Gwen and Max sat adjacent to Ben's room.
The doctors said he would need more rest before they could talk to him; all they could do now is wait.
Gwen stared silently. Her mind lost in a sea of feelings.
"Ben" Tears streamed down her cheeks. "…Why?" She couldn't understand.
Did he really have to run off risking life and limb without telling anyone- even her?
A deep breath escaped her as she fell asleep, her thoughts drifted back to the beginning of summer, when her feelings for Ben started to change.
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Ben began to stir. His body racked with pain.
His arms were riddled with I.V.'s and covered with bandages that seemed to encase his entire body.
As his eyes grew accustomed to the room, he saw what appeared to be a lump on his left wrist starting to glow bright green.
"AAHHHHH!"
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Gwen awoke to the sound of Ben's scream and rushed in to see a team of nurses clamoring for him to hold still while he screamed, "GET IT OFF ME! "
Moments later, Max came in, "Ben! What happened?"
The head nurse shook her head while one of the others assured Ben that it had only been a bad dream.
After an hour long examination, the doctor walked over to Max and pulled him aside.
Gwen started after them but was stopped by one of the nurses,
"Looks like your friend could use some company, you can visit with him if you want but –"
Before she could finish, Gwen found her way back into Ben's room where he sat with an empty look on his face.
"Hey!"
He didn't look up.
"Look doofus, I don't know what freaked you out earlier but you have some explaining to do!"
He turned to her,
"…Who are you? And who's doofus?"
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Max grimaced at the news.
"Is there anything else you can do?"
The doctor turned back.
"At this point, we've done everything medically possible. Physically, he'll be just fine but…"
"How long will he be like this?"
The doctor sighed.
"Ordinarily, I could say it would be a matter of time and therapy, but his circumstances were anything but , I think we both know that his chances of a full recovery are slim to none, it would take a miracle otherwise."
Max was sure his son wouldn't take the news well. Their relationship had never been perfect, but this wasn't helping matters any.
"Well I'd best start looking for that miracle then."
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
"Ha Ha, very funny Ben." Gwen stated, rolling her eyes as she did.
"I understand my name is Ben, but who exactly might you be?"
Gwen put her hands on her hips. "Keep it up and I'm sure Grandpa will help you remember with his famous grub worm stew."
"Your grandpa is a cook?"
Gwen shuddered "Not from this galaxy…"
"Your grandpa is an alien!"
Gwen started to laugh. "You might be onto something."
Moments later, Max walked in.
"Ah, I see you two have already met."
Gwen turned to him. "Huh?"
Max turned to Ben.
"Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Max."
"Hi Max."
"Grandpa, is this really necessary?" Gwen said, raising an eyebrow.
Max sighed. "This is my granddaughter, Gwen. I hope you two get along for the rest of the road trip."
Ben smiled. "Nice to meet you Gwen!"
"Ok, you got me- prank over. Now can we please talk about who Ben fought at the nuclear power plant?"
Ben gave a confused look.
"Never mind that. I'll have one of the nurses bring you out to the front while I pull the Rustbucket up."
He motioned for Gwen to follow.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
As soon as they were near the entrance, Max stopped.
"Gwen, I'm sorry- but he can't remember who he is, let alone what happened back there."
"Isn't there something you can do?"
"I'm going to do all I can. Until then, just keep him close and act natural, we don't need anyone to take advantage of his memory loss. If the wrong person notices, we could be in over our head."
"Okay, I get it."
"Good. Now wait here while I pull around."
As Max climbed into the Rustbucket, he heard his comm device sounding off and cautiously picked it up.
"Who are you, and how did you get this comm ID?"
A woman answered. "Oh Max, you always were protective. I can't blame you though, being a plumber and all."
"Verdona… it's been a long time."
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Chapter 3- coming sooner than Chapter 2.