July 9, 2016

Plumber's Outpost, Mojave Desert; 8:52 am

Dr. Beck removed her stethoscope from Ben's chest. "Everything sounds good, and your vitals are coming back normal. I'd say you're all clear to go."

"Thanks, Doc," Ben said, putting his skirt back on. He was ecstatic to finally be allowed to leave. He should have been able to leave the day before, but everything that had happened with Gwen added too much stress for the doctor to give him the okay. A part of him wanted to lash out when she told him, but he knew how much the doctor cared for her patients' mental health as well as their physical.

Ben began to stretch his stiff muscles, thankful to be out of that hospital bed. His everyday lifestyle was enough to maintain his physique since he relied on the Omnitrix for missions, but he felt out of shape. After changing into workout clothes, he decided to jog around the complex.

The outpost was much quieter than he was used to, but he wasn't complaining. Now that he was out of the infirmary, he had so much on his mind. Max will be taking them back to Bellwood, and he hasn't spoken with Gwen since that night. After all these years of heartbreak, he finally heard her say she still loved him, only for her to take it away right after.

So was this, then? Should he just sit by and let their newfound relationship end before it can even begin? He knew it was the right thing to do, but a part of him, the little boy who ran away all those years ago, still hoped she'd choose him in the end. And by some cruel twist of fate, he ran right into her.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," Kevin quipped. Gwen, Kevin, and Kai had been talking outside of the garage, the latter two about to leave for a mission. "Didn't think you'd come to see us off, captain."

Kai elbowed the man, "Do you always have to be dick?" She turned to Ben, "It is good to see you before we leave again."

"Yeah, well, you know how strict the doc is," Ben said. An awkward silence settled in. Gwen hadn't looked in his direction once since he arrived. It only strengthened his doubts about their relationship.

A car horn cut through all the tension. "Looks like it's time to go," Kai said.

Gwen hugged the girl, "It was great catching up with you, and I'm sorry about… You know…"

"It's okay, Gwen," Kai said, returning the hug. "If you ever need anything, you have my number."

"When the hell did you two get so close?" Kevin asked, completely ruining the good moment. Kai went to elbow him, but he quickly moved out of the way. "HA! Missed me." Too busy gloating, he wasn't ready for Kai to sweep his leg out, effectively knocking him on his ass. "Bitch!"

"I've been meaning to ask," Gwen said, "are you two like a thing or something?"

"She wishes," Kevin said.

"Ew, no! His ego is almost as big as

Ben's," Kai made a gagging motion.

"Now that's just hurtful," Kevin pouted.

"You know I'm standing right here," Ben said, annoyed.

The four broke out into laughter. Gwen couldn't remember the last time she hung out with people her own age like this, let alone friends. She thought about how her life could have turned out if things had gone differently. Unfortunately, she couldn't dwell on it much longer as a car continued to honk impatiently.

"For fuck's sake, Johnson! Keep that shit up, and you'll be on cleaning duty when we get to Oregon," Kevin storms off into the garage.

Oregon?" Ben asked. "Vampires?"

"If only it was something that exciting," Kai sighed. "A refugee ship crashed near Portland. The locals already set up a camp for them but needed assistance, and with Kevin's ribs, it was either this or deskwork." She waved them goodbye before joining the rest of her squad. Within a minute, they were on the road leaving the two cousins alone.

"Well, I should let you get back to your jog," Gwen said nervously. "I'll see you later."

"Wait!" Ben yelled before she could leave. "Can we talk? Please?"

Gwen could feel her fight-or-flight response telling her to run away and never look back, but she owed him a conversation after ghosting him again. After nodding her head, the two walked back to the main building.

The silence Ben craved an hour ago is now something he desperately wanted gone. He couldn't stand the awkward tension between the two, but for the life of him, he could not bring himself to speak up. It wasn't until they arrived at Gwen's makeshift room that he figured out what to say.

"So this is the room they gave you," he said as he sat on the bed. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "This was my room whenever I would stay here. I wonder if Grandpa had anything to do with that."

"You said you wanted to talk," Gwen said, not sharing the same sentiment for the room she called her cell for the last week.

Ben took a moment to collect his thoughts. After all the time he spent with them, you'd think he'd know what to say, but thinking had never been his strong suit. "I don't want you to leave."

"Ben, we talked about this," Gwen said weakly.

"Let me finish," He pleaded. "I know you wanted to get closure or whatever, but I feel like things will only get worse if we leave things as they are. If it's alright with you, I want to continue our trip. At least until you have to leave for your orientation."

"You know Grandpa's not going to let us after what happened in Phoenix."

"Then we just have to convince him." He instinctively grabbed hold of Gwen's hand, causing her to flinch. He loosened his grip but didn't remove it, feeling reassured that she wouldn't pull away. "Come on, Gwen. This can't be any harder than when we convinced your mom to let us go to the pier for our twelfth birthday."

The memory brought a smile to her face. "God, she got so drunk after that too. She ended up passing out in the bathroom after you went home."

The two laughed as they reminisced. All the tension seemed to wash away instantly as they sat side by side, shoulder to shoulder. Gwen hadn't noticed how close they were until she turned and was met with his big green eyes. She stole a glance down to his lips, and a dangerous thought crept in.

"I still don't think it's a good idea," Gwen said as she slid down the bed, trying to create some distance between them. "But I'm willing to try if you are."

Ben had made no effort to hide his disappointment when she let go of his hand but chose to take the victory where he could. "Thank you."

The two said their goodbyes, leaving Ben standing outside of her room. He raised his arm and debated knocking on the door with a glimmer of hope that she'd want him back as much as he did, but he still wanted to respect her decision. A sour stench soon cut off his inner conflict. Realizing he hadn't showered in over a week, Ben left for the infirmary to grab some clothes and then towards the locker room for a long-awaited shower.

In the sub basement's security room, Max watched as his grandson left his cousin's room. He wasn't sure what had happened there but judging by how the boy stood there like a puppy in the rain, it was clear that it hadn't gone as he had hoped. After some time, the boy finally left. Max had often watched his granddaughter perform a similar routine after their late-night conversation.

"I figured I'd find you down here."

Max hadn't bothered to look at the source of the voice before speaking. "Don't you have patients to look after, Doctor?"

Dr. Beck leaned against the security desk. "You and I both know that if you're on my base, then you're my patient, and you're overdue for a checkup." She turned the man's chair to face her. "You can stop stalking your grandkids for five minutes, Max."

Max wanted to pull rank but knew better than to piss off the woman keeping his men alive. We continued to watch Ben on the monitor as he entered the locker room with a bundle of clothes in hand. He knew he had at least ten minutes to spare for the doctor, so he turned, giving her his "full" attention.

Beck began the examination first by taking his blood pressure. "Have you been keeping up with your medication?"

"Yes," he lied.

She checked his pulse next. "Light exercise?"

"Yes," another lie.

She pulled a notepad out of her pocket and began to write. "Have you spoken with your sons?"

"Have you been speaking with Martha again?" Max questioned.

"Of course not. We do believe in doctor/patient confidentiality." She tore the page out of her notebook, promptly shredding it before handing the remains to the man. "Here's your prescription just the way you like it."

Max couldn't stop the smile from forming. "Glad to see I passed with flying colors."

"And here's some advice. Off the records." She handed the man a folded piece of paper and left just as quietly as when she entered.

Max unfolded the note and quickly crumbled it, throwing it into a nearby waste bin. He returned to the monitors just in time to see Ben leave the locker room, but the message had already sunk in.

YOU'RE NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGER OLD MAN