gave him that disbelieving look he was so good at but said nothing. How could that noise and a dirty look qualify as a full conversation like that? An incredibly sarcastic one, at that.

"Really! You can ask her when she does come out! She's writing an essay and said I was too much of a distraction. … It's not my fault! I was sitting on the couch, minding my own business, and she told me to get lost." Ben smiled like the Cheshire Cat. "After mumbling something about me being too adorable for my own good. And that's a quote."

Grandpa laughed softly. "I guess I should have known. You two aren't the same as you were before last May." he said with a grin.

Ben looked him in the eyes with a not quite smirk and shrugged his shoulders as he settled back into the chair.

"Just as well." Grandpa said. "I know you don't want me to mention this in front of Gwen. The music box you asked about? I should get it in the mail before the end of next week."

"Really?!" Ben leaned forward in his chair, suddenly excited. "Way cool!"

Grandpa smiled, his eyes twinkling. "I hope so. I took the liberty of getting two, in case you need a spare. I brought a copy of the instructions for loading an audio track so you can read up on it before they get here. Should be enough storage for two songs, but my tech guys say you may need to adjust the file formats if they're too big. I'm assuming you know how to do that. … So is this for Christmas or her birthday?"

"Um, I'm not sure yet. Still pondering that. … What about the other things?"

Now Max let himself look more serious. "Yeah, I got them back on Tuesday. They polished up nice, they look good. Not flashy, like you said." This time the man looked Ben in the eyes. "You sure you want to give her these? They seem a little…" He tried not to finish the thought; but he couldn't stop the flashback he had of how the Rustbucket was attacked, how Gwen reacted when she first saw the shattered pieces of the crystalline alien Ben loved to use. When she thought the boy she just kissed under the stars was dead. And she looked for all the world that she couldn't go on without him.

It was hard enough for Max to relive that memory. Would she want to be reminded of that every time she looked at the Keystone around her neck?

Max shook his head once to break that line of thought. He didn't know the answer to that any more. A month or two ago he would have said he did, that he knew his granddaughter that well. But the events since he got back to Bellwood - the kids celebrating Ben's game without him, the stories and worries of their parents about the nightmares and the suspicions about their more-than-friends relationship, and seeing how much more than friends they really were - proved that he didn't know these older kids as well as he thought.

Seeing the pleased, excited look in Ben's eyes over the intensely personal gift he planned to give to his… Go on, think it Max! You're in this up to your eyeballs, you can't try to backtrack now! … his girlfriend convinced him to keep his worry to himself.

Instead Grandpa reached into his jacket pocket and held out a small velvet covered jewelry box, the one Ben swiped from the nicknack shelf in the Dweeb's bedroom. It seemed right to reuse it, and if she noticed it went missing she didn't let on.

"I'm sure! Don't worry, Grandpa, I know she's gonna love 'em!" Ben said as he reached for it. He opened it up and smiled at what was inside. "Yeah, this is perfect!" He snapped it closed and stashed it in his jacket. "Thanks!"

Grandpa's worried look faded in the face of Ben's enthusiasm. "You're welcome, Sport. I'm sure your cousin will appreciate them."

Ben slumped back into his chair with a satisfied smile. He knew his girlfriend would be more than appreciative. She liked glittery things as much as any other girl he knew; not that he knew that many, really, but he heard girls in his class ooh and aah at each other whenever one of them showed off a necklace or earrings after a birthday or Christmas.

And even if that wasn't true, his Dweeb would like something that came from him anyway. The gold chain he gave her in the little box in his pocket proved that. It wasn't that big a deal by itself - he had been a little disappointed about it before he gave it to her, but he didn't have enough money to get the necklace she deserved, the one that had bigger links and reflected more light - but her reaction to the one he got and the polish he put on the red stone it held around her neck was better than he imagined it would be. The fact she wore it almost all the time, going so far as taping it to her skin under a t shirt for karate instead of taking it off like Sensei told the other kids in class to do, still amazed him. That the oh-so-proper girl who claimed she didn't break rules would defy their karate master like that gave him the warm, tight feeling in his chest that he felt at the dance. The one that used to be so weird and now was so right.

Seeing the necklace proudly uncovered at the dance, the sparkle from the chain and the red color of the stone against her skin enhanced by the blue of her dress… He shuddered a little as a tingle went down his spine. She was beautiful without it, but the necklace added just that something more that he didn't know how to explain. He just felt it.

The contents of the jewelry box would add to the pendant she wore and the feeling he got. He took a deep breath of the pine-scented air and slowly let it out as he rested a hand over his jacket pocket. He hoped so, anyway.

- X -

"Almost one o'clock" Grandpa said with approval, glancing at the watch on his wrist. What was actually a larger-than-typical timepiece looked deceptively small on the big man's arm. "Pretty much on schedule. … Thanks for carrying the hookup fittings to the office with me, Ben." He ruffled the boy's unruly brown hair as they approached the camp site they were almost ready to leave. None of them wanted to go, the past day and a half had been a great reminder of what a summer trip should be, with the added benefit of his awesome relationship with his Dweeb! Grandpa had regaled them several times with stories of what he had been doing during his latest absence. They both knew he was holding back more than he was telling, but that was expected by now. If he thought they should know, he'd tell them.

They didn't exactly tell him everything about their stories either.

The trip back to Bellwood would be over the same road that got them to the campground, so there wouldn't be any new sights to see. Not that that mattered; he had a solid four hour drive to hang out with his girlfriend, and they both finished their homework so that wouldn't interfere with their time together.

Ben resisted the urge to duck away from the hand on his head. It wasn't that he cared if his hair got any more messed up, he just never got the point of people shaking his head around. But he remembered the look in Grandpa's eyes as he and his Dweeb turned away from the stands to join their friends after his championship soccer match, and the look of sadness and disappointment at not being part of the celebration still ate at him. Dinner with Michelle in the RV the next day after their time at the mall almost made up for it, but he didn't like making the man who did so much for him and Gwen feel bad. The least he could do was not flinch when Grandpa was showing some appreciation.

He could actually do better than that. Ben abruptly stopped and wrapped an arm in a slightly awkward side hug around the man's back. "It was nothing compared to you taking us here, Grandpa. Thanks!" he said, looking down at the dirt path. He shouldn't have been surprised when he felt two strong arms hug him back for a long moment.

"You're welcome, Sport! I'm glad the three of us could get away for the weekend." Ben looked up to see their grandfather's broad smile. He wasn't surprised that that made him feel good. "And that you two had a good time! … I think we got a good start on making new memories!"

And wasn't that the understatement of the month!

Grandpa left an arm around his shoulders as he got them walking again towards the big camper. The bright smile he saw on the redhead's face watching through a window as they approached made him feel even better.

Four more hours to cuddle with his Dweeb? What's not to like?! He felt a big grin as he followed Grandpa through the side door.

"Ready to go Pumpkin?"

"Yeah." Gwen said with more than a suggestion of disappointment. "But I'd rather be heading to the next stop on a summer trip!"

Grandpa chuckled. "Can't argue with that!" he said as he made his way to the driver's seat.

"Do you want us to hang out with you while you're driving, Grandpa?" Gwen asked. Ben heard some hesitation in her voice. He knew she had to offer that, but it sounded like she'd rather have the offer turned down. As would he, although he knew better than to say that out loud.

Grandpa grinned over his shoulder as he fired up the motor. "Thanks Gwen, but you two don't need to stay up front. I slept well last night so I won't be dozing off. I haven't gotten to the end of the Shag Carpet Christmas album yet and I have plenty of other 8 tracks. I'll let you know though. We're going to need to stop for gas in a few hours, anyway." He turned back to look out the windshield and headed for the Pacific Coast Highway.

Ben gazed out the front of the RV and sighed in resignation. He wasn't surprised to hear the same sound from Gwen in his left ear as she wrapped her arms around his middle and rested her chin on his shoulder.

They were going home.

/

NOTES:

Songs for this chapter
Never Gonna Give You Up, Rick Astley
You Can Count On Me, Bruno Mars
Tell Her About It, Billy Joel
Can't Fight This Feeling, REO Speedwagon

FINALLY!

Well, that took longer to do than I expected! RL has a way of butting in.
Anyway, here it is. Ch 31 and 32 are in progress.