Author's Notes:

'A Shepherd Afield' is a continuation of 'A Shepherd in France' which continued the story of 'The Shepherd of Ashburn Court'. Minimal effort is made in this tale to explain the backstory so please read the other stories first.

All characters engaging in sexual relationships or activities are 18 years old or older.

********

Chapter 36

Ben yawned and stretched as he left the immigration office in LAX with Gretchen. It had taken four and a half long hours to deal with the bureaucracy and he'd filled out countless forms with her assistance. It would have taken longer but the staff recognized him and for the cost of a few... dozen selfies with the excited office workers he was 'expedited'. He wondered how long he would have still been in there otherwise. He was dismayed to learn that after all of that effort they'd only earned a six month window. He would see if Hannah could do some magic at her end.

The flight from Sydney to Los Angeles had been uneventful as the presence of Gretchen kept the flight attendants at bay. Their detour through immigration had caused them to miss their connecting flight.

Ben got tickets on the next flight home for them and they dozed in the chairs by the gate. The flight finally boarded and they promptly fell asleep in their seats and only woke when they landed. It was the wee hours of the morning when they grabbed a taxi for home. Gretchen fell asleep against his shoulder.

He felt a familiar happy ache in his heart as they pulled onto Ashburn Court. The taxi pulled into his driveway and he gently nudged Gretchen awake. She glanced out the window then flashed a quick smile at him.

Ben paid the driver and they got their bags. He got them inside the front door as quietly as he could but a light went on in the living room and a very sleepy looking Lucy walked around the corner and froze when she came face to face with Gretchen. They blinked at each other.

"Lucy, Gretchen. Gretchen, Lucy. Formal introduction will wait until a sane hour, probably when you get back from school. Now, give me a kiss and off to bed with you," Ben said firmly and Lucy quickly moved to him to press her soft body against his and raised her lips to his. He kissed her sensual mouth and she moaned a little when he pulled back.

"To bed and no funny business. I'm exhausted," he said sternly. With a quick smile at Gretchen Lucy moved quickly down the hall to the master bedroom and slipped inside.

"Does- does she sleep in your bed?" Gretchen asked meekly.

Ben looked at her and nodded after a pause. "So does Tina."

He walked down the hall and saw Karen's and Penny's bedroom doors were open. A wave of sadness rushed over him. He was surprised by how strong his reaction was. He'd miss them more than he thought. Empty nest syndrome? He smiled to himself as he turned the overhead light on in Karen's... old room. It was Gretchen's now. He checked the bed but they'd changed the sheets so it was ready to be slept in.

"This room gets morning sun. Very pretty. I hope you like it. Get some sleep and we'll talk in the morning." Ben said turning to her. He saw she was looking up at him with desperation in her eyes and trembling. "What? You don't like the room?"

She shook her head but her expression didn't change. Her trembling seemed to be getting worse much to his dismay.

"Ben, please kiss the woman," a voice said from the master bedroom door.

Ben glanced past Gretchen to see Tina looking back at him.

"Show her she is home," Tina continued.

Gretchen looked away from Tina back to Ben as he stepped forward and with a final glance at Tina he brushed Gretchen's lips with his then she was crushing her body against his. He was surprised by her need but he kissed her deeply and controlled the kiss until he felt her relax in his grip. He pulled back from the kiss and she struggled to catch her breath as she stared at his mouth.

"Get some sleep. Relax, Gretchen. Like Tina said, you're home. We'll all talk in the morning."

She nodded and smiled wobbly at him.

He smiled back and went into the master and closed the door. Tina was already back in bed. He could see her eyes glistening in the room's faint light. Ben undressed and dropped his clothes in the bin in the bathroom, brushed his teeth, then carefully climbed into bed. He kissed Tina tenderly and felt her tremble against him. His kiss suddenly became deep and the passion swept over them both before he got control over himself. He ended the kiss, dazed by its intensity. Tina sighed and tucked herself against his side. His love for her threatened to overwhelm him once more. His emotions were obviously derailing with his exhaustion. He'd ask her how she knew what Gretchen needed in the morning.

He pulled Lucy against him and felt her happily press her body against him.

Content if still a little shaky Ben closed his eyes and let himself drift off. He was asleep in seconds.

Chapter 37

Ben sat at the kitchen table with Christopher on his knee watching Tina and Lucy working together to make breakfast. Tina insisted on making the meal and Lucy now had time to help as she was no longer competing for bathroom time with Karen and Penny. He realized that was one of the drawbacks of his house. It could use additional bathrooms but there wasn't room in the floorplan and he had no desire to alter it.

Tina had wanted Ben to sleep in but he needed to be with them so he got up and started his day, promising to take a nap later.

The two ladies worked in perfect harmony and the meal was quickly prepared. Lucy carried the plates to the table as Tina followed. Lucy moved Christopher to his highchair and he dug in to his scrambled eggs.

Tina stopped before Ben who gave her a tender kiss. Lucy got one as well then they sat and ate their breakfast in happy silence. As they were finishing up Ben looked to Tina to ask the question he had from the previous night.

"How did you know what Gretchen needed last night?"

Tina smiled at him. "You told me that she had been badly treated by her Dom who was completely controlling. I put myself in her place. You kissed Lucy in front of her?"

"He certainly did and it was dreamy!" Lucy said with a smile.

Tina smiled at Lucy then turned back to Ben. "She is far from anything she knew as 'hers'. You were the only source of security she had and you were kissing another woman. She would feel very insecure and desperate to know she had a place in your life."

Ben looked at her in wonder as Lucy got up and took the woman's face in her hands to kiss her tenderly.

"You are amazing!" Lucy said lovingly to Tina whose cheeks showed her blush. Lucy stopped in front of Ben and got a sweet kiss from him before clearing the dishes and hustling away to get ready for school.

"It's beautiful to see how much she loves you." Ben said gently to her and she smiled showing her love for Lucy as well. "How went the move?"

"Much easier than expected. The home is lovely and the girls are thrilled. We celebrated last night with Chinese food. We invited over a large number of people including Jayden and Frank."

"Their second double date was with the group? How did that go?" Ben asked in surprise.

"It went very well! Jayden is very good for Karen and Frank... he is a younger version of you!" she said with a giggle. "You cannot tell the girls that though."

Ben looked at Tina in surprise and grinned at her with a nod. He was happy to hear the girls were happy. He did miss them.

"Rain is very happy in her new job. She wants to thank you." Tina bounced her eyebrows and Ben snorted seeing her attempt the gesture.

Tina's expression turned serious. "There is something that happened yesterday you need to know about. We took care of it but you should know."

Ben listened as Tina explained about their stalker and his expression became grim. He was somewhat mollified hearing Walter was on the case. "Thank you for calling Walter. That was excellent thinking. I hope he's successful in going after Holland." She nodded in agreement.

"Now, tell me what happened with Margaux," Tina said gently, holding his eyes with hers.

Ben opened his mouth but the words wouldn't come. His throat had closed up. He shook his head. It was too soon.

"When you are ready... we will talk," she said sadly. He nodded.

"I'll take Christopher to the daycare," Ben managed.

"DAYDAY!" Christopher squealed, making Ben smile.

He stood and bent down to kiss Tina tenderly. Then he scooped up the boy and flew him to the front door as the boy giggled. They got their boots and jackets on and Lucy joined them leaving the house. She gave Ben a kiss then rushed down the driveway to go over to Ashley's. The woman was standing by her van and waved to Ben. He waved back to her and Savannah. He headed off to Daphne's and saw Madison running for home after dropping Joshua off at the daycare. She stopped and gave Ben a hug and he hugged her in return then she was sprinting for home. Karen and Penny came running out their front door and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as they rushed by on their way to Ashley's. He shook his head with a smile on his face at their familiar routine.

He saw Rain leaving the house and locking up and met her on the sidewalk.

"Good morning!" he said.

"Ben! You're back! I thought we'd see you last night!" She beamed him a smile and went up on her toes to get a kiss. It was quick but sweet.

"Missed my connecting flight as I was stuck in Immigration with Gretchen."

"Gretchen?" Rain blinked at him.

"Ah, yes. You probably didn't hear that story. Maybe tonight," Ben said. "You don't catch a lift with Ashley?"

"How many people do you think can fit in that van?" she asked with a grin.

"Seven. Ashley, Madison, Savannah, Lucy, Karen and Penny are six."

"Seven fit only if you take the baby seat out which is a pain. It's ok though because I don't really go in the same direction. I take the bus. I like the bus. I've got to run or I'm going to miss it. Talk to you tonight!" Rain said and rushed away.

Ben stood on the sidewalk holding Christopher in his arms watching the woman run down the street towards the main road. He looked at the boy who smiled back at him. "I think they need a car for the house to run errands in, don't you?"

"DayDay!" Christopher replied pointing to the house they stood in front of.

"Fine! I was going to let you pick the car but have it your way," Ben sighed heavily and the boy giggled as they walked up the driveway.

Stepping inside they heard the laughter of the other kids and Christopher began to wriggle in Ben's arms, eager to join them.

Lisa came out to see who'd arrived and squealed just a little when she saw him. Ben smiled at her unexpected noise and she blushed. She helped Christopher take off his coat and boots and he was off, charging into the next room.

Moments later Lori slipped out to join her sister. They stood before him smiling up at him happily.

"I missed you," Ben said with a rough voice, realizing how much he meant it. They were trembling now so he opened his arms and they were against him, squeezing him tight in a hug. He wrapped his arms around them and kissed their foreheads before he pulled back. They stepped back as well but he could see they were craving a real kiss as much as he was. Ben looked outside and looked over their shoulders and saw the coast was clear. He dipped forward and kissed Lori then Lisa and they smiled happily at him when he pulled back again.

"I was wondering if I might impose on you once more to take someone shopping for clothes suitable for the winter. Mostly casual stuff... plus lingerie and sleep wear," Ben said awkwardly.

"Did you bring someone home with you?" Lisa asked with a grin.

Ben smiled self-consciously and nodded.

She looked at her sister then back to Ben. "Tomorrow night?"

Lori held up the bank card he'd left them. "I should hang onto this then?"

"Yes, use that for the purchases," Ben agreed.

"What's her name?" Lisa asked.

"Gretchen Hahn. She was in a ten year marriage to a psychopathic Dom who died in an accident a couple of days ago. She's sweet but a little lost at the moment. Dr. Granger has offered to see her."

The twins looked at him with wide eyes. "I'll need your help with her as well. She was isolated by the sadistic bastard so she needs contact with others to rebuild her socializing skills."

They nodded and smiled up at him with love in their eyes. He felt that warmth fill him. "I love you."

"We love you too," they said in unison making Ben grin.

"See you later," Ben said as he headed outside.

His cell rang as he was halfway home. "Hello?"

"Ben? It's Don! Don Blake."

"Oh! Hi Don, what's up?"

"I was wondering if you've had a chance to speak to your lawyer about that contract yet."

Ben laughed. "Don! I just got home last night, or rather this morning. I'll be speaking with him in a bit. We should be able to get you the paperwork in the next couple of days. Is there a rush?"

"You know I don't sleep much. During my nocturnal busy time I got to thinking about possible uses for that little filter of yours and who might be most interested in them. Due to the nature of my business I know people in important places and I dropped a word or two in a few ears. You know, just to gauge interest. Well, I've generated more than a little attention. They're beating my door down. If I don't present something to them it could get ugly."

"Have your marketing people spoken with Bryan and his team? Have them put together a presentation kit with the test results. Don't release any of the filter's technical specs in the kit. If Bryan has any questions he can call me. Once it's ready send it to me for proofing," Ben instructed.

"Right, right. Geezus, it feels like we're sitting on a goldmine!" Don exclaimed.

"Or a fire ant colony," Ben returned and Don barked out a laugh. "Listen, no more words in ears until we get the contract worked out!"

"Yeah, sorry about that! Bye." Don said in a more serious tone and hung up.

Ben dialed Bill Freeny at Sturn Manufacturing to fill him in on the incoming order for the new filters.

"Bill Freeny."

"Bill, it's Ben Shepherd."

"Ben! How are you! Haven't heard from you for a while!"

"Keeping busy! Listen, that's what I need to talk to you about. I have a new filter I've designed which I'd like your company to be the principle manufacturer for. Potentially, the orders for this device may exceed your current capacity. You may need to expand the operation," Ben explained.

"That's good timing then because we've almost completed the construction on the new plant. We had to lose our private airstrip but the new plant will have three times the capacity of the original plant which is still operational as well," Bill said happily.

"Oh? When did this happen?" Ben asked.

"Don't you read the statements we send you or are you too busy inventing new things? Never mind I know the answer to that one. We began the new construction the week you left. The orders we are receiving for the pressure valve paid for most of the build. We borrowed for the rest against future sales. What are you going to have us build for you now?"

"It's a filter for radioactive particles."

Bill was silent for a bit and Ben thought the line had disconnected. He was about to speak when Bill came back on the phone. "Does it work as well as the pressure valve?"

"Better," Ben said with a smile.

"Damn... we should have built a larger plant."

"Let's see what the first order will be before we jump to any grandiose conclusions." Ben cautioned.

"Who's marketing these things?" Bill asked.

"I originally designed the filter for Blake Uranium in Melbourne, Australia. I went there to test the prototype and it worked better than expected. At my suggestion, their CEO, Don Blake, created a company to market the filters. I selected Sturn Manufacturing to be the manufacturer if you're interested."

"Hell yeah, I'm interested! We're in! Send us the contract and I'll sign it!" Bill exclaimed.

"Great! I'll speak with my lawyer to write up the contract and send it off to you as soon as possible."

"As always, a pleasure to talk and do business with you Ben!" Bill said with a smile in his voice.

"Same here! Talk to you soon." Ben hung up and walked up his driveway.

He let himself in the front door and kicked off his boots and hung up his jacket. He wondered if Gretchen was up yet.

Then he heard the giggling coming from the kitchen.

Ben peeked around the corner and saw Gretchen sitting at the end of the kitchen table with Tina sitting close by. The two ladies looked up at Ben with innocent smiles. He noticed his new guest was wrapped up in his bathrobe.

"Good morning Gretchen."

"Good morning Ben."

"Gretchen was not aware of what it meant to be a Sub," Tina said with a smile.

"And you explained it for her?" Ben said carefully.

"Yes, Tina was extremely helpful. It is so good to know... I'm not perverse or sick for... having these feelings," Gretchen said with a strained voice. She beamed a grateful smile at the petite woman.

Tina smiled at her then looked at Ben. "I explained that her husband was not behaving as a good Dom should. I told her how good a Dom you are."

Ben felt uneasy about where this was going. He brought Gretchen home because she was in distress and Dr. Granger offered to help her out. He hadn't intended to become her Dom but Tina seemed to be volunteering him into the role. He'd been following Tina's lead up to this point but he needed to nip this in the bud. He'd talk with Tina about it later but for now he needed to redirect the conversation.

He looked to Gretchen. "I've spoken with Lisa and Lori who have agreed to take you out shopping for clothes tomorrow night."

"Who are Lisa and Lori?" Gretchen asked timidly.

Tina reached over to touch her hand. Gretchen's eyes flashed to her hand and up to Tina's eyes.

"Lisa and Lori McKellan are twins and Ben's Subs." Tina explained. "They work in the neighborhood daycare with their mother Daphne. Ben renovated their home to add the daycare and it is amazing!"

Gretchen was looking at Ben nervously.

"What's wrong?" he asked cautiously.

"Tina and Lucy are so young and beautiful. Are the twins also young and beautiful? I'm much older and so plain!" Her panic was resurfacing.

"What are you talking about? You're only 31 and you're gorgeous! Who told you that you looked pl-" Ben stopped abruptly when he realized what Rainor had done. "Was it Rainor?" he growled.

She nodded to him with wide desperate eyes.

"The bastard lied. He belittled and insulted you to make himself feel important and to keep you from realizing your true worth. You're an intelligent and beautiful woman. Never doubt that!" Ben exclaimed then shook his head in disbelief. "Plain?!? That's ridiculous!"

Tina grinned at Ben's fierce reaction. Gretchen watched him in shock. She couldn't recall anyone ever saying these words to her. She looked to Tina and the woman was smiling gleefully to her and nodding.

Her look of adoration made Ben uneasy so he needed to leave. "I need to speak with Walter about the contracts for my latest dealings. I'll be in the living room."

Ben grabbed his laptop from its case and settled himself in his favorite chair. He flipped the machine open and pulled up the folder with the drafts of the new contracts. Then he dialed Walter.

"Hello?"

"Hi Walter, it's Ben."

"Ben! You're home?"

"Yes, I got back in the wee hours of the morning," he said.

"I received a call from Tina regarding some underhanded behavior of Mr. Holland," Walter began.

"Yes, Tina filled me in on that. I hope you are able to take this bottom feeder down a notch or two," Ben replied.

"Tricky to do but I'm trying," Walter agreed.

"I have some more contract work that needs finalizing and it seems I'm going to need to pay for expediting these. The demand for the device I designed may be larger than I expected," he explained.

Walter chuckled. "Did you invent the proverbial 'better mousetrap'?"

Ben smiled. "No, just a better filter for radioactive particles."

Walter choked a little. "Geezus..." There was a pause as Walter's mind spun at the possibilities. "The military are going to be all over this."

"Yeah, hence the rush. I think the marketing team I picked has already let that cat out of the bag," Ben said with a wince.

"Send me the drafts. I'll get right on it!" Walter said excitedly.

"I also have a manufacturing contract for Sturn Manufacturing," Ben remarked.

"Send it through. I'll get both sent off by expedited courier today. I take it Jerry will handle the accounting for this?"

"Excellent! Yes, I'll be calling Jerry next. Thanks Walter!"

Walter chuckled. "You're my favorite client Ben. Never a dull moment!"

Ben smiled, said his goodbye's then immediately mailed the draft contracts to the lawyer.

He dialed his financial consultant/accountant.

"Ben! Good to hear from you!"

"Hi Jerry! I have another income stream I'll be sending your way for investing."

There was a pause. "You invented something else?"

"Yeah, it looks like it has the potential to be very lucrative."

"Okay, uh, how lucrative?"

"The military are interested."

"Oh! Geezus. Okay... okay. How do you want to handle this?"

"I want to set up trusts for a list of people I am going to send you. The income from this stream will be invested in their names equally. Your name and Walter's name are going to be on that list."

"Ben! I- I don't know what to say!" The man's voice clearly indicated his shock.

"You've always done right by me. I'm grateful and I believe you and Walter deserve it. Let's hope it's as successful as it seems it might be."

Ben said goodbye and disconnected. Next he wrote a document outlining his requirements for Jerry and included the list of names, complete with their addresses so they could receive statements. He signed the document digitally, locked it, and sent it to Jerry.

That done he put his mind towards the idea he'd had earlier about getting a vehicle for Rain and the girls to use for errands. He hoped Rain had a driver's license. The girls he'd arrange lessons for... in the spring.

He pulled up websites for a couple of different automotive brands but was quickly lost. He knew what he liked but he'd have to let them decide. As long as it was a safe vehicle he was ok with it.

Gretchen walked into the living room wearing her second least formal dress. He smiled in appreciation and her responding smile was brilliant. Tina followed on her crutches and Ben had an idea.

"Why don't we go to the mall? We can pick up a couple of casual outfits for Gretchen and then we can have lunch in the food court. You can get your favorites at that Korean place."

"Yes!" Tina exclaimed. "Would it be alright if we had manicures and pedicures at the spa?" she asked.

Ben saw Gretchen's look of surprise and glanced at Tina. She was up to something again. She had that tiny little smile on her lips and he could see the wheels turning but he didn't know what she was up to. Still, the ladies having a little time at the spa being pampered was a good idea. "Sure! Sounds good. Do you need to make an appointment?"

"I will call." Tina picked up the phone and dialed a number. Ben realized she'd obviously had this in mind when she entered the room. He'd stepped right into her trap. He snorted to himself.

Tina looked up from the phone. "Could we get there in the next 30 minutes?"

Ben nodded and she said something into the phone and hung up.

He shut down his laptop and stowed it away in its case. Grabbing their coats and boots they made their way to the garage and got into his truck.

Ben drove them to the mall and once more got a wheel chair from customer services to wheel Tina through the mall. Gretchen's eyes were looking everywhere but she clung to Ben's arm and stayed close.

"You've never been to a mall? Even before you were married?" he asked her.

"No. I lived in a series of small towns in Germany with my parents and met Rainor when I applied for a job in a new factory he was touring. He stayed in town for a week and asked my parents for my hand in marriage by the end of the week. I was with him for the next ten years. He kept me at home."

Ben was disturbed by the picture she was painting of her life of isolation with Rainor. "What did you do to keep your mind occupied?"

"When I was alone I had the books he gave me to read. Sometimes he would let me watch the news with him. That's how I learned about you," she said as they arrived at the spa. She looked at the women having their treatments and she clung tighter to his arm. Tina climbed out of her chair and took her crutches back.

Ben turned to Gretchen and gently held her face so he could look into her eyes. "This is a spa where women go to pamper themselves. It would make me happy if you let them treat you well. Follow Tina's lead."

Gretchen's eyes dropped to his mouth and Tina was nodding when he glanced at her. He leaned forward and tenderly kissed the woman's mouth. Her eyes closed and she swayed slightly when he pulled back.

Ben released the woman's face and leaned down to speak into Tina's ear quietly. "We need to have a private talk about Gretchen when we get home," he said gruffly. He kissed her, making her squeak in surprise at his need. When he pulled back she nodded to him as she looked through her bangs at him. His heart made a zing sensation and he shook his head at her with a slight grin. She smiled at him as a woman approached them.

"Welcome to Transcendence Spa. Are you Tina and Gretchen?" the woman asked taking in the casts the women were wearing and glancing nervously at Ben's imposing size. He sighed and moved off to sit on the bench by the front door. He wasn't visible to passing mall shoppers so he was left alone. He got the occasional glance from spa customers coming and going but he was able to ignore that.

He pulled out his cell and reviewed his messages, browsed the web, played some solitaire, then put it away and leaned his head back with his eyes closed.

"Ben?"

He jolted awake to see the two beauties standing before him. Gretchen was fretting nervously and he blinked his eyes as he realized she was wearing makeup. Not a lot but more than he'd seen on her before. Most dramatic was the deep red, almost burgundy, lipstick that drew his attention to her sensuous lips. He couldn't get over what a difference it made to have such a dark and bold color on her mouth when her skin was so fair. Then he noticed she was fidgeting with her hands and saw her manicure was an even deeper shade of red. He glanced down and saw she was wearing disposable flip flops and her toenails had the same dark polish on them.

Tina was also wearing red lipstick but not such a dark version. Her nails were painted black and she was grinning at his look of delight.

"You both look lovely!" he gushed.

Gretchen smiled in nervous relief and looked at her nails as if she couldn't believe they were hers.

"That is a very good color for you!" Ben said as he saw her unease. "What color do you usually wear?"

"Rainor never allowed me to paint my nails. He said it would make me look like a cheap whore," she said with a strained voice. Tina looked at her in dismay.

"Nothing could be further from the truth! You look beautiful and sophisticated! Very classy. One more of his vicious lies exposed," Ben exclaimed. "He really was a mean spirited coward and the world is better off without him," he grumbled then glanced up at Gretchen. "I'm sorry. I should keep those opinions to myself." He felt bad about speaking ill of the dead before the widow.

"No, please. It helps to know your honest feelings." Gretchen said.

"OK, then I honestly think you both look delightful! Ready to do a little shopping?" he asked and they both gave him wide smiles. Ben picked up the bag containing their boots and the purchases they made, makeup, nail polish and lipstick. He looked at Tina.

"I still have the bank card," she explained as she eased herself back onto the wheelchair.

"Ah," he said and they headed out.

Tina pointed them to a shop for casual clothes and they picked out some leggings and a few casual tops. Tina whispered in Ben's ear that she'd given Gretchen a pair of Lucy's panties so they could try on the clothes.

They bought the items and Ben pushed Tina's chair into a lingerie shop so the ladies could select some comfortable underwear for Gretchen.

Once they left the store Ben pointed them in the direction of the food court. He made sure Tina got her Korean food. Gretchen was almost salivating as she passed the Mexican restaurant so Ben got her some beef tacos, nachos, and salsa. He sat them down at a table while he went to pick up a sub. He placed his order and picked it up after he paid for it. Carrying his tray he was headed back when he found his way blocked by two large men. Two large, vicious looking men.

"Mr. Shepherd. I think it's time we had another talk."

Ben glanced to the side and saw Wendy's lawyer standing on the other side of a row of tables. Ben scowled at the man. "Seriously, goons? You brought goons? You have to stop stalking me or people will get the idea that you're some kind of bottom feeding, parasitic criminal. Oh wait! Too late."

"Very funny, Mr. Shepherd. My associates are merely here for my protection against your violent intentions," Holland said.

"My violent intentions? You're the one who brought the psych ward rejects to a family mall." The goons shifted closer as his words seemed to piss them off. "Careful boys, looks like your happy meds are wearing off."

Weapons appeared in hands as their agitation grew. The guy on the left had brass knuckles while the one on the right had a short section of pipe. Ben had a plastic tray, a bottle of water, and a roast beef sub.

"Put those away!" Holland barked hoarsely as he tried to regain control of the situation. He just wanted to deliver his ultimatum and leave but the situation was escalating quickly. When the men he'd hired ignored him he caught motion over their shoulders. He turned and walked away quickly.

Ben grinned at the two thugs. "Don't look now losers but it looks like your boss is making a run for it. I hope you got paid in advance."

"You got a pretty big mouth for someone about to lose all his teeth!" Mr. Brass Knuckles said.

"Drop it!"

The thugs looked back to see police rushing up to the food court. They bolted. Ben watched them trying to navigate through the tables as they ran. Two large mall security officers were waiting on the other side and didn't look intimidated at all. Ben walked over to sit next to Tina.

"Did you call the police?" he asked.

Tina smiled and nodded.

"Nicely done! Thank you," Ben said and gave her a kiss.

He opened the wrapping on his sub and took a bite as the ladies went back to their meals. The police had the two men in custody when they walked by. Ben smiled at them with a nod.

He was finishing his lunch when one of the officers came back to get his statement. Ben made sure to mention Terrance Holland's role in the meeting. The officer took Tina's statement next and she confirmed Holland's presence at the start of the confrontation. When he was done the officer thanked them and turned to leave. Then he stopped and turned back to Tina.

"You couldn't have known we had a cruiser close by," he said.

Tina smiled. "I did not but I was prepared to call for an ambulance for the two men."

The officer blinked at her then looked at Ben who was doing his best to hide his grin.

With a final smile and nod the officer headed back to his cruiser.

Ben pulled his cell out and called Walter. He filled him in on the latest development.

"Geezus, this man is a menace! I'll get in touch with the police to get their report. Thanks for calling, Ben!"

Ben tucked his cell away and looked at the ladies. "Ready to go?"

Gretchen smiled and nodded so Ben dumped their trash. Gretchen and Tina put their boots back on then Gretchen got behind Tina's chair to push while Ben carried the bags. They stopped to drop off the chair then made their way outside to the truck.

"Mr. Shepherd!"

Ben sighed and looked across the aisle to see Terrance Holland standing between two cars.

"The police would very much like to speak with you Mr. Holland," Ben said.

"Yes, I'm sure. If you had simply listened this mess could have been avoided," the lawyer growled.

"If you had a shred of integrity you wouldn't be here," Ben said opening his door.

"She's going to do the televised interview! We found a network not afraid of your lawyer's tricks," Holland called out before Ben stepped inside the truck. He looked back at the man.

"Your wife is desperate and she has nothing to lose. You could save yourself a lot of embarrassment and her a lot of pain if you'd stop being so stubborn."

Ben scowled at the man then got into his truck and closed the door. When he looked back Holland was gone.

"Ben?"

He looked at Tina and saw the concern in her eyes.

"Let's go home."

Chapter 38

Tina sat in Catherine's living room with Lucy at her side. She'd got Ben to take some strong pain killers and go to bed for the tension migraine he'd developed over the afternoon after they'd returned from the mall. She'd asked Gretchen to stay with Ben and he'd only put up a token amount of resistance.

Catherine and Chanel were sitting together with worried looks on their faces. Trish was pacing and grumbling under her breath. Hannah was sitting in a chair facing Tina and Lucy.

"Has Ben's lawyer been updated to know they're going ahead with the TV interview?" Hannah asked.

Tina nodded. "Yes. I called him after Ben went to bed. He said he would do what he could to find the network and serve them with a notice of our intent to sue if they proceed."

"Did you get the impression that he thinks this will be successful?" Hannah asked.

"He sounded angry with the other lawyer. Mr. Holland is not serving Wendy's best interests." She sighed then looked around at the others. "I am more worried about Ben's state of mind. What that bad man said to Ben has really affected him. He said Wendy had nothing to lose and Ben was causing her pain by being stubborn. I could see the doubt and pain in Ben's eyes. It tortured him all afternoon until I finally managed to get him to rest."

"God damn it!" Trish growled and her pacing sped up.

"Trish, please! Sit down before you wear a hole in Catherine's carpet!" Hannah gasped.

The redhead threw her a frustrated look and dropped down on the ottoman next to Hannah's chair. "We need to find this crook and make him cough up the name of the network willing to air their crap about Ben. Or cough up blood. Either one works for me."

Chanel smiled at Trish's passion. "As fun as that sounds it would just lead to more bad publicity Ben is trying to avoid. Has he thought of giving an interview before Wendy can spill her lies about him? I think most networks would leap at the chance to interview him now."

"Ben does not want to speak to the press. We must avoid that option if possible," Tina offered.

Catherine's cell rang and she glanced at the screen. "It's Gabriella!" she said in surprise. She answered it as everyone waited.

"Gabriella! You're up late!"

"Hi Catherine! I was trying to reach Ben but his number just goes to voice mail. I heard some news about his ex and I was trying to reach him or Tina to see if they were aware of it," Gabriella said in a worried tone.

"Tina's here with us. We're having another strategy meeting. Can I put you on speaker?" Cat asked.

"Sure!"

Catherine pressed the button and put the cell on the coffee table. "Can you hear me Gabriella?"

"Yes, can you hear me?" the woman replied.

"Yes, we hear you fine. I have Chanel with me, Hannah, Trish, Tina, and Lucy," Cat said.

"Hello everybody!"

A chorus of hellos were returned then Catherine leaned towards the phone. "We were just talking about Wendy's lawyer telling Ben today that they found a network to broadcast their lies. He told Ben that Wendy had nothing to lose and Ben was hurting her by being stubborn."

Gabriella gasped. "That fucking bastard!"

Catherine leaned back in surprise, hearing the language coming out of Gabriella's mouth but Trish was all grins.

"We don't know what network it's being broadcast on so Walter has to hunt-"

"It's Mediastar here in Italy!" Gabriella exclaimed excitedly.

"What?" Catherine blinked in surprise.

"That's what I was calling Ben about. I got a call tonight from a friend of mine in the press, Monique Lemoine. She's a reporter and was at a press dinner tonight which included a bunch of television executives. One from Mediastar knew Monique had written a nice piece on Ben and rubbed it in that they'd landed an exclusive with Ben's ex-wife. They're going to run it prime time. Monique told me we can expect them to license the rights to other networks shortly afterwards. They have connections to other major networks in Europe. Once the first network broadcasts it the threat of legal action is probably no longer a consideration for the others so you can expect the American networks to pay anything to get it."

Tina was already dialing Walter's number. She spoke with him quietly as Catherine let Gabriella know they were passing the information to Ben's lawyer.

Once Tina hung up she spoke to the group.

"Walter was surprised that it would be aired in Italy first. His ability to prevent the broadcast is severely limited there. He is advising us to get Ben to speak to the press first to minimize the damage."

There was a disappointed groan from the others.

"How- how is Ben?" Gabriella's voice wobbled a little.

Looks were traded back and forth before anyone spoke.

"That bad," Gabriella said, pre-empting their response. "Tina, what happened with Margaux?"

"He won't talk about it but Gretchen told me Margaux became very jealous when Ben went with her to the hospital," Tina said sadly then saw the confused faces. "Oh! I am sorry. I should explain who Gretchen is!" She proceeded to fill the group in starting with her conversation with Ben at the hospital and with what Gretchen had told her at the breakfast table this morning. While not a complete picture of what had happened with Margaux it painted a clear picture that the visit had gone very bad for Ben.

"Thank you Tina," Gabriella said softly.

"I do not believe Ben is very happy with taking on another Sub," she sighed.

"Who told him to bring her home?" Gabriella asked.

Hannah cleared her throat. "Ben was in a catch 22 situation. He didn't want the responsibility but he also couldn't abandon her. Dr. Granger suggested he bring her with him until he could find a solution for her. The doctor said she will work with her to rebuild her sense of self."

"Couldn't she have gone to a hospital in Australia or Germany to seek help with that?" Gabriella asked.

"She does not have the capacity yet to be on her own without a Dom... or another Sub to calm her. Her husband was a very bad man who was very abusive," Tina explained. "In Ben she saw a man stronger than her Dom and she knew from TV that he was a protector so she fled her husband for Ben. She risked being beaten to death to do it. She was that desperate."

"And Margaux turned on him because he couldn't stop himself from helping a woman in need," Gabriella said with pain in her voice.

There was a moment of silence as everyone heard Gabriella's need to be with him.

"We have some news," Chanel blurted and Catherine looked at her in surprise. Chanel blushed.

"Is it good news?" Gabriella asked.

"Yes... Chanel and I are getting married," Catherine said, her cheeks burning.

There was a burst of happy congratulations from the group and hugs were shared.

"Gabriella, I- I was going to call you tomorrow morning to ask if it would be possible for you to fly back to join us for the wedding," Cat asked once the noise settled down.

"When is it?" Gabriella asked.

"We were hoping to have it November seventh. That's not this Saturday but the following one. Everyone is invited," Cat said.

"Definitely I'll be there. I booked a flight home on the sixth and I'll be there the following week as Ben's case is on that Monday. I'm going to be there!" Gabriella insisted.

"Wonderful! Mom and Dad are coming for their first visit ever. There was an accident at their house and they will be staying with us for a few weeks. Dad said he'd be here sometime on Thursday."

"Are they ok?" Gabriella asked.

"Yes, they're fine but the house needs substantial repairs," Catherine confirmed.

"Do they know about the wedding?" Hannah asked.

Chanel looked nervously at Cat who took her hand in hers. "Not yet but Dad is going to love Chanel. Mom will too!"

"Does Ben know?" Hannah asked.

"I'd planned on talking with him tonight but it will have to wait until tomorrow night," Catherine said.

"You don't think he'll be upset do you?" Chanel blurted looking towards the cell.

"No!" The denial came from several mouths including Gabriella's. Trish barked out a laugh at their simultaneous responses.

"Ben will be delighted!" Gabriella said. "Catherine, do you still love Ben?"

"Very much! He's always going to be an important part of my life!"

"Then Chanel, you have nothing to worry about from Ben," Gabriella concluded.

Cat smiled at her lover who seemed relieved.

Hannah spoke up to bring the meeting back to their original purpose. "We can't do anything for Ben until tomorrow at the earliest. We should get together with him after dinner to discuss a pre-emptive interview."

Gabriella broke in. "That sounds like an excellent idea Hannah! I think we will need to act quickly though. There isn't much time between now and the trial and Wendy will need to do her interview soon."

They agreed to meet again tomorrow at Ben's and Gabriella said her goodbyes. Hannah also said her goodbyes to the others and headed home to make dinner for her son.

"A wedding! Let's order pizza and you can tell us all the details of your planning!" Trish grinned as Tina and Lucy leaned forward eagerly.

Ben stood on a beach facing a storm coming in over the waves. He couldn't move on the loose sand so there was no escape before the storm reached him. He saw Wendy's eyes glaring down at him from the storm clouds and knew her hate for him was real and complete. He wished he could say something to break through that anger to reach the sweet, gentle heart of the woman he married.

Above the storm he heard a woman alternating between wailing in despair and screaming with rage. It seemed to be coming from behind him. He struggled to see but his feet kept slipping in the sand.

"Ben! Please don't leave me! I'm sorry! Help me!"

"Margaux?" he called out. He was sure it was her voice.

"You betrayed me! You lied and betrayed me!" she screamed.

"I didn't! Margaux!" he yelled.

"Ben, I'm dying and you do nothing! You help everyone but let me rot away!" Wendy's voice thundered from above. He turned back to the clouds and saw they were almost upon him.

"Wendy! Please! Wendy!"

Lightning flashed as Margaux cried for Ben to return to her and he felt a sharp pain stab through his brain.

"NNNOOOOOOOO!" Ben yelled as he jolted awake into a sitting position.

He raised his hands to press on his temples as the pain throbbed dully through his head.

A gentle hand touched his arm. "Are you ok?"

He lowered his arms and blinked into the shadows. The accent gave her away. Gretchen.

"Would you like some pain killers? You can have some of mine." Gretchen said from the darkness.

"Thanks, no. I'll just get some extra strength headache meds from the bathroom cabinet," he said quietly.

"I'll get them. One or two," she asked as she slipped from the bed and rushed around it to the bathroom door.

"Two, please."

The light went on in the bathroom and Ben was presented with the sight of her naked body once more. She was totally unself-conscious about it. He couldn't look away as she leaned against the counter and reached up to the medicine cabinet, stretching her arm up to take the bottle of pills down. Ben was mesmerized by her smooth skin and toned muscles.

She tipped out the pills into her hand and poured a glass of water. Then she moved to Ben's side of the bed.

He held out his hand for the pills and took the glass. He swallowed them and drank until the glass was empty. She returned the glass to the bathroom and shut off the light before returning to her side of the bed. Ben glanced at the clock and saw it was three in the morning.

"Why aren't you wearing the t-shirt?" he asked carefully.

There was silence for a moment. "I- I'm sorry. I can't sleep wearing clothes," she said nervously, almost whispering in her fear of his disapproval.

Ben sighed. He was too tired. "It's ok. I get it." He rested back on his pillow, his head thumping gently. He'd have to wait for the meds to ease in.

"You were calling out in your sleep." Gretchen said quietly.

"Just a nightmare."

"Who is Wendy?"

He assumed he called out her name. "She... she's my wife. My ex... she left me a long time ago."

"Why did she leave?"

Ben lay there looking at the ceiling picking at the same mental scar that had plagued him since that day. "I'm... not sure because she never told me. We couldn't have kids. I am almost sterile and she was unable to have kids. She took that hard. I don't know if it was my sterility or hers that made her leave. I tried to make it work. Told her I didn't need kids, showed her how much I loved her but... it wasn't enough."

There was quiet from the shadows then she shifted a little closer. "But Tina is having your baby?"

"Almost sterile. It was a huge surprise to discover I had somehow made Tina pregnant. A miracle," he sighed.

"I can't have babies either."

Ben looked over to his right and saw her eyes picking up the minimal light in the room. She was very close. "Why?"

"Rainor found a doctor to perform a tubal ligation on me. He didn't want children," she said wistfully.

"Oh my god! That's-" Ben was at a loss for words for how monstrous he thought that was. He wished he could bring Rainor back to life just so he could strangle the bastard until he was dead once more. "I'm so sorry! You wanted a baby?"

"Yes!" she suddenly sobbed, surprised by her own emotional outburst. "But... but not with him."

Ben struggled to control his own emotions. He had to agree. Putting a child's welfare into the hands of Rainor would have been the cruelest act. Still, it wasn't too late for Gretchen.

"You're still young. You still have a chance to have a child," Ben said to ease her mind.

"What? How?" she asked incredulously.

"You said you've had a tubal ligation? You could still have a baby with in vitro fertilization."

"What's that?"

Ben looked at her wide eyes in the dark and wondered at the damage that man did to her, keeping her so isolated. "A doctor harvests some of your eggs and fertilizes them outside of your body. Then he implants them in your womb to see if they will take. If one does, you're pregnant."

"Ohhhhh, I want that!" she moaned softly.

"Well... you should ensure you have a safe and stable home before bringing another life into the world." Ben said awkwardly and Gretchen fell silent for a bit. Ben dreaded he'd hurt her once more.

"I- I keep forgetting," she said in a strained whisper.

"Forgetting?"

"That this isn't my home. That you don't want me. That I'll have to go away sometime... soon," she finished in a sob.

He pulled her against him as her tears began. Ben's heart was breaking for her but he knew he had to protect his heart as well. He'd just gone through a painful break with Margaux and was still too shaky to begin another relationship.

It didn't stop him from feeling her pain deeply and responding to it. He ran his fingers through her hair to calm her as he'd done before on the couch in her condo. This time it felt different as her naked body was pressed to his and he was very conscious of how good that felt. Her hair was so soft and slipped through his fingers like silk. He felt himself responding and cursed his body's weakness.

"Gretchen... dear, we have to stop. Please."

He could tell she felt his erection pressing against her stomach through his boxers as she was rocking back and forth against it. Which wasn't doing anything to make it go away.

Her tears had stopped and her breathing was becoming ragged. "Oh god!" she gasped quietly.

"Gretchen, stop."

Her movements slowed then she pulled away abruptly.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm not worthy," she whispered.

"What?"

She moved to the far edge of the mattress and curled into a fetal position. Her whispers continued. "You should have left me to die. I wasn't worthy of him, how could I have thought I was worthy of you!"

"Gretchen!" he exclaimed, ashamed he'd made her feel that way about herself. He reached out to turn her to face him and she shied away, trying to throw herself from the bed.

Ben grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back into the middle of the bed as she twisted and turned struggling to hide her face from him. Her tears were back but she was crying silently.

He finally settled his body over hers to hold her still against the mattress and free up his hands. He rested on his elbows to hold her face still between his hands so he could look into her eyes.

In the dim light of the bedroom her dark eyes looked up into his desperately.

"He was not worthy of you. You are beautiful and desirable and I'm obviously attracted to you. But I'm also a mess from what happened with Margaux. I'm not worthy of you at this moment."

Her eyes went wide with shock. "You are! I mean, I'm not worthy of you!"

"Stop that! Of course you are!" Ben scolded and shifted to relieve the pressure on is cock which was trapped between their bodies and pressing hard against her mound.

Gretchen's mouth dropped open and her body trembled under his which just caused him to throb and thicken some more. "Oh!" she moaned as she began to rock her pelvis once more.

"Geezus, Gretchen that feels so good but-"

"Please!" she cried desperately.

Ben found his mouth on hers, hungrily caressing her lips, tentatively slipping his tongue inside to touch hers.

"MMMMPPHH!" she cried as she clung tenaciously to him, her hips rolling jerkily under his body rubbing his bulge across her clit.

Ben's mind was filled with the wonderful sensations of her soft body stroking his but he knew he had to stop. Her mouth was so incredibly soft and she was kissing him so eagerly it was destroying his ability to resist. He pulled back from the kiss with a supreme effort but his mouth just moved to trail kisses down her throat.

"Oh god! Ben! Please... No, stop... don't..." she whimpered pitifully as she pushed against his chest weakly.

Like a splash of cold water Gretchen's words and gestures cleared Ben's head. He immediately pulled back and relieved the pressure of his body against hers as he looked down at her in shock.

"Wha- why did you stop?" Gretchen gasped.

"You just told me to. Was I hurting you? I- I'm so sorry-"

"NO! No, it felt... I've never felt this good before!" she gasped in wonder and struggled to get him to rest his body against her once more.

Ben's mind spun with confusion. "But... you said stop and don't."

Her eyes looked into his with confusion. "Isn't that how you know it's good? Rainor needed me to struggle and cry-"

"OH MY GOD! THAT'S HORRIBLE! He wanted to pretend he was raping you?!?" Ben's lust was quickly cooling, replaced by his revulsion at what she'd had to endure. Once more he needed to kill Rainor.

Slowly. Painfully.

"It was only pretend the first couple of times. Please Ben! I'm sorry! I'll do whatever you want! I- I've never felt like this before! Please!" She clung to him and tried to lift her face to kiss him once more.

Ben took her face between his hands to make sure she was paying attention. "Listen to me. I never want you to be anything less than completely honest with me. If what I'm doing causes you any discomfort or you don't like it for any reason you will tell me and I'll stop immediately. If you like what I'm doing you will tell me so I can do it some more. Is that understood?" he said fiercely and she stared up at him in shock. She tried to nod but his grip prevented this.

"Say it."

"Yes! Yes, Ben!"

"Complete honesty!" he growled.

"Complete honesty. Please kiss me!" she begged.

He did and his kiss was deep and passionate. Gretchen was pressed under his body once more and her mind was threatening to white out from the strength of the pleasure and relief sweeping through her body.

When he pulled back from the kiss her lips were tingling and she gasped for breath. His mouth was on her long neck kissing his way down and shocks of sharp pleasure were racing along her nerves, scattering her thoughts. When she became aware his mouth had reached her breasts she only had time to cry out in bliss as her nipple slipped between his lips to be stroked by the tip of his tongue. She waited for his teeth to cruelly bite down but the pain never came as she clung to the back of his head. He squeezed, kissed, and caressed her tits until she thought she might lose her mind.

"Oh god yes! Oh yes!" she panted. She pulled at his shoulders but his kisses moved down over her trembling stomach and she lifted her head in surprise. What was he doing?

Her head fell back to the mattress as her feeling of madness exploded when his mouth teased and caressed the soft flesh of her inner thighs. She was in unknown territory, lost in the sensations. Her body stiffened and her back arched when his tongue stroked across her sensitive lower lips. When he took her most sensitive flesh inside his mouth to stroke with his tongue something happened to her body. It was like nothing she'd ever experienced before. It was both exhilarating and terrifying for its unfamiliarity and sheer intensity. There was an explosion of light and ecstasy and she might have screamed before she passed out.

"Gretchen... Gretchen dear. Are you ok?" Ben's gentle voice slipped into her consciousness. He was lying on his side, leaning on one elbow next to her on the bed.

She tried to speak but only managed to move her lips and roll her eyes. She became aware of her body buzzing happily as every nerve tingled.

"Wha...happened? What d'you do?" she slurred.

"Have you never had an orgasm before?" he asked incredulously.

"I- never felt... this before," she sighed happily as she stretched like a cat, enjoying the ripples of pleasure that surged across her nerves. "Oooooooooo." She opened her eyes and saw Ben smiling down at her. She became embarrassed for her behavior and covered her face with her hands as he chuckled softly.

"No, I want to see your beautiful face," he said as he gently moved her hands.

A warmth flushed through her body once more and she looked up at him happily. She ran her hands down his chest, over his stomach and onto his boxers. Her eyes widened in surprise when her fingers slid down and measured the length and thickness of his cock.

"Oh! You- you're big!" she gasped.

"We don't need to do anything more tonight. I think we should stop and get some rest. There's no need to rush," Ben said with a smile.

Gretchen pouted. "But-"

He kissed her to silence her argument and when he pulled back she sighed happily then yawned widely. He chuckled softly again and laid back on the bed next to her.

She tucked herself against his side and purred happily.

"Goodnight Gretchen dear," Ben said to her and she heard the happiness in his voice. She smiled and whispered goodnight to him before sleep took them both.

Chapter 39

Ben was up at the crack of dawn and slipped downstairs to do a workout before everyone woke. His muscles moved well and once he warmed up he was powering through his sets. He pushed himself and felt the burn in his muscles as he let the stack settle to the base one last time. He was panting and covered with a sheen of sweat when he made his way upstairs.

As he passed the washroom in the hall he picked up the sound of someone being sick. He knocked gently. "You ok in there?"

"Yes. Hang on."

There was a sound of water running, gargling, then spitting. The water shut off and the bathroom door opened. Lucy stepped out. "Stupid spicy pizza!" she said smiling weakly up at him.

His eyebrows went up so she explained. "We had pizza at Catherine's last night. Tina doesn't normally like pizza but discovered she could get really spicy toppings. I ate a slice of hers and I was paying for it all night... from both ends! I have no idea how she deals with the heat! I think the baby is fireproof!"

Ben grinned back at her as she began to ogle his sweaty muscles. "You look yummy," she said with a crooked smile as she tilted her face up for a kiss. The smile quickly slipped away as she reversed her motion to step back into the bathroom and close the door. He heard her throwing up again.

"Are you sure you're ok?" he asked and waited for a response which eventually came through the door.

"Yeah... though I think I'll stay home today. I'll call Ashley to let her know."

"Good idea," he said and headed back to the master bedroom.

Tina was navigating her way out of the guest room on her crutches. She and Lucy must have slept there since Gretchen was in his bed. "Good morning Ben! Have you seen Lucy?"

"Good morning, Tina." He leaned forward to kiss her tenderly and she smiled up at him afterwards. "Yes, she's in the guest bathroom with an upset stomach and the runs. Apparently the extra spicy pizza slice she had last night didn't sit well with her."

Tina immediately looked concerned and moved off down the hall. He watched her knock gently then enter the bathroom.

He'd never get away with barging into a bathroom when someone else was inside.

He entered the master bedroom and closed the door behind himself.

Gretchen was still sound asleep. The sheets were only partially covering her naked form and her lovely tits were on display. Ben felt a tingle and looked away. He grabbed some clean boxers and moved into the bathroom, closing the door gently.

Stepping into the shower he got the jets going and let the heat soak into his muscles. He allowed himself two minutes of this pure indulgence then switched the jets off and had a regular shower to clean the sweat away.

He finished up, dried off, slipped on the boxers, brushed his hair, and shaved.

Feeling human once more he stepped out into the bedroom to see Gretchen sitting on the edge of the bed, the sheet covering only her lap. She smiled at him. "Good morning!"

"Good morning, Gretchen dear," he said returning her smile.

"Why do you call me 'Gretchen dear'?" she asked curiously.

Ben blinked at her. "Do I?" He hadn't realized he was doing that.

"I was just wondering. I like it," she said looking up at him from under her bangs with a sweet little smile. Ben felt an almost tangible tug towards her and grinned self-consciously as he moved to get some clothes.

"The bathroom is all yours," he said over his shoulder.

The bathroom door closed behind him and he pulled on a shirt, socks, and slacks. He left the bedroom and made his way to the kitchen.

Tina and Lucy were nowhere in sight so he busied himself making breakfast for everyone.

"Ben?"

He looked over to the doorway and Tina was dressed and had her coat on. His eyebrows went up.

"Could you drive me to the drug store? I need to pick up something for Lucy?" she asked.

He immediately turned off the burner and moved the ingredients he was working with back into the fridge. "Is she sick?"

"She will be fine but her stomach is queasy and we do not have any Gravol. I would like to get her some," Tina explained.

"Oh! Sure! Let's go!" Ben said. He grabbed his jacket, boots, wallet, phone, and keys. Then he wrote a quick note for Gretchen and met Tina in the garage. They got in and Ben drove them out of the neighborhood and over two blocks to a pharmacy.

"I will just be a minute," Tina said as she slipped out the door before Ben could get his belt off. His cell rang so he answered while watching Tina make her way inside the store.

"Hello?"

"Ben! It's Don Blake! It isn't too early to call is it?"

"No, it's fine. What's up?"

"That presentation kit we put together and you proofed? I sent it along to that contact of mine and he's... well, he's asking to meet with you."

Ben vaguely recalled looking at the marketing piece the previous day but he was well into a migraine at the time and today he couldn't really recall there being anything about the document that indicated who designed the device. He sighed. "Did you make any promises, Don?"

"No! Not at all. All I've said is that the device is real, we've tested it and gave them the presentation kit. I'm not kidding. These people are fucking excited about the filter!" Don exclaimed happily. "Did your lawyer send off the contract by any chance?"

Ben smiled. "Yes, it went by courier last night. You'll probably get it today."

"Thanks, Ben!"

He could hear the relief in Don's voice. "As you'll be handling the sales and marketing they really should be speaking with you. Did you give them my contact information?" Ben asked.

"That's what I'm calling about. I wasn't about to give them that information without your permission. Normally we will be the contact for the customers but this one needs to speak with you directly before we can do business," Don explained.

"Who will I be speaking with?"

"Colonel Alexander Hargrave of the US Army."

"A Colonel. I'm going to be speaking with a Colonel?" Ben asked in surprise.

"Nice man! A real straight shooter-" Don stopped suddenly and burst into laughter. When he finally got control of himself once more he came back on the line. "Ahhh, sorry about that Ben. Sometimes I surprise myself! That was a good one. Seriously though, the Colonel is good to do business with."

Ben saw Tina making her way back to the truck. "Ok, let him know he can give me a call."

"He's more of a face to face man," Don said.

Tina was climbing into the truck and her crutches were getting in the way. Ben moved his cell to his left ear and reached over to help her lift the crutches inside. He accidentally knocked the bag Tina was carrying from her hand into the truck and the contents spilled out over the seat. A pack of gum, the Gravol, and a bottle of Pepto landed next to him but some items fell down by his feet. He winced and mouthed he was sorry to Tina as she froze in the doorway. He went back to his call as he reached between his legs to get the dropped items.

"Sure, I'll be home for the next few weeks so give him my address." Ben picked up a package of cotton swabs and handed it to Tina who was still standing in the doorway. He frowned and motioned for her to get in. As she did he reached down between his legs to lift another box. He glanced at it and everything just stopped. "I... have to go, Don." He hung up.

He looked at Tina as he held the home pregnancy test in his hand. "Lucy?" he asked, his voice wobbling.

"I do not know. I thought it might be a good idea to check," she said quietly.

"Who?" he forced out of his tight throat. As he said it he winced as it made him sound jealous when he was more concerned about Lucy keeping secrets.

"You. Only you." Tina insisted sincerely.

He looked at her wide eyed then nodded. Trying to get a hold of himself he grinned weakly to her. "She may just have a little food poisoning or it's a reaction to the spicy pizza."

Tina nodded. "Perhaps. But it would not explain her missed period."

Ben's expression froze.

"We should not leap to conclusions until we have run the test. Let's go home. Lucy is waiting and she is very nervous as well." Tina said gently.

Ben nodded and carefully drove them back. He pulled into the garage and carried the bag of items inside. Tina stopped him in the kitchen.

"Ben, please let me do this. I will let you know the moment I know. Please," she asked placing her hand on his arm.

He looked into her eyes and saw her love for him. He nodded and gave her the bag.

She moved off towards the guest bathroom as Ben stood in the middle of the kitchen. He gave himself a shake and moved to the fridge and began to make breakfast once more.

He jumped when Gretchen entered the room. She was wearing the white yoga pants and black sweater they picked up at the mall.

"I'm sorry for startling you... is everything alright?" she saw his nervous expression and lost her smile.

He nodded and returned to making breakfast. He whisked the eggs in a bowl while he listened for Tina's return.

When Tina and Lucy appeared in the doorway Ben almost dropped the mixing bowl. Tina's eyes were glowing with joy but Lucy's eyes were locked on his, desperate to see his reaction.

"It's positive?" he managed.

Lucy nodded.

"How..." he gasped and she snorted explosively then began to cry. Ben crossed the room and she was in his arms.

Gretchen watched in confusion and looked to Tina.

"We just discovered Lucy's carrying Ben's baby," Tina explained quietly as Ben held Lucy to his chest and stroked her hair as she cried from the release of tension.

"It shouldn't have been possible. The odds are so astronomically high against it happening!" Ben said incredulously. He pulled Lucy out to look in her eyes. "What do you want to do?"

"Oh god! I want- I want to keep it! Please!" she gasped. He nodded and kissed her fiercely.

"We need you to go to Tina's obstetrician to have a full examination. She'll run her own pregnancy test." Ben said when he released her from the kiss. Lucy nodded with happy tears in her eyes.

He glanced over at Gretchen and was shocked to see the despair on the woman's face. She was trying to hide it but her expression triggered his memory.

He saw Wendy sitting at that very kitchen table the morning after she was told she was sterile. Ben had watched her spirit begin to die that day. Gretchen's face held the very same expression. He couldn't let her follow Wendy's path.

"Everyone, please take a seat," Ben said gesturing to the kitchen table. He took the chair nearest to Gretchen, Lucy took one on Ben's other side as Tina sat at the end.

"I never expected this. Any of it. When Wendy left me I came to the conclusion that not only would I never have love but children were an impossibility. Then so many loving women came into my life and I couldn't fathom how I'd become so fortunate... I- I still can't to be honest. I never expected that luck to go so far as to actually allow me to have a child!" He looked at Tina with love in his eyes then turned his gaze upon Lucy, clearly showing his love and awe at the second miracle. "Much less two! I love that I can share my life surrounded by so much love. Again it's more than I ever thought I deserved."

Ben turned his attention to Gretchen who was struggling to keep her tears at bay. Her lovely bottom lip was trembling as she tried to stiffen it. He took her hand in his and her control slipped momentarily. Ben looked to Tina and saw her watching him carefully. "Gretchen told me what that monster she was married to did to her. He had her tubes tied so she'd be unable to have children."

Tina and Lucy gasped in outrage and sympathy.

"Gretchen is lost. She is alone in the world and Tina, I believe you've been trying to get me to accept her into our family."

Tina nodded and smiled at the surprised look on Gretchen's face.

"Gretchen dear..." Ben smiled self-consciously with a small shake of his head as he finally heard himself saying it. He wondered if he'd already accepted her in his heart by giving her that name. "I would be honored if you would join our little family. We have some hurdles ahead of us, the main one being your immigration. I'll get help with that-"

"Ben."

He looked to Tina who was smiling sweetly at him. "Marry her."

He wasn't sure he'd heard her correctly but the words were out there. "But- but I'm engaged to you!" he exclaimed, stunned.

"Ben, I will always be yours. I love you more than I can say. You are the father of our child-"

"One of the reasons for getting married was because of our child!" Ben insisted.

"Lucy, the woman we both love, is carrying your child as well. How will marrying me help her?" Tina asked gently.

Ben looked between the two of them, at a loss to answer her question.

"I do not need a piece of paper to prove our love. The issue of our having your children outside of marriage is truly minor as I know you love us and you will love your children. No, what that piece of paper will do best, and should be used for, is to save Gretchen from being sent away," Tina explained.

Gretchen was crying and moved to Tina. She knelt next to Tina's chair and wrapped her in her arms as she rested her head on Tina's chest.

Ben was struggling to control his own tears but Lucy was letting hers flow. He was in awe of Tina's capacity for love!

"Will you give Gretchen a baby as well?" Tina asked.

The woman in question gasped and looked up at Tina's gentle smile. Then she looked back at Ben who was looking at Tina in surprise but finally nodded. Gretchen scrambled to her feet to kiss Tina then rushed back to kiss Ben.

When he finally got her to calm down he made her sit in her chair and took her hands in his. "I wasn't kidding when I said it was a miracle that Tina became pregnant. It was even more incredible that lightning struck twice with Lucy. We will go to a fertility clinic and try in vitro fertilization but before I agree to this you have to accept the very high possibility that it might not work. If it doesn't you have to be able to accept that. To accept that having a baby isn't the only reason for living or being happy! I can't go through again... what I went through with Wendy. I- I just can't!" Ben's voice was raw by the end.

"Yes! I accept it's only a chance. That's good enough. I promise!" Gretchen gasped as she cried.

Ben turned to Lucy. "I don't want any of this to diminish how flattered I am that you want to have my child. I love you so much!"

Lucy moved to Ben's lap and kissed him until they parted to catch their breath. "I love you too Ben!"

Ben looked at the three happy faces. "I- I don't know what to do next!"

"I will call my obstetrician to make an appointment for Lucy," Tina said.

"I'll help Gretchen research fertility clinics to find a good one nearby," Lucy suggested and Gretchen reached over to hold Lucy's hand.

"Mama!" Christopher called out from his bedroom.

They glanced at the clock and saw it was almost 9AM.

"The morning is getting away from us!" Tina yelped playfully.

Lucy slipped off Ben's lap and rushed over to Tina to give her a kiss then moved off down the hall to get Christopher.

Gretchen was wide eyed with excitement as she smiled at Tina. "I cannot believe how much my life has changed in such a short number of days!"

"Life is very exciting around Ben," Tina agreed.

Ben smirked at Tina and walked over to go down on one knee beside her. "If there was any legal way to marry you, Lucy, and Gretchen you know I would in a second."

"Yes, I do," she said, looking at him impishly.

He took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips to sensually kiss the pad of each fingertip as she gasped and squirmed, watching his mouth hungrily.

Lucy arrived with Christopher and Ben gave him a kiss on the forehead before standing to kiss Lucy passionately. She was swooning as he stepped back and walked over to the counter to finish preparing breakfast. He glanced back and saw three women undressing him with their eyes. A tingle ran down his spine and he stiffened in his pants. He turned back to the counter and adjusted himself discretely. He still heard giggles from the ladies so he supposed he wasn't as discrete as he thought.

He fried up some bacon and made scrambled eggs as Lucy prepared a pot of coffee. She still looked a little pale so she indicated she would just have some toast.

They ate their breakfast and listened to Christopher chatter away happily. He was eager to get back to his friends at the daycare.

When they were done Lucy told Ben she would clean up the kitchen so he took Christopher over to Daphne's place. Once more the young boy squirmed to get down and go but he had to wait until Lisa came to the front to greet them. She helped him off with his coat and boots then he was off like a shot. Lisa grinned after the boy then turned to Ben.

"Hi," she said with a wide smile.

Ben was suddenly struck once more by how incredibly lovely she was. She was the same age as Lucy too. The way she'd smiled at Christopher made him pause and think about what he was getting himself into.

Tina, who was only a couple of years older than the twins was having his baby. Lucy was their age and was having his baby. Gretchen was 31 and wanted to have a baby with him as well. That was at least three children of his own. Plus Christopher. His house wasn't big enough. He needed to expand it!

While he knew Gabriella, Catherine, Trish, and Hannah were done with having children, he didn't know if the twins wanted them. As he was in a relationship with them he needed to ask. What if they did want children? He began to feel a little light headed. Then very light headed.

"Ben? Ben! BEN!" Lisa yelped as he staggered sideways to thump his shoulder against the wall. She grabbed his other arm to stabilize him. Daphne rushed out to see what was happening and saw Ben was taking deep breaths and leaning against the wall. The two women managed to get him moving and brought him into the playroom and had him lie down on the big couch. Lori was there and pulled off his boots to put his feet up on the arm of the couch to raise them above his head. Some of the kids came over to see what was happening but Daphne drew them away to the activity center.

He looked up into the concerned faces of the twins. "Sorry about that," he said with embarrassment.

"Are you feeling any pain in your arm?" Lisa asked.

"No, it wasn't anything to do with my heart," he said with a sigh. "I've just had a rather... emotional morning. I'm afraid it just suddenly overwhelmed me as I thought about it."

"What happened?" Lori asked.

Ben no longer felt lightheaded so he eased his feet down to the floor and sat up. He didn't re-experience the dizziness so he sighed with relief. He patted the couch beside himself and the twins sat next to each other facing him. He had to smile as they looked so lovely there. He stiffened his resolve. He had to ask them straight out.

"Lucy may be pregnant with my child," Ben said. The twins squealed excitedly and drew looks from the kids and a glare from their mother. Ben gave Daphne an apologetic look and a stern look at the twins. "This is according to a home pregnancy test which, as impossible as it seems, I believe may be correct."

He took a deep breath and pushed on. "You know the woman I've asked you to shop for tonight? Gretchen? I've agreed... to be her Dom." He paused to see their reaction but they took that news as if it was a given. He felt... a little annoyed that the women in his life always seemed to know the outcome of his decisions before he did. He pushed that aside for now.

"Her husband had a doctor tie her tubes to sterilize her," he said bluntly and they gasped in outrage as Tina and Lucy had. He nodded. "She wanted a baby but not with him. I- I said I would try to give her a baby with in vitro fertilization." Again, the only reaction from Lisa and Lori were loving smiles. "There's... going to be a lot of babies in my home. I'll need to add some rooms to the house." He looked into the eyes of the twins. "Are you going to want children too?"

"No!" they blurted loudly in unison drawing another glare from their mother. They blushed and apologized to her.

"We love working with children but neither of us is interested in having our own. We- we were worried how you would take that news but it seems you have no shortage of willing volunteers." Lisa said and Lori nodded with a grateful smile.

"I was amazed to discover I was having one with Tina. I'm very happy to be having one with Lucy too. Gretchen deserves to have a baby after she lived with that monster for so long." He looked at the twins. "I don't think it would be a good idea to have more than that."

"You have our word that we won't ask you for children," Lisa said and Lori nodded.

Feeling much better Ben nodded and stood up. "Sorry about that Daphne. I'm feeling better now. Have a great day!"

"Bye Ben!" she replied with a wave and the kids paying attention waved as well. He waved to everyone and made his way out with the twins following.

He slipped his boots on and gave the ladies a quick kiss before heading back to the house. He saw a man standing on the top step of Catherine's house ringing the doorbell. As he got closer to his driveway the man was returning to his vehicle which Ben saw was an older model of his truck. The man had grey hair in a flat top military cut and he moved with a precision that said he was military and you'd be smart not to fuck with him.

He spotted Ben and waved to get his attention. "Excuse me! Is this Catherine Khaleel's home?" he called out in a strong voice.

"It's Catherine's home but she went back to using her maiden name, McGovern," Ben called back. He saw the man's face freeze then smile.

"You wouldn't happen to be Cat's neighbor, Ben Shepherd would you?" the man said walking towards him.

Ben looked at the man suspiciously. "Do I know you?"

"No, but my daughter has spoken of you. I'm Jack McGovern. Cat's father," the man said holding his hand out.

Ben smiled and shook the man's hand which had a very firm grip. "The Sergeant?"

"Retired!" Jack smiled. "I guess I'm a little early. I wasn't scheduled to arrive until tomorrow but the hotel we were booked in last night was hosting a bunch of drunk and noisy yahoos. We couldn't sleep so the missus and I got back in the car and just drove through the night. I was hoping to get here before Cat went to work but we got stuck in traffic."

"I could call her on her cell," Ben offered but Jack just raised his hand.

"No, I don't want to disturb her plans. I wasn't supposed to be here this early," Jack said.

"Okay, why don't you come to my place to wait for Catherine to get home? You're welcome to get some sleep in the guest bedroom." Ben suggested.

"I wouldn't want to impose!" the man exclaimed.

"It's no imposition at all. I work from home so I'm home all day," Ben insisted.

Jack looked back at his truck. "That would be very generous of you. I think the missus would prefer sleeping in a bed than in the car."

"Sure. I'm just right here. You can pull into my driveway and I'll meet you out front," Ben suggested.

"Will do," Jack said with a nod and headed back to his truck.

Ben went up his driveway and slipped inside his front door. Gretchen met him with a brilliant smile. "Hi, could you ask Lucy to change the sheets and pillow cases on the bed in the guest bedroom. We're about to have guests and they'd been driving all night so they'll need to sleep in there." She nodded and rushed off to find Lucy as Ben stepped back outside.

They were getting out of the truck and Ben got his first look at Catherine's mom. She was petite, maybe 5' 5", and a smaller version of her daughter. Obviously Catherine got her height from her 6' father. Based on Catherine's age both parents had to have been at least a year or two into their sixties but they both looked like they might only be in their fifties. He smiled at them as Jack carried some luggage with him up to the door.

"Welcome! I'm Ben. Come inside where it's warm."

"Lynda," she said shaking his hand and stepping into the foyer.

Ben followed Jack in and noticed Tina, Lucy, and Gretchen had gathered in the hallway to greet their visitors. "Let me introduce Tina Lee, Lucy Bennett, and Gretchen Hahn. Ladies, this is Jack and Lynda McGovern, Catherine's parents." Three beautiful smiles beamed back at the surprised parents.

"Oh my! Such lovely women and I look like a train wreck from driving all night." Lynda fretted.

"That's silly! You're gorgeous! I can see where Catherine gets her looks," Ben said with a smile.

"Already flirting with my wife?" Jack said with a fake snarl. Lynda playfully slapped his arm and smiled at Ben.

She looked closer at the women and noticed the casts. "Oh! Was there an accident?" she gasped.

Tina shook her head. "I was pushed over a store display by a nasty reporter almost six weeks ago."

Gretchen, taking a cue from Tina, answered next. "My husband broke my arm. He died," she blurted and blushed furiously. She looked at Ben nervously. She still wasn't comfortable around people.

Jack's eyebrows went way up and he glanced at Ben.

"He was abusive and was beating her when he slipped and fell off the boat we were on and into Sydney Harbour. Sharks got to him," Ben said with a grim but satisfied expression.

Lynda then noticed Tina's baby bump. That was a happier topic! "Ah! When are you due?"

"March," Tina replied with a happy smile.

"June," Lucy blurted then her mouth dropped open in embarrassment as her face flushed a deep red.

Confused and surprised eyes turned to Ben once more. "Lucy just discovered this morning that there's a very good chance she's pregnant. It's been an exciting day and it's not even noon," he said with a chagrined smile. "Listen, we can have a more formal introduction later but I think you both should get some rest. The guest room is just down the hall, the first door on the left. The guest bathroom is across the hall. Fresh sheets on the bed and fresh towels," he looked at Lucy and she nodded, "are on the bed for your use as well."

"That's very kind of you. Sleep sounds like a good idea," Jack said guiding his dazed wife along towards the bedroom. "A few hours of shut eye are just what the doctor ordered."

"There are guest robes on the back of the door as well," Tina offered.

"Thank you," Lynda replied as she passed. The couple went into the bedroom and closed the door. Ben smiled at the ladies as Lucy walked up to him and leaned her head on his chest.

"I royally fucked up that introduction. I'm sorry," she moaned.

Ben chuckled and gave her a hug. "Don't be silly! They seem like good people. It's fine."

Gretchen was standing before him, looking anxious. "Did I ruin the introductions?"

"Not at all. You did very well," he replied and she smiled timidly at him.

"Lucy has an appointment with my obstetrician Monday morning at 8:30AM," Tina said. "My appointment to get my cast removed is on the following Friday." Ben nodded.

Lucy looked up from his chest. "You and Gretchen have a 10AM appointment next Wednesday at a fertility clinic. I wrote the address down for you on the pad in the kitchen. Did you know Gretchen has never used the Internet?"

"It is most wondrous! So much information at your fingertips! So many things to see!" Gretchen gushed, wide eyed.

"Not all of it is safe to look at," Ben suggested and Lucy grinned at him. "I suppose I should pick up a tablet for Gretchen... and a cell phone." Lucy nodded.

"I get my own tablet and cell phone?" Gretchen asked incredulously.

Lucy snorted quietly and moved to the living room with Tina as Ben took Gretchen's hand and drew her to stand close before him.

"Yes... Gretchen, you're part of my family. We're going to be married and we're going to try to have a baby. Buying you some electronics is the least of it."

She blushed then looked at his mouth. "May I ask for a kiss?" she asked quietly.

He smiled and took her face between his hands as he caressed her mouth with his. She caught her breath and he kissed her a little more firmly, nibbling her lips with his. She really did have wonderfully soft lips. He avoided touching the spot that Rainor had split as it was healing nicely.

Her eyes were dreamy when he pulled back and she was breathing hard. She bit her lip as she watched his mouth.

"We should probably stop now and pick this up later," Ben said, adjusting himself in his pants.

She trembled seeing him do that and dark eyes looked hungrily into his. "I feel so tingly," she whispered.

He smiled. "Me too." He kissed her nose making her blink then walked into the living room with her following close behind. He picked up his laptop and settled on his chair. Gretchen found a spot on the couch beside Lucy who was using her tablet. Tina was on Lucy's other side using her own tablet.

He worked for a moment then felt himself being watched. He looked up over the screen and saw Gretchen smiling back at him. Tina and Lucy were lost in their own worlds. Ben snorted softly and shut down his laptop. He stowed it away in the case and stood up. "Let's go buy you a tablet and phone."

Gretchen climbed off the couch and rushed to get her jacket and boots. Ben gave Tina and Lucy a kiss and headed over to get his jacket, boots and keys. "We'll be back shortly." They nodded happily.

Ben maneuvered his truck around Jack's as he pulled down the driveway and they were off. They drove over to the big box electronics store and parked. Ben held out his left elbow and Gretchen put her right hand through to rest it on his arm. She flashed him one of her brilliant smiles which gleamed against the dark lipstick she'd applied before they left the house.

They made their way to the tablets and Ben picked out one that matched the ones Tina and Lucy had but in black to make it different from their white and gold ones. Then he brought her over to choose a cell phone. He pointed to a touch screen phone and she nodded happily. She picked the black one to match her tablet. Ben asked her to pick out a protective case for it and told her the make and model of the phone so she would find one that fit. She walked off to find one while Ben sat with the salesman while they set up her cell number and linked her account to his. Gretchen returned with a blinged out case which was encrusted with crystals to make it look like it was covered in diamonds. There was certainly no way her phone would be mistaken for anyone else's at home. She looked at him hopefully and he just chuckled and added it to the purchases. He paid and they left the store.

"I'll set up the tablet for you when we get home but the cell is ready to use. Ask Tina or Lucy to help you add important numbers into your address book," he said handing her the phone and the bling case. They got in the truck and she worked on getting the phone into the stiff case. They made it home and she was still struggling to get it in. She looked at Ben with a pout and handed it to him. He ran his thumbs along the edge and popped it in. She grinned excitedly when he handed it back. They went inside and she immediately rushed off to the living room to show the women her new phone.

He made his way there and spent the next fifteen minutes running the set up on the device. Soon he had it configured for his network and she was online. The machine restarted and was ready for use.

"It's ready. Please get instructions from Lucy on safe surfing practices and good sites to use," he said handing over her tablet. She looked at him hopefully as he looked up at her expectantly. She tentatively touched her lip and he smiled and nodded. She immediately dipped her face down to kiss him. Then she rushed over to the couch to sit with Lucy.

Ben spent the next three hours corresponding with Bill Freeny who had received the contract, signed it and couriered a signed copy back to Walter. When Ben told him about the meeting with the Colonel the next texts from Bill were quite excited. Ben did his best to calm Bill and bring him back to earth. In his opinion he wanted to keep the unit prices of the filters low enough that they would be affordable to a wider market than just the military. This volume method had worked for him in the past when he believed the product had a wide application base.

Ben was shutting down his laptop when he heard a rumbling sound. He stood up and looked out the picture window at the circle court. There was a convoy of military vehicles coming around the circle. In the front was one of those bulky personnel carriers like the bigger brother of the truck Don Blake drove. The second vehicle was a black SUV with tinted windows and the last vehicle bringing up the rear was another personnel carrier. Ben's eyebrows rose up as the convoy stopped in front of his driveway with the SUV parked at the end.

"Who the hell is coming to visit you?" growled a voice from beside Ben. He turned to see Jack standing beside him, wrapped in the fluffy white robe with white guest slippers on his feet.

"Did they wake you?" Ben asked.

"I'd recognize the sound of those carriers anywhere." He looked at Ben. "You do work for the military?"

"No! I mean, I've designed something they're interested in and I was told they wanted to meet me but I wasn't expecting them so soon. My latest device caught the eye of a Colonel Alexander Hargrave." Ben said watching the vehicles at the end of his driveway. No movement yet.

"Crap. That blowhard. I've heard of him. He's apparently more of a salesman than a soldier." He tipped his chin up at the display. "This is one of his shock and awe moves. He wants whatever you're selling. What do you do?"

"I'm a Mechanical Engineer. I designed a filter for radioactive particles. A very good filter," Ben said.

"Well, that's going to make the Army stiff in their kilts," Jack said with a grin. He gave Ben an appraising look. "You don't appear very intimidated by the display."

"I'm not. It seems overly dramatic," Ben replied.

"Like I said, Hargrave's a blowhard and I've heard his method is to bully people into getting what he wants. I do know he doesn't have half the authority he pretends to have." Jack explained.

"Good to know. I don't like bullies," Ben said with a scowl.

"You'll do just fine then. If you don't mind I'm going to avail myself of that wonderful looking shower."

"Not at all! Enjoy!" Ben replied with a smile.

Jack moved away as silent as he'd approached. Ben was glad to have him on his side.

He looked back at the trucks just as someone exited the front passenger door to open the rear door for a man, most likely Colonel Hargrave, to step out. He placed his hat on his head and began walking towards the house. The man who opened the door closed it and fell in step behind the Colonel.

Ben turned to see the wide eyed ladies standing in a group behind him. "Do you think I might have the living room to speak with the Colonel in private?" he asked.

"Of course Ben!" Tina said and led the others to the kitchen as Ben made his way to the front door. The doorbell rang and Ben opened the door.

"Hello, can I help you?" Ben said.

The Colonel's smile slipped just a little. "Colonel Hargrave. Don Blake mentioned I was coming to see you?"

"Ah yes Colonel, please come in," Ben said and gestured for the men to enter.

They saw the boots lined up against the wall by the door and Ben was in socks so they slipped off their shoes and followed Ben into the living room.

"This is First Lieutenant David Kendricks. He works for me in the Office of the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology. OASA(ALT) for short."

Ben shook his hand and gestured for the men to take seats on the couch. He sat in his favorite chair across from them.

"Are you the person solely responsible for the design of the filter we saw the test results for?" Hargrave began.

"Yes."

"Where did you do this work?" the colonel asked.

"Right here. My office is in the basement," Ben answered.

"You're an independent contractor?" Hargrave asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, I'm semi-retired. I keep an eye on the engineering boards and when I see a puzzle that intrigues me I do what I can to solve it," Ben said looking at the intrigued expression on the face of the Colonel's assistant Kendricks who chose that moment to speak.

"So you've designed other devices?" the man said in interest.

"Dozens," Ben responded, drawing a smile from the man.

Hargrave threw an annoyed glance at his assistant. "Coming back to the filter, you've filed for a patent. Our people confirmed this. I suppose if we looked further we would have found patents for these other devices?"

"Yes, though some which I felt had a limited application I sold," he replied.

"We've seen the test results but we haven't seen the actual device nor seen its specs to prove it does what they claim it can. If it's legit we would be interested in perhaps purchasing the patent from you."

"This one isn't for sale," Ben said clearly to ensure the man heard him.

"Really? The offer would be financially significant," Hargrave said with a sly smile.

Ben sighed and looked at the men. He stood as they looked up at him. "Please come with me."

They were a little surprised but they followed him downstairs to the door of his office. He punched in the code and the door unlocked. He went inside and they followed. The lights came on and Ben flipped another switch to light up all of the display cases. Kendricks made an appreciative noise but Hargrave just frowned at his assistant again.

Ben guided them over to the first display case. "In my university years I designed and patented this valve. Far more efficient and safe for use in nuclear power installations. I sold the patent for 4 million dollars and invested it well." Ben moved over to the next item in the display. "This was a new type of insulator which greatly reduces electric current harmonics. I sold the patent for 10 million. I invested that too." They moved on. "I began keeping the patents and just licensing them, earning a good income from the fees and investing that."

He stopped and faced the Colonel. "Money I have. I'm just now starting to find ways to make that money serve a purpose and that feels really good. Finding solutions to these engineering puzzles makes me happy. Spreading the wealth I'm accumulating to improve the lives of those around me and those I work with makes me happy. I'm finally finding a purpose."

He looked at Kendricks who was looking down the row of cases with something like awe on his face. Ben smiled at his enthusiasm.

"Have- would you considered designing solutions for engineering issues from the Army?" Kendricks asked.

"If a request shows up on the engineering board and it peaks my interest I'll take a look to see if I can solve it. Have you ever submitted a request there?" Ben asked.

"We can't post state secrets on a public board!" Hargrave growled, his annoyance with his assistant finally getting the better of him.

"The boards are anonymous to the users and are engineering issues actually state secrets? These boards are currently the only place I look so if I can't see them I can't help," Ben stated calmly.

Kendricks was nodding thoughtfully, ignoring the glare from his superior as his mind worked on this issue.

"Back to the filter. Do you have a physical sample of the device?" Hargrave asked bluntly.

"Maybe. I haven't checked my mail. I may have received a copy of the filter I ordered from the milling shop. I couldn't keep the original prototype after it was used in the test chamber so I sent the shop a request to make me a second one for display." Ben said pointing over his shoulder to the glass cases. "Ah! I do have a picture of me holding the prototype!" Ben held up his phone and the two men stared at the small picture doubtfully. "I could also show you the CAD drawings but I'm not giving out the specs to anyone at the moment. You understand."

"Do you understand that this device would give the States a significant military advantage over its foes in the event of a nuclear exchange?" Hargrave exclaimed boldly.

Ben looked at the man incredulously. "Do you understand that there wouldn't be any advantages left after a... did you really call it a nuclear exchange? Once nuclear weapons are used there won't be a human race to save."

"A limited exchange of nuclear weapons is entirely survivable!" the Colonel argued.

Ben looked at Kendricks who looked embarrassed and angry but wouldn't look at either of them. Ben supposed the man had already stepped as far out on the branch as he was willing to go. Attempting to rein in his boss would be too far.

"If you truly believe that nuclear weapons could and should be used in a 'limited exchange' then I truly pray you are never promoted to a position which would allow you to try to make your fantasy come true. That's a Pandora's Box best left alone." There was an awkward silence as the Colonel scowled at Ben as his jaw muscles clenched. Ben gestured for them to head back upstairs and they did. Once they re-entered the living room Ben addressed them again.

"After your little disclosure downstairs I'm not sure if there is anything you have to say that I might be interested in listening to," Ben stated.

"Mr. Shepherd, as a US citizen who invented a device the US Army believes would give us a tactical advantage-"

"Do they?" Ben asked, interrupting the man's little speech.

"...does who?" Hargrave stumbled, frustrated with the unfamiliar sensation of being questioned so boldly.

"Does the US Army truly believe a filter, a device I believe is best suited for protection in hazardous environments, would give them a tactical advantage? I mean, outside of your unrealistic expectation of limited mutual annihilation? Or is this just more of your own skewed opinion?" Ben said with a frown.

"I AM the US Army!" Hargrave barked angrily.

"No, no you're not."

The three men turned to see a grey haired flat top approaching with a grim look on his face.

"Sorry Ben, I couldn't stand to hear someone bad mouthing an organization I love." Jack said and Ben nodded.

"Who the hell are you?" Hargrave growled.

"Master Sergeant Jack McGovern, US Army, retired."

Kendricks had a surprised expression on his face but he nodded to Jack which drew a scowl from his boss who turned to Ben.

"Is this some kind of ambush?"

"Absolutely not. Mr. McGovern is only here to visit his daughter who lives next door. He arrived early and she wasn't home so I invited him to wait here. How could it have been an ambush? I had no expectation of you arriving today either," Ben asked with a puzzled expression.

Scowling furiously Hargrave stepped closer to look up at Ben. "I'm going to order that the filter remain a secret which means you will not be able to patent the device outside of the United States. I'm going to ensure the device remains in our control. You'll be hearing from me."

"I'll save you some trouble. I'll give you the name of my lawyer, Walter Greyson. You can deal with him. The less I speak with you the happier I'll be."

The Colonel spun on his heel to march towards the front door. "Come on Kendricks!"

"I'll be with you in a moment Colonel," the First Lieutenant said, drawing a murderous glare from his boss who stiffly left the room.

When the door slammed Kendricks looked apologetically to Ben. "The filter aside, we do have our own engineering forum and there are some issues that we would greatly welcome your input on. Would you be willing to do this?"

"Sure!" Ben said with a shrug.

"I'll have to send a tech over to set you up with military grade VPN and a security suite," Kendricks said.

"I, uh, already have that," Ben said and the man just looked at him blankly. "I have a very talented friend who may be ex-military. He set up my laptop."

"Your ride just left," Jack said from where he stood looking out the picture window. "Wait... one of the carriers is coming back around the loop."

"I should go. I'll get in touch with you as soon as I can and I'll try to smooth out the issue with the filter. We are still interested! Thank you, Mr. Shepherd!"

"Ben."

Kendricks nodded with a smile and rushed off to slip his shoes on and left the house quickly. Ben walked over to the window to stand beside Jack as they watched the First Lieutenant climb into the back of the waiting personnel carrier.

"He's going to get his ass chewed by Hargrave all the way back to Washington," Jack sighed.

"Kendricks seems like a man who actually gets stuff done. He likely has the ear of people who matter," Ben suggested.

"Let's hope," Jack nodded.

"Thanks for the assist."

Jack looked at Ben with a smirk. "Like you needed one! What did he tell you downstairs that made you brush him off?"

"He claimed my filters would be a strategic advantage during a 'limited exchange of nuclear weapons' which would be survivable."

"Damn," Jack grunted with wide eyes. "The man is unhinged. He probably runs the scenarios through his mind all day depicting himself as the hero in each one."

"You're not talking war games again, are you?"

The men turned from the window and saw Lynda walking into the living room. Petite and lovely, Ben was once more amazed at how much Catherine looked like her mother only taller.

Jack smiled and shook his head. "Not at all. We just had a visit from some members of our armed forces who were interested in one of Ben's inventions."

"Oh, is that what you do?" she asked.

"I'm a mechanical engineer. I make stuff to solve engineering problems. The Army is interested in a filter I just designed for a uranium mining company in Melbourne, Australia."

"Do you travel a lot in your job?" she asked as Tina, Lucy and Gretchen returned to the living room as well.

"No, I'm new to the whole travel thing. I've been to France and Costa Rica on vacation. I visited Milan, Italy to see Gabriella, she's the neighbor on my south side. I made a stopover in Dubai on my way to Australia where I visited the mining company in Melbourne and went to Sydney to... see a friend. I met Gretchen in Sydney and invited her to come stay with me when her husband died."

"Wait! You were in Paris with Cat when she shot that Kirian Rapava fellow?" Jack suddenly exclaimed.

Ben looked at the shocked expression on the man's face. "Uh, yes."

"And you were with her in Nice when she shot Rachid Shakir?" Jack said, his agitation growing.

Ben nodded wondering where the man was going with this.

"She called me after each shooting and I talked her down. We spoke for a long time on those calls and she told me about a man she was seeing. You're that Ben aren't you! Geezus, I must be losing my edge if my brain missed that connection!"

Lynda watched the big man nod to her husband then she looked to the women moving to the couch. She could tell, aside from the tall one, they acted like they were home. In Ben's home. She looked at her husband in confusion.

"The relationship situation is complicated. Please have a seat," Ben said with a sigh.

Jack and Lynda took the loveseat and focused their attention on Ben who filled them in on their daughter's relationship with him and how his relationship with so many women just... evolved. It wasn't his place to speak on it so he left out Catherine's relationship with Chanel.

Jack and Lynda both looked a little shell shocked when he was done. The man cleared his throat and looked to their host. "Thank you for your honesty. I can't say I understand how this all works but I can see with my own eyes that it seems to quite well. This falls well outside of my own personal experience of falling in love with my high school sweetheart and being with her my whole life."

"That was the plan I originally had for myself too. Wendy, my ex, was a girl I was attracted to in high school and married after college. When she left me, my life... fell apart and lost all meaning. It was the love of Gabriella, Catherine, Trish and Tina that brought me back to living once more."

Lynda looked at him uncomfortably. "Ben, I read the article in Peeps magazine. I'm ashamed to say I thought her story was true. I can see now it wasn't. Why is she saying these things about you?"

"She needs money. Her lawyer says she is very ill and I believe it may be true. Her mother had a condition Wendy inherited. It's not a pleasant way to end your days."

"We do not know if Wendy is truly ill. Her lawyer is a very bad and dishonest man. He threatened Ben. Ben's lawyer is dealing with him," Tina blurted.

Ben looked to Tina and slowly nodded. He had to consider that possibility though his heart was telling him that it was true.

"Catherine's car just pulled into her driveway," Lucy said looking out the front window.

Ben smiled and dialed her cell number.

She picked up on the third ring. "Hi Ben!" she said happily.

"Hi Catherine! Your guests arrived early today so I invited them over to my place," he said.

"They're here?" Cat squealed in Ben's ear.

"Yes! Come on over!" Ben replied with a chuckle and heard the phone click as Catherine hung up immediately.

He looked at his phone in amused surprise. "I guess she's on her way over."

Gretchen was looking at Ben nervously. She hadn't met Catherine yet. This was one of the women Ben originally fell in love with so meeting her made Gretchen very anxious. If this woman disapproved of her maybe Ben would send her away?

"Ben?" Tina called to him and he looked her way. She directed his eyes to Gretchen who he saw was slipping into a panic once more. With a grateful nod to Tina, Ben stood and gestured for Gretchen to join him at the front door. She was immediately at his side and he put his arm around her as they left the living room.

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly as they reached the door. No sign of Catherine yet.

"What if she doesn't like me?" Gretchen squeaked out in her anxiety.

Ben turned and held Gretchen in his arms as she looked up at him with desperate eyes.

"Of course she will like you. I know Catherine. She is a wonderful person! Very loving! Why are you worried about that?"

"If she doesn't like me maybe you'd send me away?" Her voice was almost a whisper.

"No! That's not going to happen. Put that out of your mind right now!" Ben growled and she clung tighter to him. Ben kissed her and she moaned quietly.

The doorbell rang, startling them both. Ben chuckled and Gretchen smiled at him feeling a little better.

He released her and opened the front door. Catherine rushed inside and gave Ben a huge hug and kiss which went on a little longer than expected. She pulled back with a satisfied smile on her lips.

"Welcome back Ben!" she purred.

"It's good to be back, Catherine!" he grinned. "May I introduce you," he saw Chanel standing on his step and gestured for her to enter. "Hi Chanel! May I introduce you both to Gretchen Hahn. I brought her home with me from Sydney."

Catherine immediately pulled the woman into her arms to give her a warm hug. Gretchen was beginning to look a little overwhelmed and tears pooled in her eyes. Catherine gave her a compassionate look. "I'm sorry. It's all a little bit too much too soon?"

"No, I'm very happy to meet you and very relieved you are so nice!" Gretchen managed to squeak out of her tight throat.

Chanel smiled broadly and gave Ben a quick hug before stepping past to hug Gretchen as well. "Welcome to America! I'm Chanel, a recent immigrant myself. From France."

Gretchen smiled at the two women and they saw her begin to relax.

"My parents are in the living room?" Catherine asked quietly.

"Yes, we just finished explaining my relationships to them. They are a little dazed," Ben replied equally quiet.

Catherine smiled at Chanel who suddenly looked like she wanted to flee. Cat reached out and took her hand. "No you don't. Come with me!"

Ben watched this with curiosity.

Catherine walked around the corner into the living room pulling Chanel with her. Ben and Gretchen followed, his arm once more around her to calm her in the room full of new people.

"DAD! MOM!" Catherine squealed as she burst into a huge smile and ran into her parent's open arms.

Ben smiled at the happiness on the parent's faces. Catherine got hugs and kisses from her parents who also seemed a little overwhelmed. He guided Gretchen over to the couch where Lucy moved so Ben could seat Gretchen between them. Tina and Lucy both took one of Gretchen's hands to help calm her. She smiled at them. Ben went to stand with Chanel who was almost trembling with her own nervousness. "You ok?" Ben whispered and got a sharp nod which obviously meant no. He didn't press.

Catherine was holding her parent's hands as she stood back to face them. "Mom, Dad, I know this is all rather sudden but I'd like to introduce you to Chanel Babineaux, my fiancé."

Ben was rocked by the news but then he remembered that kiss she gave him at the door. Catherine still loved him. She wasn't letting him go. He sighed heavily and noticed Chanel watching him anxiously.

He smiled at her. "It's wonderful news," Ben said gently to Chanel whose entire body seemed to relax.

"You're fiancé? What- what about Ben?" Jack blurted.

"I love Ben! I just want to get married to Chanel as I love her too! Besides Ben is marrying Tina." Cat explained.

"Actually, I'm marrying Gretchen." Ben said awkwardly and felt everyone's eyes turning his way.

Jack shook his head to shut out all the noise. "Getting back to you Cat, Chanel... wait, isn't she the cop from France?" Jack asked, clearly confused.

"Why don't we all sit down first?" Ben suggested and everyone moved to take a seat. Ben and Chanel carried in chairs from the dining room table for her and Cat.

The tall blonde leaned forward to speak. "Yes, Chanel was the detective we met in Paris and Nice. I fell in love with her there."

"So... you're gay?" Jack asked and Lynda slapped his arm. "What? I'm just trying to understand. She told us she loved someone named Ben. Well here he is! Then she announces she's engaged to a woman... but she still loves Ben. My old brain needs to put a label on this to understand!"

"The label is Love," Ben said.

Catherine and Chanel looked at Ben with a twinkle in their eyes. Tina, Lucy and Gretchen were also looking at him the same way and he blushed a little under their gaze.

"Yes, Ben is completely right. It's just love. Wonderful, soul enriching love. I love Chanel with all my heart. I love Ben with all my heart. Gabriella clued me in to the fact that love isn't divided. It's added. I love her too! But I'm marrying Chanel." Catherine held her father's eyes. "You were right about Ashraf. I greatly regret not listening to you about him but then if I had I never would have had three wonderful daughters who mean the world to me! So I had to have the terribly bad to get the incredibly good! Now that Ashraf is gone I was gifted with another chance to open my heart to someone. First Ben then Chanel. I didn't have your blessing for my first marriage and I understand and accept that. I regret your and my stubborn natures that prevented you from getting to know your grandchildren as they grew up. They are anxious to meet you now. They're coming home on the sixth for the wedding on the seventh. I would like very much if you could walk me down the aisle this time."

Jack was listening to his daughter carefully. Lynda was clinging tightly to his arm. He knew she'd always regretted his vehement refusal to step a foot through Catherine's front door while she was married to Ashraf. He... regretted it too. He still hated Ashraf but that hate had stolen so much from him. Now he could see that. He looked at Chanel and could not deny that the woman was a beauty. She looked back and he saw her strength too. She was a detective and a good one apparently... in France.

"Don't you live in France?" he asked.

"There was nothing for me there once Catherine left," Chanel said and Jack heard Lynda sigh happily. So she was sold and he owed her so much. Jack looked at Ben and was surprised to see he looked happy as well. Jacks eyebrows went up as he sighed to himself. "The world will leave an old fossil like me behind if I don't at least make an effort to keep up. I don't get how all this works but I would be honored to walk you down the aisle."

Catherine squealed with joy and leapt across the space to hug her parents who were all smiles and joy.

Chanel turned to Ben nervously as he looked at her curiously. "I have no family so I was hoping you might consider walking me down the aisle?"

"Oh! Yes, I would be honored as well," Ben said in surprise.

"Thank you!" Chanel said as she relaxed once more.

Catherine finally returned to her chair and turned to Ben. "You're not marrying Tina?"

Ben shook his head and looked at the woman in question. "No, she surprised me yet again with how strong her love is. When Lucy discovered she was pregnant with my child-"

"WHAT?" Cat gasped.

"Oh sorry. Yes, it's another miracle pregnancy." He glanced at the confusion on Catherine's parent's faces. "I shouldn't be able to have children due to... an extremely low count," he explained. He returned to his story for Catherine.

"With Lucy also carrying my child, Tina said she didn't need to be married as I couldn't marry Lucy as well. She said the marriage would be better used by Gretchen who would be allowed to stay once we were married. Gretchen wants to have a baby too." The woman nodded.

"Ben, you live a very complicated life," Jack said.

Ben just nodded as he couldn't argue that point. "If things could just calm down a little so I could just catch my breath that would be lovely."

The doorbell rang and Lucy jumped to her feet to answer it. She returned with a blush and a happy smile on her face as well as lipstick on her cheeks. Two beautiful redheads followed her into the living room touching up their lipstick. Ben stood and made the introductions.

Gretchen was wide eyed with shock at how beautiful the twins were and she was unable to tell them apart. How Ben did it was a complete mystery to her.

"These lovely ladies are going to take you shopping for some clothes," Ben said to her bringing her attention back to him.

"You aren't going too?" she said a little anxiously.

"No, I trust Lisa and Lori implicitly. They'll take good care of you and will make sure you have a good selection of outfits. Casual as well as nicer stuff. Have fun and I'll see you later tonight."

As she still looked a little nervous he walked her to the door with the twins following. When they were out of sight of the others Ben pulled Gretchen close and looked into her eyes. "Do you trust me?"

Gretchen's eyes went wide as she nodded.

"Will you... follow my instructions?" Ben said.

She nodded again.

"I will take care of you. Part of that is getting you clothes. Lisa and Lori will help you with that. Tina told you. They are mine. They will make sure you get clothes and will get you back to me."

"Am... am I yours too?" Gretchen asked timidly.

Ben looked into her eyes, seeing the damage Rainor left behind. He really needed to get her in to see Dr. Granger. He was worried he was just making that damage worse but he didn't know how else to calm her.

He took her face between his hands and pulled her mouth to his and kissed her until her nervous trembling stopped. He pulled back and she rested against him as she caught her breath.

"I'm tingling so much!" she whispered.

He snorted softly. "Me too." He pulled back from Gretchen and she moved to put on her jacket and boots.

Ben pulled Lisa against his body with a tight grip on her hair. She gasped and instantly her eyes showed him he was giving her exactly what she wanted. He kissed her hard and she whimpered with need.

He ended the kiss and she looked at his mouth hungrily.

Lori was next and her soft mouth fit his perfectly and his passionate kiss drew quiet moans from her as well. When he pulled back she was gasping with need.

"Tomorrow night. Are you two available for a date?" Ben asked, his voice rumbling with his own need.

"YES!" they gasped.

"You'll make the arrangements?" he asked and Lori nodded vigorously.

Ben held Gretchen's eyes. "Until later." She gave him one of her dazzling smiles then stepped outside with the twins. He heard their happy giggles as he closed the door. He stood by the door as he waited for his heart rate to get back to normal. He was so fucking stiff in his pants. He didn't want to walk back into the living room sporting this obvious sign that he was acting like some kind of hormone raging teenager. He felt a gentle hand on his back and turned. Lucy was smiling up at him.

She reached up with a tissue and wiped the lipstick from his mouth. She eyed the cleanup she did with a critical eye then smiled. "You're presentable again." They walked back into the living room, Ben shielded from view behind Lucy. He noticed everyone, except Tina, was on their feet.

"We're going out to dinner to celebrate. Would you like to join us?" Catherine said with a smile.

"Thanks but I think I'll stay in tonight. I've had enough excitement for one day." Ben said, Tina and Lucy nodding in agreement.

"Thank you again for the use of your guest room and shower," Jack said holding his hand out.

Ben shook his hand then bent down to kiss Lynda's cheek. "You are both welcome any time."

Jack went to get their suitcases then joined his wife, daughter, and future... daughter-in-law? He gave his head a shake. They said their goodbyes then Ben was alone with Tina and Lucy.

"So... how are you both feeling?" Ben asked, looking them in the eye. He saw their excited smiles.

"We are feeling good," Tina said with an impish grin. Lucy nodded happily.

"I was thinking of taking a short nap... in the bedroom," Ben said, a small smile slipping onto his lips.

"That sounds like a good idea! I think we might join you!" Lucy said with a grin.

"Get the crutches," Ben said to Lucy as he scooped Tina up in his arms and rushed down the hallway. The phone rang as they got into the bedroom.

Ben glared at the interrupting device. He gently laid Tina down on the mattress as Lucy picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

Ben watched Lucy's smile slip away into a look of shame. "I'm so sorry! We'll be right there."

"What happened? Who was that?" Ben asked in concern.

"Daphne. We forgot to pick up Christopher!" Lucy said with a guilty expression.

"Oh! I am a bad mother!" Tina wailed.

"No you're not! We just got carried away and lost track of the time. I'll go get him. We'll have to postpone our 'nap' until later," Ben said as Tina looked up at him from the bed, her silky hair fanning out behind her. He paused to drink in that image and her pout turned into a smile as she saw his hungry look.

A thrill ran through her seeing how much Ben wanted her. She still felt guilty but it was eased by Ben's words... and his need for her.

He suddenly dipped down over her and kissed her. She felt herself being carried away on a wave of his passion and she sighed happily when he pulled back looking at her lips. Ben pulled Lucy into his arms and kissed her deeply as he slowly lowered her to the bed next to Tina.

When he released her lips she gasped and strained to keep his mouth on hers. Ben growled deep in his chest as he looked down on the two women making them tremble with delight. Then he spun and stalked out of the room. He got to the front door and pulled on his jacket and boots. He stepped outside and locked the door before running down his driveway and along the sidewalk towards Daphne's.

As he ran he glanced over at Gabriella's place and could see the lights were on in Daniel's and Miriam's rooms. Finishing up their homework probably. He had to call Daniel to ask about the game console.

He reached Daphne's and went inside. The woman came out with Christopher on her hip and a frown on her face.

"Sorry about that! It's been such a crazy day!" Ben said as he helped the boy get his coat and boots on.

"Yes, I heard Lucy is pregnant too. And you have a new house guest?" Daphne asked raising one eyebrow.

"Yes, I seem to collect them." Ben paused as he saw the unhappy expression flit across the woman's face. "Is... is something wrong?"

"No! No, it's fine."

"Daphne, this is your silent partner here. You can talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."

She looked at him with a pout and her bottom lip began to tremble. "I'm lonely."

"Oh! I-"

"No Ben, not for you. That would be too awkward for me. I just... I'm with the kids all day and I love that! I also love working with my daughters. They are a joy these days so keep up what you are doing but please don't tell me what it is. I need to go on a date but I never have the opportunity to meet anyone!"

Christopher was getting restless and Ben needed both hands to hold onto the wriggling boy. His phone took that moment to start ringing in his back pocket. He turned his butt to Daphne. "Could you get that?"

She frowned and pulled the phone out and showed him the screen. He saw it was Walter... his friend Walter who lost his wife two years ago and needed to move on. Ben smiled. "Could you answer that for me? It's important."

She gave him an annoyed look but he just moved Christopher in his arms and pretended to eat the boy's ear making him giggle.

"Hello, Ben's line."

"Oh, uh, this is Walter Greyson, his lawyer. Could I speak with him?" Walter said.

"His arms are full of wriggling and giggling child at the moment. I think you'll need to call him back." Daphne said and Ben shook his head. "Hang on."

"Ask him what he needs," Ben whispered.

Daphne looked at him with exasperation. "Oh for Pete's sake Ben, give me the boy and take the phone!"

Ben jumped back and hoisted Christopher up in the air where she couldn't reach him. The boy's shriek of joy forced a smile onto Daphne's face. She put the phone back to her ear. "I'm sorry but Ben is the proverbial boy who never grew up! He's such an imp! He's asked me to ask you what you need."

Walter laughed and Daphne smiled hearing his burst of happiness. "Ok, if Ben trusts you then that's good enough for me. You can let him know I got a very angry call from a Colonel Hargrave who made a number of vague threats. Then I received a call from a man named Kendricks who assured me no action would be taken on the aforementioned threats. He said he will contact us in a week or so."

Daphne delivered the message and Ben smiled at her. "Tell Walter thanks very much and yes I will go out for coffee with you." She looked at Ben with a puzzled expression but he just pretended to poke her with Christopher who was giggling happily. She rolled her eyes. "Ben says thank you very much..." she looked back at Ben in exasperation but he was nodding at her to continue. "...and yes I will go out for coffee with you."

Daphne's eyes shot wide as she realized what Ben had just made her say to a complete stranger. Her face went beet red and she started to build up a head of steam.

"Could- could I get your name first, maybe?" Walter said haltingly, shocked by her boldness.

She froze and looked at Ben in a panic. He rolled his hand to indicate she should keep talking.

"Daphne... Daphne McKellan."

"I'm Walter, oh I already said that."

"Would you like to go out for a coffee?" Daphne asked, staring at Ben in shock at her own nerve.

"Yes... I think that would be nice," Walter said and she could hear his smile. "Are- are you busy tonight?"

"No, I was just closing up the daycare since my last parent was so late!" Daphne said, giving Ben a stern look.

Walter laughed again and she realized she liked hearing him do that. She wanted to hear it some more. "There is a charming little coffee shop not far from here. They have delicious baked goods too!"

"Sold! Tell me the address and I'll be there in thirty minutes." Walter chuckled.

She told him the details and they said their goodbyes.

"OH MY GOD! I said I'd be there in thirty minutes! What was I thinking?!?" Daphne gasped.

Ben had Christopher on his hip and he plucked the phone from Daphne's fingers. "You look gorgeous! You'll like Walter. He's very smart, well read, likes movies and he's a really nice man. Put on your black and grey knit sweater and some black leggings. Very chic! Showing up with baby spittle on your shoulder probably isn't the look you should go with on a first date," Ben teased.

"OH MY GOD! I'm going on a date!" Daphne gasped.

"Not if you don't get moving! Have fun tonight!" Ben said and headed out. He felt really good about introducing Daphne to Walter. He hoped it worked out.

He got inside and Tina was there waiting.

"MAMA!" Christopher squealed and Tina threw her arms wide as the boy raced into them. She kissed his face as he gave her a kiss and began telling her about his day. He led her into the living room talking a mile a minute as Tina listened with a big smile on her face.

Ben felt fingers slip between his and he was being gently guided down the hall to the bedroom by Lucy.

When the door closed Lucy looked up at Ben. "Tina needed a little bonding time alone with her son. She told me to have some one on one time with you. If you're still interested."

Ben smiled and ran his finger along her jawline. Her eyes closed slightly as she enjoyed his touch.

"I can't get over how blessed I am," Ben said, looking at her in awe.

"My life is feeling incredibly blessed right now as well," she sighed as she stepped closer to wrap her arms around him.

Ben hugged her to his chest and kissed the top of her head.

"I feel so safe in your arms," she mumbled into his chest.

"Could we just snuggle in bed?" he asked and she looked up at him happily and nodded.

They took their clothes off and slipped under the covers. Ben rested on his back with Lucy leaning up against his chest. She kissed his nipple and giggled when he gave her a hot look.

They relaxed for a while, just enjoying the feel of each other's bodies and content to be together.

"I'm trying to recall the night we made love and you became pregnant," Ben said softly as he looked into her loving eyes.

"I thought about that too and I think I figured it out. It had to be the night after you beat up that thug at the mall who was harassing Miriam's friend's mother. The sex that night was so incredibly hot!" she sighed.

He thought back and remembered that was after a period where he couldn't reach an orgasm. He must have somehow increased his count? He wasn't sure but it was a miracle that this beautiful lady in his arms was having his baby. The love he felt for her swelled up in his heart and he had to kiss her. He lifted her up his body until his mouth could reach hers. His lips stroked across hers and she moaned softly. His kiss went from sensual to passionate as her soft mouth flamed his need for her.

She reached down and stroked his thickening cock until it felt like iron.

He pulled back from the kiss and she looked at him desperately.

"Ben, please, I need-"

She wasn't able to finish her statement as he rolled her over on her back and pinned her to the bed with his body. He stroked his cock up and down across her pussy.

"Ohhhhh fuck! Ben! Fuck me!" she pleaded.

He slid himself down and felt her hand slip between them to line him up with her pussy. He pressed forward and felt himself spreading her open.

"OOOH! FUCK! YES!" Lucy gasped loudly and clung to him. He kissed her again and thrust into her body burying his cock deep within her.

He rocked side to side as she yelped and moaned from the intense sensations. He pulled back then pounded her pelvis with his, driving himself deep again and again.

"AAAHHHHH! OH GOD! I'm getting CLOSE!"

He needed to accelerate his own orgasm so his hips began to move on their own in fast sharp strokes ending with a slap against Lucy's clit.

"AAHHH! AAAHHH!! AAAAHHHHHH!!" Lucy wailed as slapping sounds filled the room. She was lost to the crashing waves of pleasure and Ben erupted inside her. He ground himself against her and she shook silently through her release.

When they caught their breath Ben rolled off and she gasped from his withdrawal.

They lay side by side letting their heart rates return to normal.

"I like the way you snuggle Ben," she said with a wide smile. He grinned self-consciously.

Once they'd come down from their peaks, they got up to freshen up, brush their teeth and Tina joined them. She smiled impishly at them.

"Christopher is good?" Ben asked.

"He plays so hard at the daycare! He fell asleep eating dinner. So I put him to bed. I am tired too," she said with a yawn which Lucy picked up.

Ben smiled at the ladies. "I'll stay up to let Gretchen back in. I want to work on some renovation ideas for the house."

"Good night Ben!"

He kissed them then slipped on a sweater and some track pants. He let himself out of the bedroom and went to do a little work in the living room.

He quickly lost himself in the task.

Ben was sitting in his chair working out a new floor plan for extending his house out over the foundation of his basement workshop. When he'd built the large room he'd excavated the back yard to extend the building eastward an additional twenty-eight feet. The foundation had been poured and to eliminate the need for support posts he'd welded in ten cross connected I-beams spanning the width of the room like ribs to support the poured concrete ceiling. The building permit office told him he didn't need so many but Ben felt more comfortable with over engineering for maximum strength and durability. Then he'd covered the entire extension with a waterproof membrane to direct water to the weeping tile and buried it under the back yard once more.

He was designing the extension for the ground floor that would be built out over his office. The current design had the master bedroom occupying the space at the far end with a new walk-in closet and master ensuite. He was going to have to upgrade the water heater, furnace, and air conditioning.

He heard the thump of a car door closing and laughter outside. He looked out the window and saw the ladies collecting their bags from the trunk of a taxi. Then the laughter approached his front door. He got up and opened the front door to see three happy ladies carrying a large number of shopping bags. He ushered them inside.

"So I see you were successful!" Ben said with a smile.

"Yes! Gretchen is very easy to find clothes for as everything looks amazing on her!" Lori gushed.

The woman in question was absolutely glowing with happiness. She was also exhausted. She tried to hide a massive yawn but this just caused the twins to yawn as well and giggling ensued.

"Shopping wore you out?" Ben said with a grin.

"Power shopping, Ben! Totally different level of effort!" Lisa scolded him playfully.

"Ah! Well, I'll let you recharge as you'll need that energy for tomorrow night." Ben said with a coy smile.

The twins grinned widely and squeezed themselves against his chest to get good night kisses. Ben's head was spinning when they finally stepped back and sorted through the bags to ensure they had their own. Lisa and Lori had picked up a few items for themselves as well.

"Good night Ben! Good night Gretchen! We had so much fun tonight! Thanks!"

Once the twins were on their way home Ben locked up and turned to see Gretchen leaning up against the wall with a blissful smile on her face. "So you had fun?"

"Yes, Ben! I love Lisa and Lori! They are so much fun and such good shoppers!" she gushed then yawned widely once more.

"Did you eat dinner?" he asked.

"We grabbed something light with a drink then we hit the shops. So many clothing stores!" She yawned again.

"Come on sleepy head! Let's put you to bed!" He picked up the bulk of her shopping bags and led her down the hall to her room. He put all the bags on the floor at the end of the bed and turned to see her flopped down across it. He smiled and turned her on the bed until her head was on the pillow. Then he threw the blanket over her and she was out. He kissed her cheek and she smiled in her sleep. He moved the bags she'd dropped beside the bed to the end with the others then shut off the light as he slipped out of the room, closing her door.

Ben went back to his laptop, saved his floor plan, and shut the machine down to pack it away.

He went to his bedroom and heard the gentle breathing of Tina and Lucy. He got undressed and slipped under the covers between his two lovers.

His two pregnant lovers.

That thought kept him awake for a while.

Chapter 40

Ben got a good workout in first thing and Tina made a wonderful breakfast with Lucy's help. The latter was feeling a little shaky but now they knew what it was and she knew she would feel better later.

Gretchen was struggling with her jet lag and Ben sent her back to bed with a kiss and a pat on the bum which earned him a smile and a hot look over her shoulder.

After breakfast Ben tidied up and Lucy got prepared for school. Ben gave her a kiss and followed her outside with Christopher in his arms. He waved to Madison and Savannah who were waiting by the open van and met Ashley halfway to the daycare as she rushed back to her house. She stopped to get a hug and a quick kiss.

"My goodness! Look at that mop of hair!" she exclaimed with a coy smile.

Ben chuckled. "Yes, I've been meaning to get that looked after."

Karen and Penny rushed up and Ben gave them hugs too. Blushing furiously, Ashley mouthed 'Call me' as she hustled off after the girls. Ben nodded and she treated him to a dazzling smile before she turned away.

He made his way into the daycare and slipped Christopher's coat and boots off. Lisa took them from Ben and the boy raced into the back room. They heard a squeak then Daphne came rushing out to the front. She pulled Ben into a tight hug.

When she finally let go Ben smiled at her. "So you had fun last night?"

Daphne's smile said it all and Lisa looked at her suspiciously.

"What were you up to last night?" she asked her mother.

"I... was on a date!" Daphne said with great satisfaction and Lisa's eyebrows went up.

"A date? With a man?" Lisa gasped.

"No, with an iguana. Yes, a man!" Daphne exclaimed, scowling at her daughter who had the good grace to look embarrassed for her question. The excited mother looked at Ben. "Walter is such a lovely man! We talked for hours and it felt so good to talk with an adult about adult things!"

"That's wonderful!" Ben said with a grin.

"He's taking me out to dinner tonight! Oh! What will I wear?!?" Daphne gasped.

"Consult with your fashion experts!" Ben said nodding towards Lisa.

"Thank you so much Ben!" Daphne gushed.

"Hey, I just let you answer my phone. You made the rest happen on your own. Enjoy!" he said.

Daphne smiled and went back into the playroom. Lori came out to stand next to her sister.

"Any ideas where you'd like to go tonight?" he asked.

"Could we go back to Asylum? Karen and Penny want to join us with their boyfriends this time," Lisa asked.

"Sure! Are we having dinner first?"

Lori pressed herself against Ben's chest and looked up at him. "Could we go to that Thai-Asian fusion place, Golden Sun once more?"

"Of course," he smiled and she popped up on her toes to kiss him quickly. She stepped back and Lisa gave him one too. "What time do I pick you up?"

"Eight," Lisa said.

"See you then!"

Ben left the daycare and looked down the street. He saw Dominic's guys parked in front of 11 Ashburn Court and wondered how the bedroom reno was coming along. He walked over to the house and met Hector.

"Ben! How you doing?"

"Good! How's it going with you?"

"Really good! We're almost finished with this place. The trim is going in today. You have to see the backsplash we added to the kitchen! It was Jayden's idea and the ladies loved it!"

Ben smiled and followed him inside. He took his boots off and they made their way to the kitchen first.

"Is that slate tile?" Ben said checking out the floor.

Hector smiled and nodded.

"Very nice," Ben said then noticed the slate inlays in the backsplash. "Oh that's really nice!"

"I know, right? Very classy and like I said it really impressed the clients," Hector said with a grin.

"It was a tricky pain in the ass to do!" Jayden said as he walked in the kitchen behind them.

Ben grinned with a nod and shook his hand. "Yeah I can imagine but it looks spectacular! Nicely done!"

Real pride shone in Jayden's eyes as he surveyed his work. "I had no idea how satisfying it would feel to customize a kitchen. Dominic told me he's going to let me do some more. Build my skills and maybe build a rep for the work. We took a bunch of pictures of this one and he's setting up a portfolio for me."

Ben smiled at Jayden. "It's gorgeous!"

"Thanks! Hey! I heard we're going to Asylum tonight!" Jayden said excitedly.

"Yeah, it's a pretty amazing club!" Ben agreed.

"Shit! My lady wants me to take her there but we couldn't get in last time. It's always so busy!" Hector complained.

"Why don't you join us? One of the only good things that comes out of my damn fame is the ability to jump a queue," Ben grumbled.

"Really?" Hector asked with wide eyes.

"Of course," Ben said.

"Take a cab and meet us there at..." he looked at Jayden.

"10PM. I'll text you," Jayden said.

"That's awesome! I'll earn some major points with my lady for this!" Hector grinned.

"That's what it's all about," Ben said with a serious expression which became a grin when the men nodded thoughtfully. "I'd like to see the work on the mother-in-law suite."

The room was just down a short hall off the kitchen and Ben grinned widely when he saw the lovely new closet which had replaced the built-ins. The organizer made the space so much more efficient and useful. "Brilliant! What did Rita think of the room?"

"She was very happy," Hector replied with a smile.

"Good, good!" Ben said looking around. There was still a little trim work and painting left to do. "Is Dominic working on his own place?" he asked.

"Yeah, the boss-man and his lady are over there now with two of the crew working on the kitchen." Jayden answered.

"Well I just wanted to see how it was going. Excellent work, guys!" Ben exclaimed. They nodded happily.

Ben turned to Hector after he slipped his boots on. "Listen, we're going to Golden Sun for dinner before we go to the club. You and your significant other are welcome to join us."

"Thanks but Mariana is making my favorite dinner tonight. We'll definitely meet you at the club though!"

"Great! See you tonight!" Ben said stepping outside. He walked over to Dominic's place and rang the bell. A woman answered and smiled widely at Ben.

"You must be Ben Shepherd! I'm Sophia."

Dominic's wife was lovely. Dark brown hair falling to her shoulders in waves, she was maybe 5' 6" with nicely padded curves. Hazel eyes and a naturally smiling mouth were currently expressing how happy she was in her new home.

Ben smiled at the woman and followed her into the foyer when she invited him in. She gave him a warm hug.

"I want to thank you so much for helping my Dominic buy this home! I understand you were in the process of buying it yourself," she said. Her voice echoed a little in the empty house. Ben guessed they were waiting until the renovations were done before they'd move in.

"Yeah but I was far happier with Dominic getting it. More good neighbors!" Ben said earning him another hug.

"Come this way. Dominic is working on the kitchen with his team," she said leading the way.

Ben found the man in question with three of his team installing the new kitchen island. Ben noticed the backsplash was another custom design, this one using glass tile inlays. The glass tiles were also used as a border detail on the ceramic floor tiles. Ben thought the floors looked great as well.

"Hey there!" Dominic boomed happily and came over to shake Ben's hand after he helped get the new stone countertop in place. He caught the direction of Ben's gaze and grinned. "Yeah, Jayden's work! His designs are going to help us expand into the customizing market."

"That's great!"

"How did he get started with this?" Ben asked.

"He was looking at the new slate floor tiles on 11 Ashburn and out of the blue he just suggested adding slate accents in the backsplash. I had him mock it up and it looked amazing so I made him do all the custom cutting." He chuckled recalling how tired Jayden had been. "He didn't like that part so much but the results speak for themselves. For my place he suggested we use the glass backsplash tiles as a border on the floor and damn if it doesn't make the room look like a million dollars!"

"I love it!" Sophia gushed.

"Well, I just dropped by to say hello and see how the renovations were coming along," Ben said.

"Did your doctor say it was ok to be poking around home renovations?" Dominic teased.

Ben held up his hand to show he was no longer wearing the brace. "All better!" he said with a grin. "I'll let you get back to it!"

Ben made his way back to his house and found a large number of boxes piled by his garage door. He checked the labels and realized these were the pieces for the new panic room door. They'd finally arrived. He opened the garage door and began moving the boxes inside.

Tina opened the inside door and looked out. "I thought I heard the garage door open. The delivery man did not want to carry the boxes up to the front door so I told him to leave them by the garage door. I was sure you would be back quickly. Was that alright?"

"Yes, that's great. I'll take the boxes downstairs after I disassemble the old door and take it out. I have to give the milling shop a call to see if the new door is ready."

"Are you going to visit them?" Tina asked with a grin.

He knew she enjoyed the visits there as they made a fuss over her. "Sorry, not this time. They're going to have to deliver the new door in their truck."

Tina pouted and Ben grinned at her. She went back inside after giving him a quick smile.

Once all the parts were stacked neatly against the back wall of the garage Ben closed the garage door and went inside. He called and discovered his new panic room door was scheduled to be milled next week so he still had time.

Ben walked into the living room and saw Gretchen and Tina using their tablets. Tina was helping the Internet novice find her way around. He walked over and gave them both a kiss which earned him some happy smiles.

Settling in his chair in the living room he opened his laptop and went back to designing the extension for the house.

"What are you working on now Ben?" Tina asked.

He smiled and carried his laptop over to them. Gretchen moved over so he could sit between them. He showed them the new floorplan and their eyes opened wide in appreciation.

"The new master bedroom will be beautiful! I love the French doors leading out to the deck!" Gretchen sighed.

"I think you will need a larger bed Ben." Tina said with a grin.

He looked over at her questioningly.

"Your current one only holds three people. There are four of us now," she explained.

"Oh! I thought Gretchen would prefer her own bedroom!" he exclaimed and turned to look at the woman.

She was looking back at him with a hopeful look in her eye. "You don't want a room of your own?" he asked. She shook her head. "Oh! Well... I'd- I'd better take another look at my floor plan then."

He stood up and went back to his chair.

Gretchen moved back beside Tina and quietly thanked her. Tina just smiled and nodded.

"Ben? Are you going to be home for dinner tonight?" Tina asked.

"Hmm? Oh, no sorry. I'm going out with the twins, Karen, Penny, Jayden, and Frank. I finally get to meet my doppelganger," he replied.

Tina grinned. "An overnight date?" she asked.

Ben paused. "I- I'm not sure."

Tina looked to her tablet and sent a quick text to the twins. "Yes, you should bring your overnight bag."

Ben snorted and shook his head at Tina's smile. "Once you've had our baby I'm taking you out dancing!"

Tina's smile flashed brilliantly across the room. He looked to Gretchen. "I'll take you out once your arm heals." She gave him a happy smile too.

Ben turned back to his laptop. He had designing to do. He was going to need one hell of a large walk-in closet!

As Ben parked his truck in the lot across the street from Asylum he sighed with contentment. His stomach was pleasantly full from a good meal, he'd enjoyed his dinner with his daughters and their dates (Frank did remind him of a younger version of himself), and the twins looked breathtakingly beautiful tonight. Under their coats Lisa and Lori were wearing body hugging dresses of red and black but Lisa's dress was red with black accents and Lori's was black with red accents. To finish the look, they each had one red and one black four-inch heeled pump. Their manes of red hair were teased up and Ben wanted to nibble his lips down the sides of those long smooth necks. Their eyes twinkled with joy at the hungry looks he was sending their way.

Karen and Penny had their party dresses on making Jayden and Frank grin widely. Reminded of their state at the end of their previous outing the girls were behaving tonight and had only one drink with dinner. Jayden and Frank stuck with a single beer each.

They left Ben's truck and began walking towards the club. As Ben and the twins had... plans for after the club the others would be taking a cab home.

Ben looked up at the windows of the factory conversion. Like the last time they were here the lightshow even from outside was dazzling.

Everyone met in front of the club and they heard someone calling out Ben's name. They turned and spotted Hector and a petite woman with a very large head of hair approaching.

"Hey Hector- Oh. My. God!" Ben paused with a wide grin as he took in the man's freshly shaven upper lip. He looked so different. Better! Younger yet more mature at the same time.

"Yeah yeah, don't rub it in!" Hector said with a smirk.

"No, it looks really good!" Ben grinned then turned to the woman who was staring up at him in awe. "You must be the reason for Hector's sudden appreciation of class and style."

The woman seemed at a loss for what to say so Hector stepped in. "This is the love of my life, Mariana Torres."

Ben took the woman's tiny hand in his gently and shook it. "Delightful to meet you, Mariana!"

"Th-thank you!" she stuttered.

Ben made the introductions and her eyes were wide by the end when she saw Ben was dating twins.

"It's cold out here. Let's-"

"Mr. Shepherd!"

Ben turned to see a man with an earpiece hustling over to their group. He struggled to recall the man's name. Ah! "Damien! How are you! And please call me Ben."

The man's face lit up with a thousand watt smile when he saw Ben remembered him. "I'm doing very well! You've come to grace our club once more?"

"Indeed I have and I've brought along my friends," Ben said with a nod towards Hector and Mariana who looked star struck at Ben's treatment.

"Right this way then!" Damien smiled and led them back to the front doors. The two men guarding the door nodded to Damien and held the doors open for the group.

They made a quick stop at the coat check then Damien handed them off to their personal server, Mandy, who brought the group to their table in the reserved section. Hector and Mariana were delighted and took seats smiling at Ben as the others took theirs. The server handed Ben the menu for the bottle service options. Ben recalled the package they purchased last time and asked the others if that would be satisfactory tonight. They nodded happily. He gestured for Hector to put his wallet away and the man grinned at him.

Ben was once more fascinated by how they engineered the sound baffling system to allow the music to be so strong on the dancefloor but muted sufficiently in the seating area for conversation. He could still hear the music but it wasn't overpowering here.

The server left to get their initial drinks as a tall slim man approached the table.

Ben smiled and stood to shake the man's hand. "Stephane! I said I'd come back!"

"Ben! So delighted you did! I hear you just returned from rescuing young women in Australia!" the man said with a delighted grin.

Ben glanced to the others at his table and saw they were all looking at him in surprise. He sighed. "Uh yeah, I did find one who needed a little help."

"It's wonderful that you are keeping chivalry alive!" Stephane gushed.

"Please, I'm just doing what needs to be done because I can," Ben said humbly.

The man's smile couldn't get any wider. "Well I hope you have a wonderful time tonight at our club! Will you be visiting the Steam Room?"

Ben caught the excited looks on Karen's and Penny's faces and grinned at them. "Yes, some of my group didn't get a chance to enjoy the experience last time so I believe we will. My treat." The girls squealed with joy and the twins looked at Ben with heat in their eyes. He suddenly recalled their activities on their previous visit and his face flushed.

"Excellent! I'll let them know. Have a wonderful time and welcome back to the Asylum!" Stephane said as he moved away. Ben gave him a nod and smile.

"What's this about rescuing a woman in Australia?" Hector asked as his lady stared at Ben excitedly.

Ben just shrugged dismissively. "I just met a young woman who I discovered later had run away from home and had been pressed into working at a strip club. All I did was bring her with me to Sydney to get her home."

"You met her in a strip club?" Hector's eyebrows went up as he couldn't see Ben going to one.

"Yeah, the engineering team I'd gone to Melbourne to work with wanted to celebrate and took me out to dinner. Unfortunately the place turned out to be a seedy strip club. The guy running it was a real sleazebag. The food was good but the place itself was horrible. A number of the women had been forced into the business apparently," Ben grumbled.

"And this sleazebag just let you take this young woman with you?" Hector asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well... I can be very convincing when I need to be," Ben said with a small smile and a raised eyebrow as he squeezed his right fist with his left.

"Yeah baby! That's what I'm talkin' about!" Hector hooted as he high fived Jayden who was grinning widely as well. Ben just shook his head with a smile.

Mandy returned with the drinks and Ben's spring water was there too. A cheer went up when they saw the shots. Everyone raised a toast and slammed back their drinks. Ben smiled and shook his head as Karen and Penny gasped at the burning sensation. Frank and Jayden were trying to look cool but their eyes were watering a little too.

"Shall we dance?" Ben asked and got cheers again.

They made their way out onto the dancefloor and let the beat inside to move their bodies. Frank moved a little awkwardly at first but soon loosened up.

The music was so good they stayed on the dancefloor for almost an hour before they went back to the table for their second round of shots.

"Ben, would it be ok for us to throw a Halloween party at our place?" Penny asked hopefully.

"A costume party!" Karen added excitedly.

The twins picked up that excitement and begged Ben to say yes. He smiled at them then looked back at Penny. "Who's invited to the party?"

"Everyone!" Karen cheered.

Jayden took Karen's hand in his. "Maybe we should limit the first party to a manageable number to keep the expense down and make the clean-up reasonable."

Ben was pleased to hear Jayden's level headedness balancing out Karen's enthusiasm. They were a good match. Karen pouted but Jayden just kissed her and she smiled at him.

"I'm fine if you want to invite the neighbors and Dominic's crew and a few friends from school. We'll have to get decorations, food, and drinks for everyone. Determine how many people are going to be there and we'll order accordingly. Are you planning party games and dancing?"

"Party games?" Jayden snorted.

Ben looked at the twins who were smiling back at him. "Fine! I don't throw many parties! I'll leave the entertainment up to you youngsters!"

"Mr. Shepherd-" Frank began.

"Frank! Please, call me Ben! I feel old enough as it is!" he reminded him once more.

The young man ducked his head and gave him a guilty smile for forgetting once more. "Sorry... Ben. What's so special about this Steam Room?"

"Oh! That's just something you'll have to discover for yourself," Ben said shaking his head with a smile.

"Can we go now?" Karen asked with wide eyes.

Ben looked at the others and saw everyone was pretty excited about going. "Let's do it!" Karen and Penny rushed off with Jayden and Frank in hot pursuit. Hector and Mariana rushed after them. Ben grinned and stood to follow with the twins at his sides. They stopped a moment to let Mandy know they'd be back.

The girls and their dates made their way around the dance floor towards the specialty room and passed another section of tables. They saw four men sitting at one watching them approach. They'd obviously had a few drinks.

"Would you look at the fuckin' tits on those bitches!" one brayed to his buddies who were leering at Karen and Penny. A fourth man on the far side of the table was silent. He was much larger than his friends and watched the ladies with cold, hungry eyes. He slammed his drink back and licked his lips as they passed.

The girls instinctively reacted to the threat and reached for each other's hands. Jayden bristled and Frank watched the men with a scowl. Hector caught up with his friends and kept the group moving.

After they passed the big man stood and began to prowl after them. His companions grinned as they fell in behind him.

Ben and the twins were bringing up the rear and missed the interchange as he and the twins were watching the lightshow on the dance floor. When they reached the entrance for the Steam Room the others were already inside. Ben paid for the group and waved to the twins as he carried his little bag containing his white swimsuit and wrist band. He found a locker inside and quickly changed into the skimpy swimsuit. Sighing, he stuffed his clothes into the locker, locked it, and put the wrist band on. He pushed the door to step out into the dark and steamy atmosphere of the next room. His band vibrated and as he did last time he looked down at it.

This motion saved him from the full impact of the punch thrown at his face. The fist struck his forehead and he slammed back against the wall.

He looked up in time to see his assailant throw a punch with his left fist. Ben took the hit on his arm then grabbed the wrist and yanked him forward to drive his knee into the punk's chest with a deep thump. The man crumpled as the shock knocked the wind from his lungs. Ben stomped on his ankle to keep him down and heard the sharp snap of bones breaking. His assailant tried to scream but had no breath. In his street clothes he was very difficult to see in the dim room.

Ben looked around and spotted someone lying on his back on the floor. He rushed over and knelt down and saw it was Jayden. He was breathing but he was out cold. He'd probably been taken out by the man Ben put down. It was too dark to see any injuries.

Ben stood to move forward and dimly saw Frank holding his own against another man in the distance. They were in a grapple but Frank managed to land a few heavy punches to the man's torso. Frank looked like he had things in hand until a large man lunged in from the shadows to hammer his jaw. Frank went down hard but the big man just turned and slipped back into the shadows. The man who Frank had almost taken out kicked weakly at Frank until Ben grabbed his hair, yanked him backwards and slammed his head against the floor. He went still. Frank was moaning so he was coming around. Ben moved forward to follow the big man.

In the dim blue lighting Ben saw Hector trading blows with a third man. Ben knew the large one was just waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Then he heard Lisa scream.

It wasn't fear. It was rage!

Ben rushed towards the sound and saw Lisa and Lori standing between the big thug and his daughters who were huddled together against the wall trying to cover their exposed breasts with their arms. Lisa's lip was split and none of the women were wearing their bikini tops. Several ripped pieces of white fabric were scattered on the floor at their feet. The man was touching his cheek and Ben saw something dark on his fingers when he pulled them away. Roaring in anger the man lunged forward and backhanded Lisa, knocking her down. Lori was immediately on him, clawing at his face. Ben was almost on them when Lori came sailing through the air at him. She slammed into his chest and he carried her down onto the floor protecting her with his body. She was dazed but looked ok.

Agony stabbed through Ben's side as he was kicked in the ribs. He rolled as best he could and scrambled to his feet, blocking another kick with his forearm, catching a punch with his shoulder and taking a glancing blow off his temple. The man was incredibly strong and his fists felt like hammers. The last blow dazed him and he lunged forward to grapple with his attacker.

Crooked white teeth gleamed in the dark as the man stared him in the eye, grinning with a mad hatred. He spat in Ben's face and delivered a heavy blow to Ben's ribs causing him to suck in his breath.

The stench of whisky poured over Ben.

Two more punches landed as Ben struggled to clear his head.

"The bitch is mine."

The words echoed in Ben's head, getting louder and louder until it was all he heard. He was unaware that the words had come from inside.

Dark. Hot. Big fists hitting him again and again. The stench of stale cigarettes and whisky filling his senses. He glanced over the shoulder of the man he fought to see the crumpled body of...

"MARGARET!! NNNNNOOOOOO!!" Ben screamed and slammed his right fist against the ribcage of the man before him. Bones cracked.

"RRRRAAAAAAA!! Ben roared as his left crashed into the other side with a deep pop sound. The man's smile slipped from his face then exploded in a spray of blood and spit as Ben hammered his jaw from the right then the left in quick succession. The bones snapped out of their sockets as his jaw hung loose.

"BASTARD!" Ben surged forward as the man stumbled back and Ben's next punch landed directly in the center of his face snapping his head back, destroying his nose and cracking the nearby orbital bones. He began to fall backwards, limp as a rag doll.

Ben managed to hit him two more times on the way down in his exploding rage and leapt on him as the heavy body slammed to the floor. He raised his fists clenched together to deliver the final blow.

Two soft bodies hit him from the side, carrying him off the man he had to kill. He was tangled in the soft limbs of the... he needed... Margaret! Was she holding him? His mind spun and took him down into the dark.

Chapter 41

Ben woke up in a hospital bed.

His ribs hurt.

His arms hurt.

His hands hurt.

His head hurt.

He tried to lift his hands to his head and discovered he was strapped down to the bed. He flashed back to the previous time he was tied down and his body jolted violently causing the bed's frame to clang in complaint.

The door opened and a police officer looked inside at him. He looked back at the man in surprise. The door closed and moments later the door opened to admit Dr. Granger.

"Ben, how are you doing?"

"How did I get here?" he asked.

"What do you remember?" she asked and he frowned at her in annoyance.

"I- I went out to dinner with Lisa and Lori, Karen, Penny and their... dates." His memory was playing tricks with him. He saw a flash of Jayden and Frank lying on the floor.

"Then what did you do?" she asked.

He looked at her blankly then he smiled. "We went to the club! Right! We went danc-"

"Ben? Ben!"

"Sorry, what? You know, I'm kind of tired. Maybe I should sleep," he said uneasily.

"Sure, in a minute Ben. What happened next?"

Ben looked at Dr. Granger as he tried to put his scrambled memories together. Finally he just shook his head. Nothing made sense.

"OK Ben you can rest now. I'll speak to you in the morning."

"Why am I tied down? Can you take these off?"

She looked at him sympathetically. "Sorry, not tonight. You're safe. We'll talk in the morning. OK?"

He nodded slowly then closed his eyes. He let the fatigue take him away from the painful memories.

Dr. Granger walked back out into the hall and up to the officers who followed him to the hospital. "I'm sorry, Mr. Shepherd can't remember the fight at this moment and has fallen asleep once more."

"From the extensive bruising on his face it looked like he was struck in the head several times. Does he have brain trauma?" one of the policemen asked.

Dr. Granger smiled at the man's amateur diagnosis. "No, the cat scan showed no swelling or any damage worse than bruising. His ribs are badly bruised, he has a large assortment of other bruises on his body, his knuckles are cut, he aggravated a previous injury to one knuckle, but other than that he has no serious injuries. Is he being charged with anything?" the doctor asked.

"Did you see the man he was beating on?" the first officer asked. "He's a mess! He was in surgery the last we saw. His face looks like it was disassembled!"

"I understand Ben was attacked first and was defending the friends he was with," Granger expressed.

"That's true but there's self-defence then there's what he did to that man," the cop insisted.

"So you're questioning the severity of his response to the danger he and his friends were in due to this man and his gang's unprovoked attack," Dr. Granger said looking the men in the eye. "Do you realize two of Ben's friends are suffering from concussions? Ben himself took far more hits than any of the others and by the strongest of the attackers. These men were attempting to sexually assault the women in the group. Ben and his friends went to the club to dance and ended up fighting for their lives. I think there is plenty of evidence to suggest his response to the threat was not unreasonable."

"Aside from the one whose face was destroyed, a second man is in a coma from a fractured skull. What if he doesn't come out of his coma?" the second officer pushed.

"They were the ones responsible for their actions and the repercussions of them are on them as well," the doctor insisted.

The two officers looked at each other and nodded slowly with a shrug. They'd confirmed the four men had previous records, plenty of instances of assault, disorderly conduct, public drunkenness, and a history of violence. The big one with the destroyed face was actually on probation for sexual assault. If the doctor wasn't going to back their charges they had no interest in taking it to court. They thanked her and made their way to the elevators.

Once they left Dr. Granger let out a breath and leaned against the wall to stop her shaking. Then she pushed off and made her way to the elevator to go down to the ground floor and walked down the hall to a large waiting area. She took a deep breath then entered the crowded room. Faces turned in her direction. So many.

"He's asleep. Physically, he's fine. Just bruises. A lot of them. His ribs are going to hurt for a while." She braced herself for the next part. "Mentally, the story isn't as good. Ben's childhood trauma has resurfaced. It's blocking his current memories. I'm going to have to admit him for treatment." She waited for the protests, the angry comments but the room was largely silent.

The small Korean woman began to cry and the tattooed brunette held her close with her own tears flowing down her face. A tall, lovely brunette sitting next to them, who might be the woman Ben brought from Australia, looked utterly lost. Ben's daughters were holding each other as they cried. Standing next to them the white blond woman was clinging to a gorgeous brunette who was comforting her. Hannah was sitting with the redhead woman Dr. Granger was most afraid of as she was the one who'd almost attacked her before. Today the redhead was just leaning against Hanna's shoulder, a look of despair on her face. She looked up suddenly.

"You don't have him in the psyche ward do you?"

"No, no. He's upstairs on the sixth floor in a regular ward. Lots of nurses and doctors around." Dr. Granger assured her and relaxed when the redhead nodded and looked away.

The door opened behind the doctor and a young black man with a swollen cheek stepped inside. One of Ben's daughters, the blond one, rushed forward to take the young man in her arms. They hugged as the man whispered how sorry he was for not being there for her. She pushed him back and glared in his open eye. "You are not to blame for this!" the girl scolded her boyfriend who smiled at the fierce look on her face.

"How is Frank?" the other daughter asked the young man.

"I think he's ok. He may have a mild concussion and he's definitely got some bruises. Hector and Mariana are with him. Come on, let's go see him." The three left the room.

Dr. Granger saw the small Korean and the tattooed woman were holding the hands of the pretty brunette who wasn't looking so lost anymore. She was giving them a fragile smile.

"Hannah, could I speak with you?" Dr. Granger said and the hospital administrator nodded. She rubbed the redhead's back then stood to follow the doctor out into the hall.

"I'm going to begin Ben's hypnotherapy sessions tomorrow. Before his memories have a chance to submerge once more. I'm going to keep him in the hospital for the week and I'm going to use an intensive session schedule to free the memories. We have to clear this trauma before it hides away again," Dr. Granger said looking her boss in the eye.

Hannah understood what the doctor was telling her. Ben was in for a very rough week. She was going to have to keep the others away until the doctor was done.

"I can't say what I'm going to find in Ben's psyche or what changes may happen to his personality after freeing him of this trauma. I just know he can't continue as he currently is. He's becoming too dangerous." She stepped closer to Hannah to speak quietly. "The man Ben fought tonight isn't going to come out of his coma. Dr. Gillaume let me know the man's brain wave activity is minimal. The police were going to charge Ben but I managed to convince them his response to the threat to himself and his friends made his actions justifiable. I pray no one pushes on this." She looked worried. Hannah pulled her into a hug.

"Thank you!" she whispered fiercely then released the woman.

With a tight nod, the doctor left.

Sighing, Hannah walked back into the waiting room. Eyes looked up at her. "Ben's going to have to stay at the hospital for a week. We have to deal with his trauma now while it's resurfaced. It's not going to be easy for Ben to get through this. The best way to help him is by giving the doctor exclusive access to him over that week. You should all go home. I'll keep you in the loop as I get reports from Dr. Granger."

"I have to see the twins!" Trish said, surging to her feet.

Hannah nodded and looked to Catherine's fiancé who seemed to be the least traumatized person in the room. "Can you get everyone heading home?" she asked and got a nod in return.

Hannah took Trish's arm and walked with her to the ER where they found Lisa and Lori speaking to a police officer giving their statement. Lisa had a bruise on the left side of her face and a split lip but Lori looked uninjured. Hannah listened in nervously but the ladies made no mention of Ben's attempt to kill his attacker. They ended the story with Ben knocking him unconscious and them rushing to him as he passed out as well.

Apparently, Mariana had managed to escape and called the police. She was in the next room clinging to a bruised but happy Hector who was being interviewed by another officer. He was giving the same story the twins gave from his point of reference, when he'd been standing over the man he'd taken out.

Hannah sighed with relief. She left Trish waiting outside the curtain of the twin's cubicle and made her way over to Jayden and Ben's daughters who were standing next to the bed Frank was sitting up in.

"How are you doing Frank?" Hannah asked.

The young man was holding Penny's hand and smiling at her. "I'm doing ok. My head is ringing a little. The big guy sucker punched me. He hits really hard!" Penny leaned in and kissed his temple making him smile again.

Hannah smiled at him. "Did you give your statements to the police?" she asked the group.

"Yes, we spoke with them at the club. We were the first ones to be interviewed," Karen said.

"I was hit the moment I walked out of the change room so I didn't see anything," Jayden said, wincing.

"I was attacked a short distance from the change room and almost had the guy when I got hit. When I came to the guy I fought was on his back, out like a light. The room was spinning and I threw up," Frank said quietly.

Penny picked up the story from there. "Hector was attacked and managed to get Mariana out the exit to the next room before dealing with his opponent. That's when the big guy showed up and ripped our bikini tops off. He trapped us against the wall and was moving closer when Lisa leapt on his back and clawed his face. He spun and tossed her off but she managed to land on her feet. He lunged forward and ripped her and Lori's tops off and he leered at them as he moved closer. Then he noticed his face was bleeding. He got really scary after that and attacked Lisa. Lori jumped on him then Ben arrived."

They all shared a smile as they remembered the relief they felt when they saw him. Karen's smile fell away as she recalled the beating Ben took. "The man was so strong and he kept hitting Ben again and again! I thought Ben was going to fall but he suddenly started hitting back. So hard! I swear I could hear bones breaking!" She shivered with a little thrill.

"Can we see him?" Penny asked.

"Ben's going to be staying in the hospital for a little while so Dr. Granger can work out some things with him. He won't be having any visitors for at least a week," Hannah replied gently. Faces fell.

"Is he ok?" Jayden asked.

Hannah smiled at the young man. "He will be but we're all going to have to be patient."

They nodded sadly to her and she moved back to the twins. The officer was gone and Trish was speaking quietly with the two young ladies, likely filling them in on Ben's condition.

Lori moved closer to speak quietly to Hannah. "Who is Margaret?" she asked.

Hannah felt a jolt run through her body. So he'd been reliving the experience again. She'd have to inform Dr. Granger about this. She was grateful the twins hadn't shared this with the police. "Someone Ben knew a long, long time ago. Someone who meant a lot to him. Her death was very traumatic for him," she said equally quiet. The twins and Trish stared at her expectantly. "I'm sorry. I can't say more and I shouldn't have even shared that much." She looked around for ears listening in.

Trish suddenly stood and walked to stand directly in front of Hannah. She was trembling with impotent rage.

"I'm sorry," Hannah whispered.

Trish wrapped her arms around her friend and the tears burst forth. Hannah wrapped her own arms around Trish and held her tight as a few tears of her own slid silently down her cheeks. The twins held hands as they watched them sharing their grief.

When Trish seemed to be relaxed Lori made a noise to catch their attention. "Can we go home? We have work in the morning."

Trish nodded. "I'll take you home."

Hannah squeezed Trish's hand and watched her leave the room with the two lovely women.

She checked on Ben's daughters and Jayden once more and suggested they head home as well. Frank was staying in overnight for observation. Penny gave him a kiss then the three moved out of the ER to catch a cab home.

Hannah checked on the thug with a badly broken ankle. He was shackled to the bed and an officer was guarding him. Two of his buddies were in surgery and the third, the one Hector beat unconscious, had been taken to the precinct. She looked at the cop. "Did they say what the hell they were thinking trying to rape those women?"

The cop just frowned and shook his head in disgust.

"Hey! I didn't rape no one!" the man in the bed growled.

"No? You seemed to be preparing to," Hannah retorted.

"Nah, Pete just wanted to have a little fun with the bitches. You know, feel them up a little! They had huge titties! Pete likes big ones like that! If they liked it maybe they'd do something nice for Pete, ya know what I mean?" he said with a grin.

"What if they didn't like it?" Hannah asked and the man just shrugged.

"The ladies were with their boyfriends-"

"Just some punks! They ain't got nothing on us!" the man growled.

"Nothing except girlfriends apparently. Oh, and jobs, respect, and most importantly their freedom," Hannah pointed out.

"We got jobs! Good payin' ones too! Unionized! We're cargo handlers at the airport!" he bragged.

"Yet you go to clubs to beat up the patrons and sexually assault their dates?" Hannah asked in puzzlement.

"Hey! We was just havin' some fun! Blowin' off a little steam! Besides, bitches who look like that want it! That's why they get their tits all inflated like that!" he growled.

"Those two ladies were abducted as young teens overseas and their captor forced them to endure the operations to turn them into what you see today. They had no choice in the matter. That aside you're a fucking moron if you believe anyone wants to be sexually assaulted. I sincerely hope you discover that personally in prison," Hannah growled and walked away after nodding to the smiling officer.

Hannah walked back to the waiting room but saw everyone had left. She nodded and made her way back to her office. She locked her door, sat at her desk, and pulled a box of tissues from the bottom drawer.

Alone, finally, she released her tight control and her tears burst forth. She sobbed as her heart ached for Ben.

Chapter 42

Ben's bed was tilted up so he could easily see Dr. Granger as she sat in the chair next to his bed. She had a folder on her lap.

"How are you feeling this morning?" she asked.

He watched her as he shifted a little to get more comfortable. His restraints, a band across his chest and thighs, wrists and ankles secured to the bed meant he had little freedom to get comfortable in. "I would feel better if I wasn't strapped to my bed."

"We'll take care of those once we're sure you are safe," she said gently.

"Safe for others or from myself?" he asked and she just smiled at him.

"This morning we will begin the hypnotherapy sessions we spoke of earlier. We can no longer wait for a 'good time' to schedule them. Life made other plans but I'm confident we will be able to help you."

Dread filled Ben's stomach. He recalled their previous attempt and how disturbing the sessions had been. He remembered the horrible nightmares he'd had each night after the sessions.

"Ben, we will take care of you. You are safe and protected here. There is nothing to fear. No worries. All is calm and good."

In spite of himself he felt his body relaxing automatically at her words, her calm tone and gentle smile.

Dr. Granger took him through the exercises to reach a state where he felt himself rising above his mind, aware of his thoughts but disconnected from them. The room appeared a little lighter to him though the light was softer. He could hear the doctor's soothing voice above all else.

"Ben, how are you feeling right now."

"Good. I- I feel good."

"That's very good. We are going to talk a little and look at pictures, observe what's happening in them but only from the outside. They are merely images and can't touch us. Alright?"

"Yes, sure," he sighed.

"When you were twelve you were moved from a foster home you'd only spent three months in to a new home. Do you recall why you were moved?" Granger asked calmly.

Ben's mind could see the red brick house with the white window boxes. "The Morgans... they were nice. I thought I was going to be happy there but the house mom found out she was sick. Cancer. All the kids had to be moved. There were three of us."

"Yes, that was sad but you didn't have long to wait before you were taken in by another family."

Ben jolted against his restraints.

"All is good Ben. We're just floating above everything, nothing can touch us here. We can see the images and we can talk about them but they can't see or touch us in return."

Ben relaxed once more and Dr. Greyson turned to the next page in Ben's file.

"When you moved to the new home, was it nice?" she asked.

Ben nodded. "Yes, the home was lovely."

"Did you have your own bedroom?"

Ben's eyes widened in delight as he remembered the first time he was shown where he would be staying. "Yes! It was so much room and it was just for me!"

Dr. Granger gradually worked him through the environment he'd found himself in until she felt he was relaxed enough to begin addressing the next element. The foster parents.

"When you first met your new foster mother, what did you think?"

Ben trembled a little and she watched him closely for signs of distress.

"Mrs... Mrs. Cosburn was... she was... perfect."

"How was she perfect?"

Ben's expression showed his awe. "She moved with a grace I- I can't describe. The way she walked. The way she moved her hands. The way she tilted her head when she listened to you. It was mesmerizing! Her smile... it went right down to her soul. Many people smile and don't mean it. Her, you could see it in her eyes. It was real. She was real! She wouldn't tolerate lies."

Ben jolted again as a frown slipped over his face.

"All is good Ben. Rise above it. Float with my voice. We're safe here," she said calmly and Ben's expression gradually cleared. When she was sure he was back in his neutral state she began again.

"Your new foster fathe-"

Ben suddenly thrashed against his restraints, straining to get free. He gasped when his ribs protested and his eyes rolled back as he slumped back to the mattress, unconscious.

Dr. Granger stared at Ben in shock. She placed a sticky note in the docket indicating how far along she'd gotten and frowned as she thought she would have gotten a little further along.

She was going to avoid speaking about Walter Cosburn until she'd mined all of the information about his wife she could get from Ben's mind. Checking Ben's pulse she noted it was just a little rapid but he was gradually calming. She'd have to begin her next session this afternoon.

Dr. Granger stood by the window in Dr. Rao's office watching the night shift staff begin to make their way into the building. It had been a long day. She'd taken Ben through three sessions and each time she got a little further along before something would trigger Ben's aggression. She was going to have to restrict herself to only doing two sessions as they were draining for her as well as her patient.

"So he's reacting well to the hypnotherapy then?" Dr. Rao asked. He wasn't a big advocate for this method himself but he'd seen it used successfully.

"Yes. I can get him into the dissociative state and guide him along but there are some hair trigger land mines in there. Mention anything that leads to thoughts of the foster father and Ben's adrenaline surges. He overloads and out he goes. I can't risk that happening too many more times as the memories may submerge once more if they prove to be too painful.

"It's a fascinating case!" Dr. Rao said wistfully.

"You understand why he chose a female doctor now though, right?" she asked.

"Yes. I can't say I'm not disappointed but I get it," the man replied with a sigh. "So what's next?"

"Ben's clearly indicated that his 12 year old self had strong feelings for Mrs. Cosburn. She was nurturing and it sounds like she saw something in him as well. I'm hoping this isn't leading to some kind of sexual abuse," Dr. Granger said with a wince.

"It seems like it's almost a given in these circumstances," Rao replied.

"Could be... but I'm not getting that vibe from Ben. Tomorrow I want to expand on his relationship with the woman but very carefully."

Rao nodded. He just wished he could sit in on these sessions.

Ben was smiling at Hannah who was trying her best to feed him soup while he stroked her leg. She was leaning against the bed to bring the spoon to his mouth but this put her leg within reach of his hand which was still secured to the bed.

He was exhausted from the sessions he'd had today but he was also hungry.

"Ben! Stop that!" she growled at him as her hand wobbled above the bowl.

"Are you sure?" he asked as his fingertips caressed her hip.

"Y- yes! Please just let me feed you!" she begged.

He looked into her eyes and nodded pulling his hand back. "Sorry."

She nodded and fed him the remaining soup. Then she buttered the roll on his tray and fed him pieces of it by hand. He caught her fingers with his lips a few times and she felt a flush running up her neck. She caught the twinkle in his eyes and huffed at him, stuffing the remaining quarter of the roll into his mouth.

Ben grinned and finished off the mouthful.

"Drink?" he asked, batting his eyelashes at her. She snorted and put the straw between his lips so he could finish off his milk. He asked for water next to rinse out his mouth.

Once she put his tray away she sat on the edge of his bed and took his hand in hers. "I'm going to ask Dr. Granger when you'll be able to get these restraints off."

"I had them off today for a bit," Ben said.

Hannah looked at him in surprise. 'Really?"

"Between my second and third session with Dr. Granger two big orderlies came in and let me take a shower and use the toilet which was a real treat. They put me back into the restraints afterwards." He looked down at his hand in Hannah's. "I think I need them during the sessions." He was silent for a bit. "When I wake up my arms are sore and my ribs hurt. I don't know what I'm doing but... maybe the doctor is safer if I'm locked down."

"No Ben, maybe you are. I don't believe for a minute that you'd be a danger to Dr. Granger... or me," Hannah said firmly.

He just looked into her eyes for a moment then nodded. "You're probably right." He smiled. "Your hand feels good."

"So does yours," she replied with a smile.

"Have you heard from Tina or the others?" he asked.

"Only every five minutes."

Ben snorted at her weary tone. Suddenly his eyes began to well with tears. He missed his family. Knowing they were worried about him just made it harder not to see them. "When-"

"Not yet Ben. Doctor's orders. Soon," she said and he nodded shakily. "Get some rest. I'll see you in the morning."

"I love you, Hannah."

Her breath caught in her throat. She forced herself to breathe again. "I- I love you too Ben. Sweet dreams."

His eyes widened in worry as he suddenly remembered his dreams from the last time he'd had these sessions.

She leaned over his chest and kissed him tenderly before slipping off the bed and leaving his room before he could see the tears pooling in her own lashes.

Chapter 43

Dr. Granger sat in the chair next to Ben's bed and looked at her patient. The man looked exhausted. She'd gotten reports from the night shift that he'd had a bad night. He'd awoken screaming a number of times and it didn't look like he'd gotten much rest at all. She needed to accelerate her treatments as he wasn't going to be able to take many more of these sessions. Hopefully today she'd get to the core memories, the source of the issue. Perhaps his exhaustion would work in her favor. She hoped.

She began as she always did and drew Ben down into the relaxed state. She was pleased by how quickly it happened today. He seemed... ready.

"Ben, we are going to concentrate on some really happy memories today." Ben smiled and relaxed further. "We're going back to when you were twelve. You were doing well in your studies at school. You did very well in math and science. You were also happy in your new home. Let's talk about that..."

Ben carried the old canvas knapsack over one shoulder as he made his way home. His shoes were pinching again which meant he was still growing. In the past year he had shot up in height and width which put a strain on his clothes. He hated to be a burden on his foster parents and only let them know he needed new clothes when he could no longer fit into the ones he had. He was bigger than the other kids in his class which didn't help him fit in but he was used to that.

His homework was already done as he'd promised Margaret. This gave them more time to work together. He quickened his step, eager to get home. They only had until six thirty as that was when he got home and they had to be finished before that happened.

He remembered the first time he'd seen Margaret dance. It had been a few months earlier. He'd only been with them for three weeks, it was a Saturday, and he was doing chores around the house with her while her husband was at work. He had moved most of the living room furniture out into the dining room and hallways as she'd asked him to carry the heavy carpet outside to beat the dust out of it. Once the rug was out Ben had come inside to see her swirling around the large open space behind her broom. His breath caught as he'd never seen anything more beautiful. Every motion was pure grace and she flowed effortlessly around the room.

Margaret Cosburn was a petite and slim woman in her early sixties. While not classically beautiful she was pretty and wore her graying ebony hair in loose waves to just above her shoulders. Though she was only 5' 4", eyes were always drawn to her when she moved through a room.

When she became aware of her audience she paused and smiled at his look of awe and admiration.

"That... was beautiful, Mrs. Cosburn! I- I've never seen anyone dance like that before," he stammered.

She smiled at him and he soaked up that genuine happiness directed at him. "Do you dance?" she asked, her delicate accent lending her soft voice an exotic quality.

He looked back at her in shock. "No! I could never move like that! I'm too clumsy," he mumbled.

"Come here," she said lifting her hand to hold it out to him.

Ben felt his body moving forward, drawn to her hand, before he was aware of the decision to move. His jaw dropped in shock.

Her hazel eyes lit up as she smiled at him. "I think you can move very well when you allow your soul to control your body, not your mind."

"I don't know how to dance," Ben gasped.

"This is good. You have nothing to unlearn. A blank canvas is preferable," she said, tilting her head to him as she smiled gently.

She began to move in slow, simple steps and he felt drawn along after her like he was dandelion fluff to her summer breeze. He couldn't take his eyes off hers and he saw the joy born in them.

They moved from side to side and she increased the difficulty of the steps. When he'd look down towards his feet he'd falter and each time she'd tell him to look her in the eyes and he would just flow with her. When they finally finished, both were breathing hard though he'd never seen her happier. There was a sparkle in her eyes.

She nodded. "I can work with this!"

Ben blinked at her.

"I will teach you to dance!" she said with a wide smile.

"How did you learn to dance so beautifully!" he gasped.

"I was once Marguerite Durand, destined to be a star of the stage when I was a young woman in France. But that was a long time ago and a terrible little man in Germany destroyed that dream."

"World War II?" Ben said in surprise.

"Yes, I fled my beloved homeland before the troops arrived." Her expression became sad and Ben ached to return the smile to her face. "I could not afford to leave on my own so I married the man who is now my husband and joined him on the ship crossing the Atlantic." She tilted her head as she looked at him. "Many of my friends did not escape. I tried to find them but they are lost to me. I was lucky to survive."

"Did you dance on the stage here in the States?" Ben asked and her expression closed up. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have pried," he exclaimed.

"No, it is alright," she sighed. She touched his arm and Ben froze. "My husband would not let me dance for anyone but him. Now... he does not want me to dance at all. You must not tell him we were dancing!" she said holding his eyes with hers.

Ben nodded vigorously then he frowned. "Taking your dancing away is as cruel as stealing a bird's ability to fly. Your moves are... magic!" he gushed in wonder.

A joyous smile flashed across her face and Ben couldn't stop his own smile from erupting across his own.

"We will dance every day, you and I, as I have much to teach you. You follow my steps naturally but soon you will learn to lead. You must be ready to work hard when you get home after school," she said fixing her stare on him and he nodded quickly. She looked at the floor. "We must get rid of that awful carpet. Carrying it out every day is not practical."

She thought for a minute then walked into the kitchen. He followed her in and saw her pick up the coffee urn which still had the dregs at the bottom. He watched in confusion as she walked outside with it and stood by the carpet Ben had draped over their picnic table. He cried out in shock when she poured the coffee onto the carpet. Walter was going to be angry but she looked at Ben with both fear and rebellious joy warring in her expression.

Ben shuddered as he recalled the bruising on her arms and cheek the next day. But the carpet was gone. It was replaced with a cheap area rug which was much easier to roll up and stow out of the way. He got a lot of exercise over the following months, from carefully moving the furniture out of the living room and back afterwards as well as the dancing.

His muscles grew and hardened.

At the same time his love for the woman grew and filled his world. He was enraptured when she danced for him. Just when he thought he'd seen, and learned, the most gloriously graceful dance moves possible she would give him a coy smile and show him something new. The repertoire seemed endless! While she encouraged him strongly to excel in his lessons at school she was opening his eyes to entire worlds filled with different kinds of dance and music.

While Ben was falling in love with Margaret, she never kissed him and never touched him sexually. The dancing though, it was the most intimate connection Ben had ever made with another human being and he came to crave it.

Their daily practice was put in jeopardy when the Cosburns were asked to take in a second boy, Richard Fenn. Walter was becoming suspicious of how close his wife was becoming with Ben and agreed to accept Richard as he felt a second boy in the house would keep his wife busy and split her time between them.

Ben quickly discovered Richard had a craving of his own. Fire. He'd been moved from his last home because he'd set a fire in the foster parent's bedroom. Ben immediately confiscated Richard's stash of matches and the lighter he kept in his pocket. Richard tried to stop him but Ben was much stronger than the ten year old. He didn't beat up the younger boy but he did sit on him and search his pockets.

To ensure the house was safe Ben informed Margaret of Richard's compulsion which had been omitted from his report. They set out to eliminate all sources of fire Richard might use in the house.

Walter walked in while they were digging through the kitchen cabinets looking for stray books of matches. They had a small tin on the counter they were going to keep them in. They froze as he glared at them.

"What the fuck are you two doing with the matches?" he growled low in his chest.

Ben smelled the liquor and realized Walter had been drinking. He had to avoid saying the wrong thing, which could be almost anything. He didn't dare look at Margaret. "Just making sure we put them in a safe place," he said cautiously.

Walters bloodshot eyes passed between the two of them then he frowned. "Where's the new kid?"

"He's upstairs," Margaret said.

"Why isn't he helping collect them?" Walter asked.

The question threw Ben as he didn't know Walter didn't like seeing them together. He was so rattled his response came out before he thought it through. "Richard isn't allowed to have matches."

Once Ben heard his words his face dropped as Walter's suspicion became anger.

"The little fucker's a fire bug?!? I'm stopping that right now!" Walter spun to leave the kitchen.

Margaret started to speak but Walter shot an angry look at her and pointed his big thick finger at her. Her voice died in her throat.

Ben felt sick as he was the reason Richard was going to be beaten. He raced after Walter and leapt in front of the man as he towered over the small boy.

"Please Mr. Cosburn! He's just a kid! He won't do anything! You don't have to do this!" Ben begged.

Walter didn't like Ben. He was getting too smart for his own good. He was right about one thing though. Richard was very small. One hit might kill the boy. Ben looked like he was made of much sturdier stuff.

"He needs to see what will happen to him if I catch him playing with fire in MY HOUSE!" Walter growled with an evil grin.

That night Ben got his first beating from the big machinist. Walter hit him with his big fists instead of Richard as the smaller boy watched in horror. The punches only stopped landing when Ben finally could no longer raise his arms to protect himself.

Richard listened to Ben moan in their shared bedroom for hours until exhaustion took them both out.

From that day on Richard was Ben's constant companion. Once his bruises healed enough to let him move freely Ben sat Richard down and told him he owed Ben one favor for taking that beating. His silence regarding the dancing lessons Ben was getting after school. Richard watched them dance when they got home and Ben helped him with his homework afterwards. Life returned to normal and settled into a comfortable pattern.

His secret desire was to protect Margaret so Ben began working out at school and his muscles continued to get larger and harder. Luckily this didn't affect his dancing except to improve his stamina.

Margaret blossomed now that she was able to truly express herself and she'd found a partner who could keep up with her and was beginning to match her grace of movement.

Ben began to anticipate her moves when they moved to the music. Each time he did, a blissful elation would shine from her eyes, filling Ben's heart with the purest love he'd ever experienced.

When Walter was home Margaret remained vigilant to hide her happiness as he was becoming suspicious once more.

Margaret had a special treat for Ben one day when he and Richard got home. The younger boy had a lot of homework so he went up to their room to start.

After he moved the furniture and rolled the carpet up and tucked it out of the way she put on a new record. She had a lot of old records but Ben had never heard this one before.

The smooth voice of Nat King Cole began singing 'When I Fall in Love" and he looked into Margaret's eyes as she smiled lovingly into his.

"This is our song and it always will be," she said as she guided him out onto the floor. There was a roaring in his ears as they glided effortlessly around the room, swaying and dipping to the song as the lyrics etched themselves deeply into Ben's mind. This was their song.

Outside, parked across the street, Walter sat in his car smoking with the windows down in the late afternoon heat. He watched the couple pass by the gap in the curtains. They were dancing. He could just make out the song playing and his knuckles went white as he squeezed the steering wheel with his big hands. He started the car and slowly pulled away from the curb. He needed a drink.

The next morning Ben and Richard got ready for school while Margaret paced nervously in the kitchen. Walter hadn't come home last night and he hadn't called. Finally they had to leave or they'd be late for school. Ben touched her arm and she almost turned to embrace him but stopped herself. She nodded and shooed him out with a brittle smile.

School was tough for Ben as he couldn't concentrate. Just before the final bell for the day Ben was called down to the principal's office. When he got there he found Richard was already there. He had a black eye.

"What happened?" Ben exclaimed.

"What does it look like? Richard got into a fight!" the principal barked.

Ben looked at the man like he'd grown horns.

"What?" the man growled belligerently.

"Richard isn't a fighter. Someone obviously hit him but he'd never start a fight," Ben tried to explain but the sour look on the man's face said his words were falling on deaf ears.

"Of course you'd defend him. You're both Foster delinquents!" the man snorted.

Ben looked at him in shock. "That's not fair! We're good kids! We get good grades!"

"And you talk back to your elders. Shut up and sit down there while I decide what to do with you! I'm of a mind to kick you both out!" the man pointed to the chairs outside his office.

Ben sat next to Richard and tried to get him to speak but he wouldn't even look at him.

They sat and waited. And waited. Ben kept an eye on the clock and began to get worried. They still had a long way to go home and it would be getting dark soon.

He heard a noise behind him and the principal's door pushed open. The man looked at them in surprise.

"God dammit! You're still here? Go home! I'll deal with you two in the morning!" he yelled.

Ben smelled the stale cigarettes on the principal's breath and clothes as he pulled Richard to his feet and got him moving down the hall to the exit. When they got outside they saw the sun was only a short distance from the horizon.

"We have to move fast. It's going to be dark soon," he said and pushed Richard into a slow run.

Block after block they ran and Richard was tiring out. Finally he began to cry. Ben stopped at a bench next to a bus stop and let Richard slump down.

"What's going on with you Rich?" Ben asked.

"I'm so sorry!" the boy bawled.

"Sorry for getting hit?"

"No. For telling Mr. Cosburn about you and Mrs. Cosburn dancing."

Ben froze. "When? When did you tell him?"

"He- he came to the school and called me over to him at lunch in the school yard." Richard sobbed.

"What did you tell him?" Ben said with dread in his heart.

"He asked how long you two were dancing... I said a long time. Then he hit me. I'm so sorry." Richard cried then yelped as Ben yanked him by the arm to his feet.

Ben began to run, pulling Richard along behind him, the boy barely managing to keep his feet under him. They ran the remaining distance and when they arrived heaving for breath they saw the house was dark.

Walter's car was in the drive but parked crookedly.

There was one light on in the backyard. The small light on the shed was casting odd shadows across the back patio. Ben released his grip on Richard and walked slowly into the back yard. He heard Richard slip in the side door and run down the stairs into the basement but he put that out of his mind as he saw the red glow of a cigarette in the darkness of the backyard and it was moving closer.

Ben walked out onto the patio and Walter came closer, cigarette in one hand and whisky bottle in the other. He brought the cigarette to his mouth and inhaled slowly. For the briefest moment the glowing embers lit his face, dimly, but enough to see his cold eyes. He slowly exhaled the smoke in Ben's direction then knocked back the last mouthful of whisky, tossing the bottle to the side to smash on the patio stones. Ben flinched and Walter snorted quietly.

Walter stepped closer and the weak light from the shed lit his edges from behind. The man's big hands caught Ben's attention first. The knuckles looked bruised and cut. His hands were... bloody.

Ben couldn't talk. His throat was closing up. He was terrified of what he'd find inside the house.

Then he saw a shadow on the ground behind the picnic table. His mind wasn't understanding what he was looking at but he couldn't look away.

Walter stopped moving and glanced back at what Ben was fixated on. He chuckled deep in his chest as he turned to face Ben once more.

"The bitch is mine."

That's when Ben realized the shape on the ground was the broken body of the woman he loved. He found his voice.

"NNNNOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

Walter smiled and met the boy's charge head on but he wasn't expecting the strength behind the rabbit punches to his gut as Ben slammed into him. He took a couple to the kidneys before he roared and hit back with a big and bloody fist.

Ben went down but he got right back up and charged again, face distorted with his rage.

The big machinist's next sweeping punch just grazed Ben's cheek as he ducked and slammed his own fists into the ribs of the brute in front of him. He heard the man suck in a sharp breath and grinned that he caused him pain.

Walter's next punch didn't miss and Ben's head rang as he staggered back. Another fist came out of the darkness and stars exploded across Ben's mind.

Richard slipped back outside having made his preparations in the basement. He clutched a heavy pipe wrench in his small hands. He watched Walter pounding on Ben and froze in terror. Then Ben's fist shot out and thudded against the man's nose causing a spray of blood. Richard jolted free of his terror and stepped closer.

Walter shook his head to clear the buzzing and blocked Ben's next punch. He smiled. He was going to enjoy taking this punk down. He slammed his fist into the boy's gut and heard the wind gush from his lungs. He readied his next punch when he heard a sharp clanging to his left. As he dropped Ben to the patio stones he looked back to see the smaller brat pounding on the barbeque with one of his wrenches.

"Stop that you little shit!" Walter boomed.

Richard looked up in fear then scuttled back into the shadows of the house.

Walter would take care of him after he finished-

He rocked back when Ben's fist caught him on the right ear, dazing him. He snapped his eyes back to the boy whose left eye was swollen shut and he was bleeding from his lip and nose. But his eyes were filled with hate. Walter knew that emotion well. He blocked Ben's next punch and hit the boy in the chest with his left sending him tumbling to land on his back.

The sound of shattering glass was followed by that nasty clanging sound again. Walter spun to see Richard stepping out of the shadows with the wrench in his hands. There was an odd noise behind the boy Walter didn't recognize but he was going to take care of the little punk right now! He stalked closer and when the boy swung the wrench at him he pulled it from his grip and tossed it over his shoulder as he backhanded the kid. Richard flew backwards to slam against the house and fall in a pile.

Walter heard footsteps running towards him and spun to see the wrench swung at his head. He tried to duck but the heavy tool caught the edge of his temple and he went down hard. Again and again the wrench slammed down on his arms as he blocked the blows. He finally grabbed Ben's arms and rolled to pound the boy against the patio stones, the wrench bouncing free. He climbed to his feet and lifted Ben high above him and threw him.

Ben crashed down on the picnic table and bounced off, sailing over the broken body of Margaret to hit the patio and rolled into the in-ground pool.

"ASSHOLE!"

Walter spun to see Richard's legs sticking out of the shadows as he leaned back against the house.

"You FUCKING ASSHOLE!" the boy's shrill voice called out.

The big man stepped closer. It was time to shut him up.

"You're dead," Richard said and giggled nervously.

Walter watched the small boy raise the lighter he'd stolen from the principal's desk in a shaky hand and roll the wheel. His eyes widened as his drunk brain finally recognized the hissing sound.

The blast wave ripped outwards, crushing everything in its path. It flattened the ripples on the pool as Ben struggled to swim back up to the surface of the water. He saw a bright flash wash over the water next.

The roaring flames and intense heat consumed anything the blast wave hadn't crushed and debris from the house's explosion rained down on everything.

Gasping Ben clawed for the edge of the pool. He winced as at least two of the fingers on his left hand were broken. He heaved himself out of the pool and flopped onto the scorched patio stones. He tried to get his breath but his ribs hurt so much. Everything hurt.

He rolled onto his side and froze as he saw her. Margaret. She was gone. No, she was dead. He closed his eyes as pain stabbed through his heart. He looked again and saw the final indignity. Her clothes were burning. Ben wobbled to his knees and scooped pool water out to splash the fire out. Then he gathered her up in his arms, so small, so delicate. He was shocked someone so small could have contained so much life, beauty, and love.

Ben looked around and suddenly realized the house was gone. He spotted... a piece of Richard. Looking away he saw the broken and burnt body of the cruel bastard who killed his Margaret.

His Margaret. She couldn't be gone. Not this way. Not because of him. Ben screamed at the torturous pain ripping through his heart. He screamed until his throat stopped making noise. He sagged and cried over her small body, deep wrenching but silent sobs until he just stopped as the realization sank in.

The thought just came to him. A terrible truth.

Everyone he loved... left him. Of course Margaret was dead. It was him. It had to be.

The truth was too awful to absorb. He did this! This beautiful life had been extinguished because of him. He didn't deserve to be loved.

The firemen found him there, kneeling with the woman's burnt body in his arms as he stared out at nothing. They gently moved his arms to release her, then guided him away to the ambulance. The paramedics splinted his fingers after setting them but Ben was beyond feeling the pain. He looked without seeing, didn't hear their questions, and went where they put him.

Numb was better. He didn't want to feel the pain any more.

Chapter 44

Dr. Rao leaned back in his chair and took off his glasses to wipe his eyes. He cleared his throat to clear the tightness. "You said he was twelve?"

Dr. Granger had cried her tears when she was alone but felt her eyes prickle after disclosing the story to her colleague. Ben had been wide open during their morning session and she'd managed to get his account of the events leading up to the fateful night so many years ago with very little mental disturbance on Ben's part. She looked at Dr. Rao and nodded.

"How old was Walter Cosburn?" he asked, unable to shake the image of the young man taking on the older man.

"He was 65 but a big bruiser," Granger said.

"Shit." He tapped his fingers against his chin as he thought. "Still it as remarkable Ben was able to open up so completely in the session!"

"His exhaustion from the previous night's poor sleep may have helped weaken his resistance. He was in a highly receptive state. I was able to plant some suggestions for tomorrow's session. Now that I know the root cause of the issue I can begin to work on counters for his misconceptions."

"I'm uncomfortable with the rapidity of your approach. This is something that normally takes months if not years to resolve," Dr. Rao said with trepidation.

"I'm not looking to cure him overnight. I'm just looking to defuse the time bomb in his psyche so he can build the tools to deal with his issue straight on. The memories cannot remain suppressed and he needs to be able to cope with them when they are exposed. When we last tried hypnotherapy we used a slower schedule and his subconscious resistance to the process built every day and caused him to develop a very antagonistic personality shift. We were just lucky this went away when he stopped the sessions. He reverted to his normal, friendly personality," she explained.

He looked at her and nodded he understood.

She felt a little better about that. She wanted to fill Hannah in on the fact that they'd had a breakthrough today. Her boss could use a little good news.

Hannah was sitting in the living room at Ben's place with a large group of neighbors. She was still trying to get used to the new addition. Ben collected strays too easily. This one, Gretchen, was very pretty but seemed more than a little lost and shaky without Ben. Tina and Lucy were doing their best to calm her but Hannah could see she was unraveling. She'd have to talk to Dr. Granger about when she could begin sessions with the woman. Maybe she could get the woman some visiting time with Ben? Unlikely.

"Tina, how are you doing?" she asked.

"We are worried for Ben but we are doing our best to remain brave and hopeful for a full recovery," she said and Hannah knew her words were for Gretchen's benefit too. She nodded to the small woman.

"Have you heard anything?" Trish asked anxiously.

Hannah bit her tongue before snapping at her friend. Of course if she'd had any information she would have shared it immediately. Trish knew that. She took a breath and opened her mouth to say it when her cell rang. The room went silent as she pulled it out. "It's Dr. Granger!"

"Hello!" she said and listened to the woman's report. The news was good. Remarkably good! She grinned and she felt the others leaning forward. "Thank you so much Dr. Granger! That is wonderful news! I'll speak with you tomorrow! Thank you again for calling!" She hung up.

"Well?" Trish gasped.

Hannah sighed. "Very good news! Dr. Granger had a breakthrough with Ben today. She had three sessions with him yesterday which wore them both out. Ben had a very bad night sleep due to severe nightmares-"

"Geezus! Where's the fucking good news in this?" Trish interrupted.

"Trish! Hush! I'm getting to it!" Hannah said in exasperation. The others glared at the redhead and she hushed as directed.

"Likely due to his fatigue, Dr. Granger was able to draw the complete story of the events surrounding his repressed memories! She now knows what is causing them!"

"What? What is it?" Trish asked.

"Trish! She can't tell us that! Patient / Doctor Confidentiality!" Hannah barked.

"What does this breakthrough mean?" Tina asked.

Hannah turned to her. "It means because she knows what is causing the mental breaks she knows how to treat them! She'll begin tomorrow!"

Catherine and Chanel had happy tears in their eyes and Cat's parent's looked relieved as well.

Beth was grinning at Hannah widely.

Karen and Penny hugged their boyfriends and the twins hugged Trish. There were a lot of smiles in the room after this news.

"When will we be able to see him?" Gretchen asked nervously.

Hannah had been expecting this question and wasn't surprised who asked it. "I will speak with Dr. Granger after her session with Ben tomorrow to get an update on that. We have to be prepared to give her a little time," Hannah warned them. Gretchen was trembling and Tina and Lucy's comforting no longer appeared to be helping.

Hannah sighed tiredly. Truthfully she was exhausted as she hadn't slept well since Ben had been admitted to her hospital.

"I'm going home to get some much needed sleep. I think everyone should do the same," Hannah instructed and received nods from the group.

Everyone stood and hugged then made their way home.

Lucy closed and locked the door as the last guest left. She looked back at Tina and Gretchen and sagged with relief and exhaustion. "Hannah is right. We need to get to bed. I have school tomorrow."

Tina nodded and began moving towards the master bedroom.

Lucy followed and looked back at Gretchen who was still standing in the hall. "Gretchen? Come to bed." The woman had shared Ben's bed with them since he'd gone into the hospital.

"I'm not tired so I will stay up a little and use my tablet to read the Internet," the tall brunette replied. "I will come to bed shortly.

Lucy smiled at her comment about 'reading the Internet' and nodded. She turned and followed Tina down the hall.

Gretchen went to the living room and sat on the couch with her tablet. She poked around the websites Lucy had shown her as she kept an eye on the light under the master bedroom door. The moment the light went out, she used the search engine page Lucy had shown her to find a local cab company. She found the number and used the living room phone to order a cab.

She knew Tina left her purse in the kitchen so she walked into the room and took the cash from the wallet. The bank card was there but she didn't know the PIN code.

Taking a look down the hall she saw the light was still off so she slipped to the front door and put on her coat and boots. She used the spare keys on the hook to lock the door behind herself and ran down the driveway as the taxi pulled around the loop.

"Western Mercy Hospital," she said to the driver and he got them on their way.

The drive wasn't long and she sighed with relief as she saw she had enough cash to pay the man. She gave him a bill large enough to cover it and left him the rest as a tip as she exited the taxi. She knew the floor Ben was on but she had to somehow get past the nurse's station. She made her way into the stairwell and climbed up to his floor. Peeking out the door she saw there was very little traffic in the hall. She waited for the last nurse to return to the station then she slipped out into the hall after taking her boots off. She carried them down the hall, listening for the nurses as she began checking the rooms in her search for Ben. The first three weren't his but on the fourth she heard his voice so she slipped inside, closing the door behind her and listened.

The room was dimly lit and she heard Ben talking in his sleep. Not more than mumbles but the sounds he was making were unsettling. She rushed across the room and dropped her boots on the floor and dumped her coat on the chair in the corner. She quickly stripped off her clothes and left them on the chair as well.

She pulled back the sheet and climbed up on the bed pulling the sheet back over her as she snuggled in beside him. She felt his large body begin to relax as she trembled against him, her head resting on his chest by his right shoulder.

Ben's breathing slowed and he rubbed his face against the top of her head.

Gretchen relaxed for the first time in three days. Exhaustion dragged her under but she was content.

Hannah was an early riser and prepared breakfast for her son after she got herself ready for work. She wanted to get in early so she left him a note on the kitchen table with some hugs and kisses all over it and headed out to her car. She drove to the hospital and headed up to see Ben. She stopped at the nurse's station to get a report. She saw the head nurse was Solange, one of their stars, and smiled. She smiled and nodded to the two other nurses at the station.

"Good morning Solange! How was the patient in 652? I understand he had a hard time the previous night," she said.

Solange smiled at her boss. The staff were all well aware of the administrator's interest in this particular patient. "Good morning! He had a much better night last night. Early on he was restless but in subsequent checks he was sleeping like a baby. I was about to go check on him again."

"That's ok, I'll do it," Hannah said and turned to head down the hall, missing the smiles the nurses traded with each other. They were happy their boss was happy as that made for a much sweeter environment for them.

Hannah made her way down the hall and gently pushed Ben's door open. Solange was right, Ben was sleeping like a baby. The morning sun was lighting up the window blinds so she could see there was something odd about the sheets on Ben as she walked closer. Then she noticed the black hair poking out from under the sheet.

She froze in shock. "Oh my god!" she gasped aloud and the two occupants of the bed jolted awake.

Gretchen froze and didn't move but Ben was suddenly aware that he wasn't alone on the bed. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and looked over at Hannah.

"What? Who?" he began as Hannah stepped up to the bed and grabbed the sheet. She yanked it down then immediately yanked it back up as she saw Gretchen was naked. She left the woman's face exposed.

"Gretchen! What are you doing here?!?" Hannah barked.

"I had to be with him," the woman whimpered.

"It's not-" Hannah began when her cell began to vibrate. She looked at the phone in annoyance and checked to see who it was. Tina. Ah.

"Yes, Tina," she answered.

"We cannot find Gretchen!" the woman blurted in panic.

"Not to worry. I found her. She's with Ben. She snuck in sometime last night."

"WHAT?!?" Tina cried into the phone.

"It was a surprise to me this morning as well. I just found her. Listen, I'll call you back," Hannah said and hung up. She turned back to Gretchen who was watching her with nervous eyes.

"You can't be here. Ben needs to heal. This isn't helping him!" Hannah growled and Gretchen clung tighter to Ben.

"Hannah, please. Let me talk to her. Could we have a moment?" Ben finally said.

The administrator gave Ben a frustrated look then headed out into the hall. She stormed back to the nurse's station and saw Dr. Granger was speaking to Solange. Both had smiles on their faces which quickly disappeared when they saw the anger on hers.

"What happened?" Dr. Granger asked but Hannah's eyes were fixed on Solange.

"How did a grown woman get past all of you last night to get into Ben's room!" she growled.

"What?" the doctor exclaimed. Solange just looked at her boss in shock.

Hannah turned to the doctor. "That woman Ben brought back with him from Australia. The one who needs... special care? She got..." Hannah stopped as she realized just what this woman had to do to get to Ben. "She somehow got from Ben's to the hospital and somehow found his room. How did she even know which floor he was on?" Hannah asked in bewilderment.

The doctor nodded. "I said what floor he was on when I addressed the group when he came in. But I never said which room. What was she doing in his room?"

Hannah glared at the nurses. "She's been sleeping in his bed with him, naked!"

The nurses broke into inappropriate giggles which just made Hannah scowl harder. The giggles tapered off quickly.

"I need to get her to leave!" the doctor said as she began to go to Ben's room.

Hannah snagged Granger's sleeve as she pinched the bridge of her own nose in aggravation. "Wait. Ben asked to speak with her in private first. You need to do something for this woman after you help Ben."

"Dr. Rao would be a better fit for her I think," the doctor said and Hannah nodded.

They looked down the hall and hoped the woman hadn't set Ben's healing back.

Ben waited for Hannah to leave the room and for the door to close before he looked down at Gretchen. She was lying against his side with her right arm flung across his chest as she clung to him.

"Gretchen dear. Look at me," he said gently.

Dark eyes looked up at him from under her bangs. She was worried he might be angry.

"How did you get here?" he asked.

"I took a taxi."

Ben was seriously impressed and concerned at the same time. The desperation she must have felt to push her to venture out on her own must have been extreme. Still, there was an issue he needed to address. "You had money?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I- I took money from Tina's purse," she admitted quietly.

Ben sighed as he held her eyes.

"You need to apologize to Tina for doing that. That was very wrong."

Her fear surfaced. "I'm sorry! I'll never do it again! I just- I needed to see you!"

"I know. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you but you can see I'm in a hospital. You can see I'm in restraints. I need to be here. They are helping me get better."

"I can help! I can be here with you to help you!" she gasped as she pressed her body against his.

Ben struggled to keep himself from reacting but his body wasn't listening to reason when there was all this soft, sexy woman to enjoy. Luckily, she hadn't noticed... yet.

"That isn't my decision and it isn't yours. The doctor decides. I need you to be patient. Dr. Granger will let us know when I should have visitors." Ben said as he tried to ignore how incredibly good she felt rubbing against him. Her face was becoming a little flushed and he began to get worried Hannah was going to come back to see this.

Then she discovered his reaction to her. Her right hand had been wandering and it bumped into the large ridge he was making under his hospital gown. Her fingers ran along the entire length of his erection and wide eyes looked up at him.

"Oh!" she chirped.

"You shouldn't do that here," Ben began but her hand slipped under his gown to stroke his skin directly and his eyes closed in bliss.

She was suddenly moving and his eyes flew wide as she threw her leg over his body. She'd pushed his gown up and was grinding her wet pussy up and down his length.

"Gretchen, stop!"

She lifted his cock and forced herself down on it. The head pushed inside and she dropped herself on his cock, driving it deep inside her.

Ben's voice failed him as the sensation was too good after enduring so much pain and stress in the last few days. He only managed to gasp and throw his head back against his pillow.

Gretchen was in heaven. Ben was inside her! She'd wanted this so much but he hadn't taken her as she needed him to. She felt so good but she was frightened at her own boldness. It was driven by her desperate need for him but she was sure he would punish her for not listening to him. This just drove her desperation and fear higher which made her need for him go off the rails. She raised herself up drawing his wonderfully thick cock out to the head then drove herself down on it again. She threw her own head back in bliss. It felt too good!

Ben opened his eyes to see the beautiful woman riding him and words failed him once more. She looked absolutely radiant as she moved up and down on him. He strained his arms trying to touch her but she was in total control. He knew he could tell her to stop. If he yelled at her, scolded her for being disrespectful, he might break through her desperation but he didn't know what damage that might do. It was a moot point anyway as he still couldn't speak from the intense sensations coursing through his body.

Gretchen moved faster and faster as her orgasm raced up at her. She opened her eyes and looked at Ben and saw he was enjoying this too. Happiness flooded through her body as she saw she was pleasing him. She moved faster and his eyes closed. Her hips were twisting and bouncing on Ben's body as his cock filled her again and again. She began to gasp aloud as she was losing control of her pleasure.

Ben was right there. He gasped as he felt the ripples of Gretchen's release begin to pulse against his shaft. It was going to be a huge one!

Their patience at an end Hannah and Dr. Granger walked down the hall to Ben's room with Solange following. The nurse had to prepare Ben for the day. She'd called the orderlies to assist Ben with his morning constitution.

They heard an odd mechanical squeaking noise as they approached so Hannah rushed forward, pushing through the door with the doctor and nurse right behind her. She froze and the two following her collided with her back to gape at the woman shaking through what appeared to be a huge orgasm as she rode Ben's cock. The woman fell forward to drape her body over Ben causing his cock to pull free and bounce back to slap against her ass. Ben was still coming and sprayed her back with two more surges as she ground her body against his.

"BEN!" Hannah barked in outrage.

He jolted but his restraints were still holding him tight. Gretchen lifted and turned her head to look at the new arrivals and Ben was just able to see them through the curtain of Gretchen's hair. He groaned in embarrassment.

Solange moved around the others briskly and turned to face the two ladies. "It's a spill, I've got this. Please wait in the hall until I've cleaned the patient."

Hannah and Dr. Granger blinked at her in surprise then backed out of the room as the nurse closed the door.

Solange grabbed a towel from the bathroom and moved to the bed. Efficiently she cleaned Gretchen's back and ass then gestured for her to move off of Ben.

"Go use the shower," Solange said and Gretchen looked to Ben uneasily.

Ben nodded and she picked up her clothes to take into the bathroom with her.

Once she was gone Solange cleaned Ben up with the towel and squeezed his cock to get the last of his cum in the towel. She then pulled the gown down to cover him up.

"Ready for company?" she asked patting his chest and he nodded, his face aflame.

The nurse smiled and dropped the towel in the bin as she went to open the door again.

Hannah stormed in and Dr. Granger followed at a slower pace.

"You said you wanted to talk to her, not fuck her!" Hannah hissed.

Ben scowled and yanked at his restraints making the bed clang. "Hey! I'm not exactly the one in control here!" he barked back.

"She's your Submissive! She'll do whatever you tell her to!" Hannah returned.

"Except stop," he growled.

Solange looked to Dr. Granger in surprise and the woman just nodded with a shrug.

"You- you told her to stop?" Hannah asked, the anger quickly dissipating.

"Of course I did!" he said. "Look, I'm not condoning what she just did but she's a long way from home, amongst strangers and the one she bonded to was taken from her. She was desperate. The fact that she made it all the way here on her own... that's incredible! I'm- I'm actually really proud of her-" He stopped as he spotted her watching him from the bathroom door. Her face was lit up with a smile.

"I'm less thrilled about being taken for a ride while being tied down to a hospital bed but it beats being stabbed," he said. Her smile dimmed but impishly returned when he didn't scold her further.

"Ben we need to begin our next session soon. Gretchen needs to go home," Dr. Granger said.

"No! I can help!" Gretchen began.

"Gretchen! Come here," Ben said sternly. She rushed over to his side and took his hand in hers. She looked in his eyes and he saw her anxiety was right there under the surface. "The best way you can help me is to go to my house and follow Tina's instructions. She's the head of my household. You will respect her wishes if you want to stay with me. Is that understood?" He waited for her to nod, her eyes wide and locked on his. "I will come home soon and we will be together then. Until then I want you to be good! Understood?" She nodded again. "You also need to apologize to Tina and Lucy." Another nod.

"Hannah, could you arrange to get Gretchen to my home?" Ben asked.

"Sure. Come on Gretchen. I'll take you home myself," she said.

"Thank you Hannah!" Ben said and she nodded to him as she guided the woman out the door. Gretchen made a final glance back in case he changed his mind.

Two large burly men arrived and Ben looked at Dr. Granger with a pained expression. "You know I'm not going to try to make a run for it. Could we leave the restraints off between the sessions? I get having them on during the sessions as controlling my movements while I'm under makes sense but I'm here to stay until you say I can go."

Dr. Granger looked at him. "I suppose you could have asked Gretchen to undo your bindings."

Ben nodded to her.

"OK, but they do go on during our sessions," she said and he nodded. She waved off the orderlies who paused to smile at Solange then left.

The nurse undid Ben's restraints and handed him a fresh hospital gown as he made his way to the shower. She changed the sheets on his bed while he showered and when he came back out and got back onto the bed, she helped the doctor put the restraints back in place. She winked at Ben when Dr. Granger had her back turned and made her way out of the room, enjoying the image of his blushing face.

She had a story the girls back at the station were going to love!

Chapter 45

It wasn't until Friday that Dr. Granger felt Ben had made sufficient progress to be allowed to go home. He was by no means cured but she was now able to take him through the memories without a violent reaction. She'd 'defused the time bomb' as she'd promised. Ben still had a difficult time with the pain the memories of Margaret Cosburn brought him but his mind no longer 'shut down' to protect him. He knew he had many more sessions with the doctor before he'd be considered 'cured'.

Due to his hospitalization there hadn't been a Halloween party and Ben was sorry for that. He wished they'd gone ahead and had one but apparently that was 'a very silly idea' according to Tina and Lucy.

He'd missed Lucy's appointment with Tina's obstetrician where it was confirmed she was carrying Ben's child. Many happy tears had been shed when she returned from her appointment and told the others. Ben felt sad at having missed that moment. Lucy just hugged him and said there will be plenty of other amazing moments to share.

He'd also missed the appointment with the fertility clinic but Tina told him she'd rescheduled it for the following week. Gretchen grinned excitedly when he smiled at her about that.

Ben spent his first day at home just catching up on a deluge of messages he'd received from Don Blake, Bryan Crane, Bill Freeny, Walter Greyson, and Jerry Taggart.

He dealt with Jerry first who just wanted to tell him the trusts had been set up and he was waiting on Ben to give him the go ahead to send out the notification letters to the trust recipients. Ben thanked him and let him know he was working on completing the business deal and would get back to him shortly.

Next he called Walter who spent the first ten minutes thanking him for introducing him to Daphne. They were getting along very well. When they finally got back to business Walter told him about the mountain of paperwork the government required to be filled out and submitted for doing business with them. He would have to drop by to get signatures from Ben. He let Walter know he was home now and he could drop by any time for him to sign the papers. Maybe closer to the end of the day so a certain woman would be finished working at the daycare. Walter chuckled at that.

The man also said that First Lieutenant Kendricks was expecting a call from him and gave him the number. Ben thanked him and hung up. He decided to call Australia first.

Don Blake answered on the first ring. "Ben! Geezus man, where did you go?"

"Sorry Don. I had a little medical emergency and I had to go off the grid for a week. All is good now though," he explained.

"Oh! Sorry to hear that but bloody glad you're back. My team has been going nuts inventing new ways to use your filter but we need your green light! Our marketing people are in a frenzy too!" the man exclaimed.

Ben laughed. "That's great! Listen I have to call First Lieutenant Kendrick from the US Army to get some clarity on some threats Colonel Hargrave made regarding my patent application-"

"WHAT?" Don squeaked.

"Let's not panic until I've spoken with the man. The last message I had from him through my lawyer was that Hargrave's threats should be ignored but I want to hear this from Kendricks directly. I will call you back momentarily. Alright?"

"Oh! Sure. I'll be here. On pins and needles!" Don complained.

"Hang in there," Ben said with a smile and hung up.

He called the number for Kendricks and went through a number of operators before he finally heard the man's voice.

"Kendricks."

"Hi, it's Ben Shepherd."

"Mr. Shepherd! Glad you called!" the man said happily.

"Please call me Ben."

"Great, then you can call me David. I wanted to ask if you were ready to try logging into our tech board? Are you calling about that?" he asked.

"Not yet. I just wanted to get confirmation that Colonel Hargrave hasn't jeopardized or hampered my patent application."

"Oh! No, not at all. I had it expedited in fact. The Colonel has... retired. I've been promoted to Captain and have been assigned his duties at OASA(ALT)"

"Wow! Congratulations!" Ben exclaimed.

"Thanks!"

"Thank you for expediting that patent application!" Ben said.

"Like I said, we're interested in the filter and definitely interested in doing business with you! You have some people here very excited about what you might bring to the table. We did some research, found your account on the engineering boards. You've done a lot of excellent work!"

"Thanks! I just like solving puzzles," Ben admitted.

"Well we have some doozies!" David laughed. "Can I send you the connection details? You mentioned you have military grade VPN and security?"

"Yes, sure. Send it along."

"When you attempt to connect the system will audit the link and if it passes you will get in. A courier will deliver the info package early next week," Kendricks explained.

"Sounds good! I'm going to let Don Blake know he can contact you to get the ball rolling. He'll have all the specs for the filter and I'm going to be calling our manufacturer to have him build the samples."

"Who's your manufacturer?" Kendricks asked.

"Sturn Manufacturing in Austin, Texas," Ben replied.

"Ah! Domestic skills! That makes life easier for us. I was a little concerned when I heard your sales and marketing was through Australia." David said.

"They have a good bunch of people over there at Blake Uranium and as they were the ones who brought me the puzzle to solve it just seemed fair to let them have a piece of the business. For manufacturing though, I prefer to keep that business domestic," Ben explained.

"Excellent! Well, I look forward to hearing from Don or one of his team and seeing a physical demonstration of the filter." Kendricks said.

"Thanks again!" Ben said and hung up. He dialed Don immediately and again he answered on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi Don, it's Ben. We are a go. Contact Captain David Kendricks of OASA(ALT) and give him your sales pitch."

"FANTASTIC! Oh that's just the best news Ben!" Don cheered.

Ben smiled at his enthusiasm. "I'm going to courier the specs to Bryan and Bill Freeny who's the head of our manufacturer so he can prep for production. Please let Bryan know it's on its way. If Bryan and his team want to get started on those alternate uses that's a go as well."

"Thank you Ben! This news made my year!" Don exclaimed happily.

"Looking forward to doing business with you," Ben said. They said their goodbyes and Ben called Bill.

"Ben! I was wondering what happened to you!" the man said.

"Yeah, I had a little medical issue but it's good now. I'm about to courier the manufacturing specs of the filter to you and Blake Enterprises in Australia. They will get in touch with you with some alternate designs they came up with."

"Are we in business?" Bill asked.

"Yes. Definite interest from the US Army. I had a good call with a Captain Kendricks this morning. You might get a visit as he wants to see a physical example of the filter," Ben explained.

"That's wonderful! Our team is almost desperate to see this new device! If they come up with some ideas for it-"

"Have them contact the sales and marketing team at Blake Enterprises. The engineers at Blake are doing the same. You may want to have both teams get together for a little meeting of minds. Just to make sure everyone is clear, Bryan Crane is lead on this as his team got first dibs."

Bill chuckled. "I hear you. We will play nice with the other engineers! And thanks again Ben!"

His calls all complete Ben relaxed back in his chair and looked across to see Gretchen and Tina watching him with big smiles on their faces. "What?"

"It is exciting to watch you do business!" Tina said and Gretchen nodded gleefully.

"That- that was just some phone calls to connect the people who really do business," Ben scoffed.

"People who would not be doing this new business without you," Tina reminded him and he shrugged.

"When is your doctor's appointment?" Ben asked to change the topic.

She raised an eyebrow at him for his avoidance. "2PM."

He checked the clock. It was only 11AM. He felt restless. He looked out the window and saw blue skies. He knew it was cold but he decided to go for a walk.

"I'm going to get some air. Walk around the neighborhood. I've been cooped up inside too long. Would you like to join me?" he asked Gretchen.

"Too cold! I will keep Tina company instead," she said cheekily.

Ben saw she was obviously feeling much more at ease now that he was home. "Fine! More fresh air for me!"

She grinned at him as he got up and went to the front door to get his jacket and boots. When he got outside he zipped his jacket all the way up and tucked his hands into his pockets as there was a real bite in the air. He set off down the driveway and turned left.

As he passed Gabriella's house he felt a little pang in his chest as he thought of her. She was working so hard to make Brezza a success in Europe and he was so proud of her. He was especially excited that she was opening up the North American market as he hoped that would give her more opportunities to visit.

He continued on, passing Beth's place to stop and admire the finished product of his renovations for his girls. His girls. He snorted but admitted to himself that it felt good to think of them that way. He smiled self-consciously and moved on.

He thought he heard the laughter of children as he paused before Daphne's. He didn't want to distract the kids at the day care so he moved on. He saw Lily walking towards him as he reached Trish's house.

"Good morning Mr. Shepherd!" she said with a shy smile.

"Lily, please call me Ben! You're home early!" Ben said with a smile.

"My profs cancelled their lectures this afternoon so I got to leave early. How are you feeling? I heard you were in the hospital."

Ben squirmed a little. "Yeah I had an issue that needed addressing but I'm a lot better now thanks!"

The young woman glanced at the house. "Do you have a moment? I- I made something for you that... I've been meaning to give to you for some time. There hasn't been a good time to do it, you're so busy... but now seems like a good time," she said as her face got redder and redder.

"No problem. Sure, I have a little time," Ben agreed.

"Perfect! I mean good!" she grinned shakily and Ben wondered if she was alright. She seemed so... nervous.

He followed her up the drive and waited just inside the door as Lily scampered upstairs to her bedroom. Ben listened for Trish as he knew she worked from home but he didn't want to distract her from her work.

Lily returned with something deep blue and folded in her hands. It was a knit sweater. He suddenly had a flash to a memory of her sitting in her mother's old living room knitting this.

Ben grinned widely as she handed the sweater to him. "You finished it! I remember you working on this!"

She gave him a surprised smile and pushed her hair back behind one ear. "I hope you like it! I had to guess at the size.

He took off his coat and pulled the sweater over his head and arms. It was maybe just a little tight but not uncomfortably so. He looked down at himself and smiled. "It's really great! Thank you so much!"

She blushed as her eyes roamed over his chest and arms accentuated by the deep blue fabric. "You look really great in it!" she gushed then hid her mouth with her hands in embarrassment. Her face looked like it might ignite.

He smiled at her. "Thank you and thank you again for the sweater. It was really sweet of you to knit this for me."

"GOD DAMN IT! FUCKING MACHINE!"

Ben looked up the stairs. That was unmistakably Trish.

Lily looked a little concerned.

"What's wrong?" Ben asked her.

"Trish has been really moody this week. I heard her crying a few nights back. I think she was worked up over you being in the hospital but she wouldn't talk to me about it."

"Could you excuse me for a minute?" he said to Lily and headed upstairs.

He found Trish in the small bedroom she used as an office. He closed the door behind him.

"OH! Geezus Ben! You scared me walking in like-MMMMPH!"

Ben took three steps and pulled her into his arms to kiss her deeply. She was surprised at first but soon she had her arms and legs wrapped around him and she was kissing back feverishly. Her passion was a thin disguise for her desperation as tears began falling down her cheeks.

Maintaining their kiss, Ben carried her into her bedroom and kicked the door closed. He carried her onto her bed and laid her down on the mattress with his body above hers, careful not to put too much pressure on her. He pulled back from the kiss and gently took her face between his hands to wipe her tears away with his thumbs.

"Hey, what are these tears for?" he said gently.

"Tears of joy?" she said meekly.

"I don't think so. Come on. Talk to me."

She sniffed a few times as her eyes searched his face. "I- I felt- it was so frustrating and frightening that I couldn't do anything for you!" she finally gushed and her tears began again.

"Shhh, it's ok! I'm better now. Not healed but far better able to cope with it. What really helps is knowing I have people who love me and want to be there for me. I can't begin to tell you how much that means to me! That's my bedrock. And I love you!"

She looked deep into his eyes and took an enormous amount of comfort in his conviction. He truly did love her.

Trish slipped her fingers into his hair and gently pulled his face down to hers so she could kiss him again but now the fear and desperation had been replaced with love and desire. She slid her tongue into his mouth and he sucked on it, making her moan and press her body against his. She felt his cock begin to swell and tingles shot through her body as she broke the kiss to gasp from the sensation.

"Oh fuck, Ben! Your cock feels so good against me!" she moaned as her hips rocked under his body.

Ben applied more pressure to her mound and she gasped as her eyes shot wide.

"FUCK! Oh god, fuck me Ben! I need you inside me! Now!" Trish begged as she tugged at his sweater.

"Hey! Careful with my new sweater! It's a present from Lily and it's MINE!" he finished with emphasis to let her know he wasn't giving this one away.

She chuckled but she was still tugging so Ben pushed himself up to his knees and pulled the sweater up and over his head carefully. He felt Trish yanking his belt undone and undoing his pants eagerly.

He pulled his shirt up and over his head and Trish's hands stilled while she looked up at his powerful chest.

"Mmmm! You are eminently fuckable!" Trish sighed.

Ben looked down at her in surprise and saw her giving him a dreamy look. He snorted and pulled her up to grab the hem of her top to yank it up and over her head. He struggled just a bit to get it around her big tits. She giggled at his grunt of effort as she reached back to pop the clasp on her bra. That giggle turned into a happy sigh of relief when he took the straps and pulled the bra off releasing her large, if fake, fleshy orbs.

He took them in his hands and gave them a firm squeeze, tugging on her nipples roughly. She gasped and cooed as she loved how he handled them. The dreamy look was gone and hot lust was showing in her eyes now. She pushed his pants and boxers down and smiled happily when his hard cock bounced free. She seized it with both hands and took the fat head into her mouth as Ben gasped. He struggled to push his pants down below his knees as he knelt on the mattress with Trish's head leaning against his stomach.

Trish was sighing in bliss as she felt his cock throbbing in her mouth. He was so fucking hard and she needed him inside her so much.

She finally flopped back on the mattress and pushed her yoga pants and panties down. Ben seized them and lifted her legs up to pull her clothing off. He tossed them aside and grabbed her legs behind her knees and pushed them back to her chest as her ass came up off the bed.

Ben's tongue went deep into her wet pussy and Trish cried out in bliss as her body stiffened from the unexpected surge of pleasure. He kissed, licked and sucked at her pussy until she was almost catatonic from the overload of bliss. He brought her legs back to rest on his shoulders and ran his heavy cock up and down her wet pussy lips. He pushed two fingers into her and wiped the juices along the top of his cock.

"Fuck! Oh Geezus! Fuck me! Ben, stick your cock deep- AHHHHH!"

Ben's first thrust went deep and Trish's eyes rolled back. He didn't give her any respite as he drew out to the tip and slammed it deep once more.

"AHHHHHH! FFFFUUUUUCCCCKKKKK!!" she screamed as she clung to him.

His body slammed into hers again and again and Trish's cries grew weaker as she got closer to her release. She tugged and pinched her nipples roughly as her mouth worked to express her silent screams.

Ben was getting closer. He was always surprised by how quickly Trish got him excited but he thought he might have mistimed this one as... yes, Trish was already tipping over the edge into her orgasm. He dropped his body down over hers to grind himself against her clit.

"FFFUUHHH! FFFUUUUUUUHHHH!! AAAAAAHHHHHH!!" Trish wailed as her nerves exploded into nirvana carrying her mind high into the heavens.

Ben felt her squeezing his cock all the way down its length but he was still far from his release. Just bad timing.

He watched Trish's eyes slowly refocus on his face. She smiled and stretched then stopped as tingles shot through her body.

"OOooo! Just a little sensitive there. Fuck you're big!" She paused as she felt him throb inside her. "...Are you still hard? You didn't cum!" she finished with a squeak as Ben pulled his cock from her.

"Sorry, I timed that poorly," Ben said with a smirk.

"What am I going to do with you?" she said with an exasperated smile.

He just shrugged and grinned back at her.

"Well we can't leave you in this state!" she said as she reached down and gave him a stroke.

Ben jolted and looked at her with heat in his eyes.

Keeping her hand on his cock to maintain his erection Trish looked him in the eye. "Do you recall when Tina broke her leg and I brought you here to work off the stress?"

"Yes but we're not calling the twins away from the daycare for this. It will go away!" Ben scowled.

"I'm not finished talking so hush. No, after you had your fun with Lisa and Lori you bumped into Lily in the hall," she said and the image of the young woman's flushed face appeared in his mind. There wasn't any question about what she'd been doing. She'd fled upstairs and Trish said she'd talk to her about it.

"Right... oof!" He gasped as Trish pushed him over onto his back on the bed. She rolled off the bed and stood gingerly, looking back at him with a grin and a wince.

Ben pushed himself up on his elbows with a puzzled expression to watch Trish tiptoe across the room to the door. She yanked it open and grabbed Lily's arm, dragging her into the room, shutting the door behind her.

Ben and Lily both gasped in surprise as he was completely naked and her pants and panties were down around her ankles. From the juices running down the insides of her thighs she'd obviously been touching herself again.

Lily's eyes locked on Ben's cock and she moaned softly as Trish guided her closer to the bed.

"Lily here told me she's more than a little attracted to you but she's crippled by shyness. She's never had a boyfriend but would like to find one if she could just get past her fears," Trish said gently as she moved the hesitant young woman closer.

Trish looked Ben in the eye. "Would you help Lily get past her shyness?" she asked earnestly.

Ben stared at Trish in shock as the two women reached the foot of the bed. It was only then that he realized he was still completely naked. His body was definitely appreciating the sight of these lovely women. Ben's mouth worked silently as Trish tugged Lily's top up and off though she made a token effort to resist. He didn't stop himself from admiring her pretty lace bra and her small perfect breasts which emerged when Trish undid the clasp and tugged it away.

Ben looked into Lily's eyes as Trish gently nudged her onto her knees on the bed. Her fear of rejection was plain to see as well as the embarrassed flush on her chest, neck, and face.

He finally found his voice. "Lily, you're beautiful! Are you sure this is what you want?"

His voice came out rougher and deeper than he expected and caused Trish to freeze and watch him carefully. He nodded to her and she stepped back from the bed to gather up her robe and slip from the room.

Ben looked at Lily and saw she was torn. Her eyes were devouring his body ravenously but her flight response was struggling to take control. She hadn't answered him yet.

"Lily? Do you want to be with me? You're so very lovely, you could have your pick of much better partners. You don't have to settle for me."

Her eyes snapped to his. "Settle?!?" she said, her voice cracking under her stress.

"Yes, settle. You're so young and beautiful. I'm old and scarred."

"You're not old. You're experienced!" she managed to force out.

He snorted gently not wanting to frighten her off. "You haven't been with anyone before?"

She shook her head, two quick movements as her eyes returned to his body.

Ben was uncomfortable about having sex with yet another daughter of a neighbor, another twenty something but he couldn't turn away from her need to break through her shyness. He knew Trish had presented the request to him like this as she knew he'd be unable to refuse. Her ability to push him outside of his comfort zone was becoming legendary.

He saw Lily was keeping her hands close to her body. Maybe she had an aversion to touching? He could ease her mind about that.

"Maybe we should just take it really slow. Start at the beginning. The basics." He held up his hand with his palm facing her. "Place your hand against mine."

She reached out tentatively and her small hand rested against his lightly. He saw her eyelids quaver a little so he guessed he was correct about her difficulty with touching.

He slid his fingers between hers and just caressed them lightly as she sucked in a breath. He kept up the caress until she seemed to calm. "Now, I'm going to lie back and I'd like you to feel free to touch my body. For now, avoid touching my privates. Just get used to the difference of touching someone else's skin. Sorry, mine is so scarred."

"You're scars are... really sexy," she said quietly with wide eyes as she passed them over his torso. While he'd said for her to avoid his groin her first tentative touch was on his lower abdomen where the three bullet hole scars were. Her touch was feather light and tickling.

"Please press a little harder as that tickles. I won't break," he said with a smile.

Her eyes looked up to his then back down to her fingers tracing the evidence of his gunshot wounds. Her fingers moved up to trace the various knife wounds then splayed out to feel the thick muscles of his chest. Her fingers pressed firmly against his pecs and he flexed them a little under her grip. She was breathing harder now and smiled at the feel of his muscles moving under her hands.

She ran her hands down his arms and squeezed his biceps as she grinned at her boldness. Ben just let her continue, familiarizing herself with his body. Her touching was keeping him excited down there. When she ran her fingers down his hard stomach muscles his cock jumped and she squeaked.

"Oh! Did- did I cause that?" she gasped as she stared at his thick cock as it gently bobbed above his stomach.

"Yes, your touch feels very good," he sighed and she grinned happily.

"May I touch it now?" she asked quietly.

Ben looked at her and she seemed ready. "Yes. One word of caution. If you are going to handle them be gentle with my balls. They don't like tugging or squeezing."

She nodded with wide eyes. Then she wrapped her fingers around his cock, holding it with both hands pointing towards the ceiling.

"Oh... oh god... it's so hot... and hard... and big!" Lily said, her body shaking in reaction.

"Easy... it's just a part of me. Like my arm or my leg."

"I've never held one before!" she squealed as her trembling began to settle.

Ben looked at her excited expression. "Well, now you have. That feels really nice too."

She looked at him in surprise. "It does?"

"Yes. If you slide your hands up and down, not squeezing quite so tight, it will feel even better," he suggested.

Watching her hands closely she stroked up and down and Ben made appreciative noises which boosted her confidence. Her current skill wasn't going to bring him a release but he certainly wasn't going soft in her hands.

"May I touch you?" he asked.

Her eyes went to his and she nervously nodded.

"Ok, you'll have to let go first," he said with a grin and she reluctantly pulled her hands back. Ben moved to kneel before her.

"Can we start with a hug?" he asked and she nodded with a relieved smile. They faced each other on their knees and moved their bodies together. Lily gasped as she hadn't expected a hug to feel so good. But she'd never hugged anyone while naked before. She trembled as she could feel Ben's hot cock trapped between them and then his hands were on her back and her tits were pressing against his chest and her head began to spin from the overload of sensation. She moaned.

"That feels pretty good, doesn't it," Ben said gently.

"Oh yes..." she sighed.

Ben pulled back a little and gently took her face between his hands and kissed her. The first kiss wasn't more than a light caress of his lips against hers. The second was a light nibble across her lower lip with his as he trailed his fingers down her neck. She gasped and pressed her mouth to his more firmly and the tip of her tongue lightly touched his lips. Ben's cock throbbed against her stomach and she moaned as she felt that. Her next kiss was much more aggressive and Ben's tongue had company in his mouth. His hands slid down to her ass and squeezed the firm muscles there making her squeak and crush her body against his.

When they pulled back from their kisses she was breathing in gulps and keeping her body pressed hard against Ben's cock as if it might escape.

"That felt... really good for my first kiss!" she sighed.

"May I make you feel even better?" he asked with a smile.

She looked into his eyes and nodded.

Ben laid her down on the mattress and kissed her one more time but this time he controlled the pace. He moved his mouth to her neck, down to her tits which he gave plenty of attention to until she was thrashing under him. Down her torso he went as she tried to catch her breath. When he began to lavish attention on her pussy with his tongue and lips her body went into convulsions as she came again and again in a cascade of small releases.

He moved back up her body and rubbed his cock across her clit and she clutched at him. "Oh please! Please put it in! I've wanted it for so long!"

"I'm a little big if you've never had sex-"

"I have a toy... it's big, like you. I got it in case... one day," she confessed and her face went a delightful shade of red.

"Oh, well... let's hope you got the size right," Ben said awkwardly. He wasn't sure how he should have reacted to the news that she was using a fake cock to pretend it was him.

He pressed forward and his cock sank inside four inches before she clamped down on him.

"Oooo Oh Oh Oh!" Lily moaned.

"Something wrong? Am I hurting you?" Ben asked in concern.

"No! No... it just... feels nothing like the toy," Lily gasped out.

"Ah. Yes, this one is real," Ben chuckled. "Ready for more?"

"More?!" Lily's eyes flashed wide to look at him in shock.

Ben looked at her and wondered what she'd been doing with that toy. "Yes, there's more... unless it hurts or you don't want more."

"More, please," she said nervously.

Ben nodded and slowly pulled out to the head Lily grabbed his arms and clung to him as her eyes fluttered closed.

"fuck fuck fuck oh fuckity fuck fuck..." she whimpered quietly.

"You ok?" he asked gently.

"Yes! There's just so much more sensation with a real one," she sighed.

Ben didn't know about that but it felt pretty damn good to him too. He pushed forward and gained another inch then two. She was becoming much tighter.

"Oh my god! Good!" she cried.

Ben smiled and began again driving deeper still.

Her fingernails were beginning to dig into his arms as she cried out.

"Lily? Could you retract your claws please?" he teased and she squeaked apologetically, moving her hands to the sheets which she took a grip on.

"Should I stop?"

"NO! NO, god NO!" she cried.

Ben was enjoying the pressure on his cock but he was worried it was becoming too much for the woman as she was trembling constantly.

"Are you sure?"

"FUCK ME!" she growled.

Ben's eyes widened and he grinned down at her as her expression flashed to deep embarrassment at her outburst.

"Ok but don't say I didn't warn you," he smirked. She nodded meekly.

His next thrust went all the way, his body slapping against her clit. Lily's legs wrapped around his ass and held him there, grinding against her, as her body shook violently.

When her legs finally loosened Ben pulled back and began to fuck her as she requested. It felt amazing and Lily was thrashing under him with her eyes tightly shut and her mouth open in a silent scream.

Ben was really close but after two miracle pregnancies the thought of another hit him like a splash of cold water.

"Lily? Are you on the pill?" he asked.

"Wha- no," she managed before her head slammed back on the mattress.

He couldn't tell if she was close as she was in constant motion under him.

"Are you close?" he asked.

"It's happening now... it's still happening! Oh my god fuck!" she squealed at the end and that was all for Ben as she clamped down extra tight on his cock.

"I'm cumming! I'm pulling out!" Ben growled and slowly withdrew from her body. She reached down between their bodies and grabbed his cock, stroking it and he erupted. Sprays of cum flew up onto her tits and stomach as she watched in amazement, still stroking him.

Ben pushed back until he was resting on his knees. Lily's hands went to the cum on her body and she smeared it around in fascination. He watched her pick up some and rub it between her fingers. Her eyes went to his and she sucked the fingers into her mouth. Her eyes widened.

"Salty."

Ben smiled at her and nodded. He rested back on his heels to give her a few moments to come down from her orgasm. She smiled up at him shyly.

"Let's get you cleaned up," he said and held out a hand to her. He guided them off the bed and into Trish's bathroom, stepping into the big shower stall. Lily was watching with wide eyes. The idea of taking a shower with someone was foreign to her but she was willing to try it ... with him.

Ben got the water going and he washed her body and shampooed her hair as she purred under his strong hands. When he rinsed her off he gave her butt a gentle pat and she opened her eyes.

"Out you go. Dry off while I cleanup," he said.

"Can't I return the favor?" she asked.

"No, because you'll get me going again and I think it's too soon for you to do it again," he explained.

She was feeling a little sore so she just nodded and moved out to grab a towel.

He quickly washed and rinsed and shut off the shower. He stood in the doorway dripping and Lily stopped what she was doing to just admire his naked wet body.

"Could I have a towel?" he finally asked.

"Oh!" she squeaked as she realized she was standing in front of the towels. She grabbed one and handed it to him.

She finished drying herself as she watched him rub the towel over his muscles. She found it highly erotic but he was right. It was too soon for another round. She trembled a little recalling how good it felt. The toy was never going to compare with this experience.

"Are you feeling a little more confident now? It wasn't so scary to be with a man, was it?" he asked, hoping she was over her shyness.

"You made me really comfortable. Thank you Ben."

"It was really good for me as well. I'm glad you've gotten past your shyness. You'll have no trouble with finding a boyfriend. Finding one worthy of you... we'll see." Ben said with a smile.

"Would... would it be out of the question for us... to do this again, sometime?" Lily asked hopefully, looking up into his eyes.

Ben looked at her in surprise.

"Not as my boyfriend! Just as friends... really good friends," Lily clarified.

He felt a little better now that he knew she wasn't asking him to start a relationship with her but he was still hung up on the casual sex aspect. He knew himself too well.

"When my confidence takes a hit and I need a refresher?" she blurted a little desperately as she saw Ben's discomfort. She'd overheard enough of Trish's conversations to know what might work.

Ben thought about that. "Therapeutic sex?"

Lily grinned widely. "Yes! Exactly that!" she said in relief.

He recalled how that had worked for Beth and realized he could do that. He nodded carefully. "I truly don't believe you'll need it. You are so lovely. You are a very smart woman. You also have a very sweet, delightful personality. You're the whole package! Finding a partner who wants all this is the easy part. Finding one worthy is where the work will be." He moved closer and gently took her chin in his fingers to look her straight in the eye. "You do not settle for anyone who doesn't appreciate you properly. Anyone hurts you? They deal with me!"

She trembled as she smiled up at him. He dipped down and gave her a quick kiss and sparks shot down to her toes.

"Now, off you go. I have to see what Trish was yelling about when I got here," Ben said with a smile and she grinned as she moved out into the bedroom to gather up her clothes and head off to her own room. Ben got dressed and made his way back to Trish's office. She was staring at her computer in annoyance which was running some kind of diagnostic.

He leaned over and kissed her tenderly and her frown disappeared.

"What seems to be the trouble?" he asked when they parted.

"Mmmm, I like your tech support house calls!" she teased.

"Very funny. Really, what's wrong?"

She sighed. "I can't open the file I received from a customer. It was their original ad campaign but the document has too many layers for my antiquated system to cope with. I uninstalled a number of apps to see if I could free up enough memory but something went wrong and I've been dealing with crashes all morning. I've gotten nothing done!" she griped.

"How old is your computer?" he asked.

"John bought it for me ten years ago," she sighed.

"Then it's given you ten good years. It's done its service and it's time to upgrade!" Ben said with a grin.

She looked up at him in shock. She began to frown.

"Don't argue with me!" He glanced at the time. "You are coming with us to Tina's doctor's appointment and afterwards we will stop by the shop to outfit you with a new system. All the fun tools to make your work easier and more profitable!" he said with a grin. "Go get dressed!"

Trish popped up to her feet and flung her arms around Ben. She kissed him passionately then rushed off to put some clothes on as he tingled madly.

Ben headed back downstairs and looked at himself in the mirror by the front door. The deep blue sweater did look good on him and he smiled. He heard something and turned to see Lily smiling at him from the stairs.

"I love my new sweater!" he said.

"I'm so glad! I think you look very handsome in it!" she returned.

Trish came down the stairs and Ben saw she was wearing the red knit sweater she got from him over black yoga pants. She grinned at him as she caught the look of recognition on his face. They put on their coats and waved to Lily as they headed out.

As they walked back to his place Ben snorted.

"What?" she asked.

"My original plan was to go for a walk around the block but I only made it as far as your place! I just wanted to get some air."

"Instead you got some tail instead!" she laughed.

He raised his eyebrow at her. "Very funny."

"I thought so!" she grinned happily, hugging his arm.

They went inside and stood in the foyer, slipping off their boots to carry them. Ben grabbed Tina's coat and boots as well. They moved to the entrance of the living room and saw Tina and Gretchen using their tablets on the couch.

"Tina? Are you ready?"

"I am so ready to be rid of this cast!" she sighed and smiled at them.

"Trish is coming with us as we're going to stop on the way back to pick up a new computer for her."

Gretchen popped up and went to Ben for a kiss. He gave her one and she smiled happily as she moved around him to get her own coat and boots.

Tina followed them to the door to the garage where Ben helped her with her boots and Trish helped her with her jacket. They got into Ben's truck and headed off to the doctor.

Ben glanced over at Trish who somehow got the shotgun position. "I've been thinking of getting a truck or a car for the girls to use. Do you know if Rain has a driver's license?"

Trish looked over at Ben in surprise. "You're going to get them a car?"

He glanced at her. "Yes. I can't drive them all the time. I'm sure they need a vehicle to get groceries and such."

"Karen and Penny like Ashley's van," Tina offered from the back seat. "It is a very safe vehicle and has all-wheel drive for winter driving."

Ben sighed. Another family van.

"Rain would probably like that too," Trish supplied with a grin seeing Ben's lack of enthusiasm for vans.

"Fine," he surrendered. He would call Gwen and order one when he asked Rain and the girls what color they wanted.

They got to the doctor's office and only had to wait thirty minutes past Tina's scheduled appointment for her to get in. They stayed in the waiting room until Tina walked out with only a cane. She looked so happy!

"My bones have mended well so I only have to use the cane for two weeks," she said with a big grin.

Ben gave her a hug and a kiss and led the group back out to the truck. Trish gave Ben the address to the computer shop she used and he pointed the truck in that direction.

They went inside when they got there and Tina found a seat in front of a computer with Gretchen while Ben and Trish checked out the offerings. Trish hummed and hawed over the specs on a few all in one machines but Ben was drawn to a powerful workstation. It looked like a black cylinder but the specs were so much better than the all in ones.

"Trish, what about this machine? It's far faster than those and you can configure this one to be really powerful!" he said pointing to the spec sheet.

Trish came over and the first thing she saw was the price. "Geezus Ben! Are you not looking at the price tag at all?"

He looked at her. "Of course I see it. It's what I would expect to pay for this kind of power. You like this brand of computer. It comes with a premium price tag. Going for extra power is necessarily going to mean a higher premium price tag. Ignore that for now. Look at how much more powerful this machine is and how much more configurable it is!"

She looked at the spec sheet slightly dazed.

"Can you imagine how much faster this would be to create your work on? Especially since you could pair it with multiple screens! More screen real estate means less flipping between apps and more efficiency!" Ben enthused.

"Yes... that all sounds amazing but you're talkin-"

Ben turned away to gesture for the salesman to come over. "I'd like the twelve core model of this, 64GB of RAM, 1TB of flash storage, and the two higher end video cards. Additionally we'll need two of those 4K displays," he said pointing to the large flat panel monitors they had on display. "I think we'll also need at least two of the larger uninterrupted power supplies."

The salesman nodded and rushed off to get started on his order.

Ben turned back to Trish who was staring at him with her mouth hanging open.

"What?" he asked.

"You shouldn't be spending that kind of money on me!" she blurted.

"Really? So you don't like that ring?" he said gesturing to the deep red ruby ring on her finger he'd given her when he returned from France.

She looked at her ring in confusion. "The computer stuff is going to be well over $10,000! This couldn't have..." she began, staring at Ben and stopped when she saw his amused expression.

"I'm not telling you how much more I spent on the ring but my point is made. I spend my money on a select group of special people who I believe are worthy. You have to know by now that includes you."

When he saw her eyes begin to tear up he pulled her into a hug.

"Hey! There's no crying in the computer store!" he exclaimed with a grin.

She swatted his chest weakly. "Don't laugh at me!"

Ben held her tighter and kissed her forehead. "I'm not! I just don't want to be the cause of your tears."

She pouted as she clung to him. "They're tears of love, you big jerk."

He chuckled, holding her close.

The salesman was returning and eyed her pout.

"Tears of love," Ben told him and got another swat.

"Will there be anything else?" he asked.

Ben saw Trish's eyes looking around so he nodded to the salesman. "I think we'll need a little more time to browse."

"No problem. Your other items are behind the counter when you are ready," he said and walked back to the cashier station.

Trish looked up at Ben timidly.

"Go! Shop! Get everything else you need! Software is on that wall," he said shooing her away.

She grinned and rushed off to look at storage drives. And software!

Ben wandered back to find Tina watching Gretchen use a drawing app on one of the large screen all-in-one computers. She was moving the mouse here and there to draw. It was crude but he already recognized it was a picture of his house. She'd drawn some boxes matching the shape of his house then put in the windows and was drawing in the trees on the front lawn. Again, crude and maybe a little abstract but immediately recognizable.

"Wow! That's really good!" Ben said with a smile.

Gretchen beamed a happy smile at him. He supposed she never really heard much encouragement since she'd been married.

"This is fun!" she said gleefully.

"And you're good at it!" he replied and wondered at that. "Have you ever used a computer like this before?"

She shook her head with a big grin and Ben saw she was trembling. His heart ached for the opportunities she'd lost due to the bastard she'd married.

Ben waved the salesman over and quietly asked him to include one of these computers, with the software she was using, and the CPU and RAM maxed out, in his order. The man grinned and left with a nod.

Trish came over after dropping off the extra items she needed at the cashier's desk.

"Did you do that?" she asked Gretchen in surprise. "It's your place!"

Gretchen turned her smile on the redhead and nodded happily.

"Have you done this before?" Trish asked and Gretchen just shook her head.

"Fuck! The girl's got skills, Ben!" Trish grinned at him.

"I just bought one of these for her to develop those skills at home," Ben replied and Gretchen's head whipped around in surprise. She leapt up and hugged him as she squealed excitedly. He grinned and hugged her tight. She was purring with happiness.

Ben looked at Tina's happy smile. She nodded to him and he felt a rush of love go through him.

When he disengaged the lovely brunette from his chest he went over to purchase the items. The salesman, Trish, and Gretchen (small items only with her good arm) helped carry most of the gear out to the truck though Ben, Trish, and the salesman had to make a second trip to get the rest while Tina and Gretchen waited in the truck.

They squeezed themselves into the full vehicle and Ben carefully drove them back to Trish's place where most of the purchases were unloaded and carried up to her office. She'd have to back-up her current work files and get them ready for transferring to the new machine. She gave Ben several passionate kisses then he was able to get back outside to the truck. He drove home and carried the box for Gretchen's new computer into the bedroom she used. He'd set it up later. She clung to his chest and shivered as her emotions surged.

When she calmed down Ben kissed her tenderly and she melted against his chest. She followed him out to the living room and saw Tina rubbing her cast free leg. He immediately knelt before her to look at her leg in concern.

"Are you ok? Any pain?" he said anxiously.

She smiled at him. "No, it's just a little itchy."

Ben popped up to his feet. "I'll get the cream!" He hustled away to get it and Tina shared a happy look with Gretchen as they sat on the couch.

When he returned he rubbed the cream into Tina's leg and she sighed in contentment as she leaned back against the cushions of the sofa.

When he was done she was sound asleep and Gretchen was grinning at her. Ben covered her with a blanket and they went back to Gretchen's room.

Ben unpacked the machine and set it up on the desk in the room where Karen used to do her homework. Ben had a brief flashback to a time not so long ago when this was his daughter's room. He missed having the girls living with him.

He'd wired the bedrooms for his home network so he used the supplied patch cable to connect the computer to the wall and set up her Internet connection.

Gretchen gasped when she saw the browser open on the large screen, "It's connected to the Internet too?!?" she said excitedly.

Ben looked back at her as she sat on the end of her bed with her hands clasped together. Her smile of delight was priceless.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you stay up all night prowling the Internet. Bedtime is still bedtime," he said sternly and she nodded quickly with wide eyes.

He realized that because he was still thinking of his daughters he'd slipped into 'parent' mode but she'd just accepted his command as his Sub. He'd have to be more careful.

He finished setting it up and when he was satisfied it was ready he turned his chair to face her. "I got this machine for you because you looked like you were really enjoying it and I wasn't the only one who noticed you seem to have some unexplored and undeveloped talent for it. I'm hoping you not only continue to enjoy using it but you find some skills you might want to further develop. I'm fully open to you taking courses whether they be at the college Tina will be attending next fall or online. It's up to you," he explained.

Gretchen was blinking at him in shock. "I- I could go to college with Tina?"

"Sure, if you find something you want to do. Of course, if you want to have a baby right away, and more importantly we're able to, you'd probably want to begin with an online course and take a college course after the birth."

She dropped to her knees before him, sat on her feet and rested her head on his knee.

"I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am that you rescued me. I'm... beginning to see... how bad Rainor was to me." She looked up at him with dark eyes. "I thought- I thought I deserved it. But I didn't... did I?"

"No Gretchen dear. You deserved none of it. Rainor's cruel and heartless behavior just showed how small a man he was. A man isn't strong if he uses his strength against others. The proof of a man's strength is his willingness to be kind, gentle, and generous. Tina taught me that."

"Tina is a good woman!" Gretchen said in wonder. "And you are the strongest man I know."

Ben took her face between his hands and she immediately rose up on her knees to accept his kiss. When they pulled back her eyes were twinkling with happiness and Ben was beginning to feel a little cramped for space in his pants.

He looked at the time and saw it was almost time for him to go pick up Gabriella from the airport. Catherine had let him know she was flying in for the wedding and he was thrilled. He immediately offered to pick her up and Catherine just grinned at him and nodded like there was any question.

"I have to go pick up Gabriella. I don't know what we're doing for dinner-"

"Dinner will be at Karen and Penny's place. Lucy told me she's picking up Middle Eastern food. Everyone will be there as this is going to be the practice ceremony for Catherine's wedding." Gretchen explained.

"Ah! Great!" he said with a smile. He lifted her to her feet and stepped aside so she could take the chair. "Enjoy! I'll see you later at dinner."

"Thank you Ben!" she said touching his arm.

"It's my pleasure," he replied and headed out. She followed him to the door to the garage where he put on his coat and boots. She grinned when he realized she was following him to get another kiss before he left. He gave her what she wanted and out he went.

A car was pulling into his driveway as he tried to back out. He cleared the garage door but had to stop before it could close. He got out and saw Walter hustling up to him with his briefcase in hand.

"Sorry to be late but you said I could stop by for the signatures," the man said.

"Ah right. I was on my way to the airport but let's have them," Ben said patting the hood of his truck.

Walter opened his case and pulled out a stack of papers. The signature spots were tagged so they made their way through the forms, Walter explaining what each was and Ben signing them. The lawyer collected them from Ben afterwards and put them back in the briefcase.

"Thanks Ben! I'll get out of your way now. These will go out to Captain Kendricks on Monday," Walter explained.

Ben blinked at him. "Did they need to be signed now?"

Walter blushed. "Well... it gives me an excuse to be in the neighborhood."

Ben grinned at the man and patted him on the shoulder. "Go! Say hello to Daphne for me as well."

Walter grinned and rushed back to his own car as Ben got into his truck. He reversed out and closed the garage door before he headed out of the neighborhood.

The drive to the airport took longer than he wanted as the traffic was heavy and he ran through the terminal to get to the arrivals area. He saw people streaming out of the doors and worried that he'd missed her but the next time the doors parted she walked through. His face lit up in a big smile. She was in his arms moments later and he kissed her passionately, loving the feel of her incredibly soft lips and tongue on his. Her body felt incredible as well.

"Phew! Ben! My god! Now, that was a kiss!" she gasped happily when they finally pulled back to look at each other.

"I missed you!" he said and she hugged him, resting her cheek on his chest.

"I missed you too!" she sighed.

"Let's get you home. There are a lot of people waiting to say hello!" Ben said, smiling down at her.

She nodded and Ben took her suitcase. He was surprised by how heavy it was. Then he remembered all the outfits Miriam wore at the party. Gabriella was likely bringing Miriam the clothes from Brezza. He recalled with a smile how much the girl loved the clothing line.

"What's the smile for?" she asked as they made their way to the truck.

"I was just recalling how much fun Miriam and Daniel had at the Brezza party," he said with a smile.

Her face lit up with a smile of her own. "Oh my god Ben that was such a wonderful night! The kids had such a good time the whole weekend and they emailed me afterwards to tell me how impressed they were with the whole Brezza operation. It was such a fantastic growing experience for them both! Miriam has decided marketing is definitely what she wants to do and they're actually using some of Daniel's photos in Brezza's US campaign. He's made some income from his photography!"

"He's a pro!" Ben said with a grin.

She hugged him again then she got into the truck as he put the suitcase in the backseat.

"How are you feeling about Catherine's wedding?" Gabriella asked.

"I feel really good about it. Chanel is so good for her and Catherine clearly indicated to both Chanel and I that her relationship with me isn't over. I hope Chanel is able to cope with that. I haven't spoken with Catherine about her reaction yet."

"I will speak with Chanel when I get a chance," Gabriella said to assure Ben.

He did feel better knowing his personal 'Goddess of Love' was on the case. If anyone could clear up misconceptions of love it was Gabriella.

They headed home and Ben made better time as he was moving against traffic now. Soon they pulled onto Ashburn Court and Gabriella sighed happily. "Home," she said and Ben smiled with a nod. He felt the same way.

They saw people walking up the driveway to Karen and Penny's place and realised it was Ashley with her children.

"Let's drop your suitcase off and head over," Ben said. Gabriella nodded with a smile.

The house was quiet as the kids had already headed over to the party. Ben left the suitcase in the foyer and they walked over to join the others.

Going inside they were immediately surrounded and many hugs ensued.

Rain gave Ben a big hug and kiss. She had come home first to let the guests in and get the party going. The girls and Lucy were on their way with the food.

She'd also been the one to reach out to the rest of the neighborhood with invites. The Hernandez family weren't available this weekend but sent their best wishes. She'd learned from Jayden that Rochelle was in California with his sister. The Browns, both the parents and the two ladies who worked in the daycare with the twins, were out of town visiting relatives this weekend. And finally their new neighbors Dominic and Sophia were in Las Vegas celebrating their anniversary.

Ben learned from Trish that Hannah would be over later with Ryan and Trish's son Mason was already downstairs playing with the others.

Lily was there as well and gave Ben a kiss on the cheek which he was fine with.

He gave Beth a big hug and a kiss as her kids were downstairs and wouldn't see and embarrass her.

Lisa and Lori were there looking ravishing as always. They got their kisses and told him their mom was out on yet another date with Walter. Then they joined Lily who was listening to Rain talk about her new job.

Ben suddenly found himself in a tight hug from Ashley. "I heard you were in the hospital for a week and I've been worried about you!" she whispered into his neck as she clung to him.

"I'm much better now. On the road to recovery at last," he said as he wrapped his arms around her.

She suddenly realized how clingy she was being and blushed furiously as she glanced around. Her kids were downstairs so it was just the adults who were smiling back at her. She kissed Ben and moved back to let others greet him. Gabriella gave her a hug too.

Miriam and Daniel charged into the living room and rushed over to hug their mother. Ben watched with a big smile on his face as they showed how much they missed and loved their mom. They really were great kids!

When Catherine and Chanel arrived they rushed over to Gabriella and encircled the family. Catherine's parents followed them in with smiles on their faces as well. Beth introduced herself as did Lily.

Ben shook Jack's hand and kissed Lynda's cheek.

"How went your meeting with the girls?" Ben asked with a smile.

"They called to say they were delayed but they'll be here after dinner for the rehearsal," Jack said. They both actually looked a little nervous about meeting their grandkids.

"They are wonderful, intelligent, and well-adjusted young ladies," Ben assured them.

"All the more reason to kick myself in the ass for being such a stubborn fool all these years," Jack grumbled.

"You may not forgive yourself but I think you'll find they are a forgiving bunch," Ben smiled.

Cat waved at her parents to come see Gabriella. This gave Daniel the opportunity to escape the group hug to walk over to Ben. He stopped to shake Jack's and Lynda's hand on his way over. "Hi Ben. We really need to get Karen and Penny their own game console," he said.

"Oh yeah, sorry about that. I've been a little bit occupied. You mentioned a newer model?" Ben replied.

"Actually I think it might be a good idea to get two and a second TV considering the crowd at these parties. We could get more people playing at once!"

"Daniel! Don't be spending Ben's money for him!" Gabriella gasped as she overheard him.

"No. I rely on Daniel's expertise for these issues!" Ben said to his mother. He turned to the boy. "Show me what you mean."

Daniel led the way down stairs and described how he would set up a second TV on the opposite wall so they could have tournaments or play different games without distracting each other... aside from the noise of course. Ben looked at the wall in question and realized he did have access to electricity there and could easily run the cables for the game. The second TV wouldn't have access to cable or movies unless he set up a wireless streamer but that was less useful.

"Are you available to go with me to the store to pick up the stuff on Sunday?" Ben asked.

"Sure!" Daniel said with a grin.

"Great! I will call you around the lunch hour," Ben replied and heard a call from upstairs. The food had arrived.

Ben herded the kids upstairs and was jumped by Karen and Penny when he entered the living room. He hugged them back and kissed their cheeks after they kissed his. He assured them he was much better and they stopped clinging to him.

Frank and Jayden came over to shake his hand.

"I'm really sorry I wasn't more help in that fight," Jayden said with an embarrassed wince.

Ben had pushed the event of the fight into the back recesses of his mind after enduring his painful week in the hospital. It had been the trigger for the entire ordeal. He twitched as it all came crashing back and his eyes closed briefly as his head throbbed. The hole in his memory surfaced and demanded his attention. He forced a shaky smile on his lips as he looked at Jayden whose expression turned to worry. "Hey, you were hit by a coward's punch. I'm just glad you're ok. I don't... remember how it ended. Do either of you remember or hear what happened to the jerks after the fight."

Frank looked at him in surprise and began to speak but Jayden put his hand on Frank's shoulder.

"The cops got them," Jayden just said with finality.

Frank glanced sideways at his friend.

Ben frustration flared as he looked at the two men. He knew something happened and the fact that it was being kept from him was rubbing his nerves raw. "How bad was it?" he asked with a grim expression.

Tina and Lucy appeared at his elbows and took his arms to lead him to the table. Ben planted his feet and wouldn't budge. His frustration suddenly boiled up.

"No, I want to know. Hannah wouldn't tell me anything in the hospital. The nurses said they didn't know. Someone knows but no one will tell me and that's really starting to bother me." He fixed his eyes on Frank. "You were there. What happened to those men?"

"They weren't men! They were monsters!" Karen barked angrily.

Ben saw she was trembling hard and Penny looked pretty upset too. Jayden was immediately at her side holding her hand with a concerned and sympathetic look on his face. Frank collected Penny against his chest.

"They made me feel like I was back with Mr. Shakir. Like I was nothing again. The big one touched me and I felt dirty!" Karen continued. "Lisa and Lori tried to stop him but he hurt them too. Then you saved us! You stopped him. That's what happened!"

"I'm sorry. I- I didn't mean to make you relive that experience. I just have another hole in my memory and it's eating at me. I need to know."

"Maybe we should talk about it later?" Tina suggested and Ben nodded in embarrassment.

Ben nodded and felt deeply ashamed for his outburst and the scene he made. "I'm sorry," he said to the group, his cheeks burning.

"It's alright. Come on, let's eat while the food is hot," Lucy suggested.

They sat Ben down between Gabriella and Catherine and took the seats across from Ben. Once everyone was seated Ashley took her daughter's hands and was thrilled to see everyone join in until the loop was complete. She bowed her head to say her prayer and once she was done she stood.

"If I might say a word?" she said looking around the table. She saw everyone was waiting for her to speak so with pink cheeks she began.

"I just wanted to say how wonderful it has been for us since we moved to this neighborhood. The welcome and acceptance we have received has been... almost overwhelming. More than just neighbors, it feels like we've been welcomed into a family. As we gather here tonight to celebrate the eve of a very special day it reminds me that tomorrow is yet another example of that welcoming spirit. I feel blessed to be part of this extended and growing family and I'm so happy my children have the privilege of experiencing this!"

Cat and Chanel were beaming huge smiles across the table at Ashley who blushed further under their gaze. Cat's parents were pretty happy too. Jack stood up.

"I'll keep my speech short as the food smells really good!" he got chuckles for that.

"I recently got over a prolonged and acute case of being a stubborn fool and reconnected with my wonderful daughter only to find I was welcoming a daughter-in-law into the family at the same time. We've had a little time to get to know each other and I have to say I couldn't be prouder of my daughter for her choice... this time!" That got him laughs and a swat from his wife. "Welcome to the family Chanel!"

Chanel stood and hugged her soon to be in-laws.

"Let's eat!" Jack said as they returned to their chairs.

A cheer went up and the containers were opened and passed around.

The mood was joyful, light and relaxed as everyone enjoyed the dinner and the lively conversation. Ben struggled to join in but his mind just wouldn't stop returning to that gap in his memory and it spoiled his mood and appetite. Tina and Lucy were aware and traded looks.

Near the end of dinner as the younger members began to drift away back downstairs, the doorbell rang and Rain brought Catherine's daughters back to the dining room with her.

Jack and Lynda stood and smiled anxiously as Sophia, Rachel and Megan immediately walked up to them and gave them warm hugs. Jack had a moment when his emotions overwhelmed him and he had to dab at his eyes with a napkin. Lynda was far less reserved and let her tears flow as she clung to her grandkids. Catherine and Chanel shared in the tears as well.

Crisis averted the three ladies pulled up chairs next to their grandparents and got plates to enjoy the food. Catherine was beaming smiles at her daughters for making her parents feel so welcome.

Hannah and Ryan were next to arrive and the boy immediately headed downstairs. Ben met Hannah by the entrance to the living room and gave her a hug. She caught the desperate look in his eye and glanced over at Tina and Lucy who had worried looks on their faces. She saw Lisa and Lori looking her way as well with identical expressions of concern.

He leaned in to speak quietly to her. "I need to hear what happened to the men I fought. I remember the fight right up to starting with the last guy, the big one."

She looked at him cautiously. "Ben, this isn't really the right time to discuss that."

"I'm sorry Hannah, I tried to push it back but it's eating away at me. The more people won't talk about it the more anxious I become. I've already embarrassed myself in front of everyone tonight and while I'd like to avoid that again my brain won't let it go. People have answers to what happened during that empty interval in my memory and I need them.

Hannah looked into his eyes and saw the desperation. He could no longer wait. She knew he had a hard time with memory holes but she also knew he wasn't going to take this news well. She nodded and gestured for Lisa and Lori, who had been witnesses to join them in the living room. Tina and Lucy followed.

She guided Ben to sit in the middle of the couch and the twins immediately sat on both sides of him with their legs tucked up under them. Ben's face was showing his genuine concern. Hannah pulled the ottoman to sit before Ben. Tina and Lucy knelt on the carpet on either side of Hannah.

"There were four men who assaulted the group before you entered the room. It is my understanding you fought the man who knocked Jayden unconscious." Ben nodded. "He has a badly broken ankle but will be fine. He's in custody. Hector fought another man who is in custody as well." She paused and Ben's unease went up.

"The man who fought Frank is still in the hospital. He had a very bad concussion and is taking some time to recover. We do expect him to heal fully but it may take some time," Hannah said looking into Ben's eyes. He was beginning to tremble and the women sitting at his sides held his hands a little tighter.

"I spoke with the man whose ankle you broke. He was quite forthcoming about how the big man, Pete, liked to have 'a little fun with the bitches'. The man sexually assaulted Karen, Penny, Lisa, Lori, and who knows how many other women."

"What happened to him?" Ben said nervously.

Hannah gave him a worried look. "Ben, you had to protect the women-"

"Hannah, please!" His voice was tight with anxiety.

"He's dead, Ben."

Ben twitched badly and barely registered the twins hugging him tightly to calm his tremors. He'd beaten someone to death.

For years he'd carried the guilt of the deaths of Mr. Leparre and the four boys in the house fire but their deaths hadn't been the result of his own violence. He'd simply held the door.

The men he'd killed in France in that slave ring hide out, he'd quickly been able to come to terms with that. He'd been unarmed and they'd been armed criminals of the worst sort. It was kill or be killed. More importantly, he had to save the girls.

But this man, he beat up people and molested women. He deserved to be punished but Ben had killed him.

With his fists. Like Walter had killed Margaret.

He should feel... something... shouldn't he? Instead there was just this coldness creeping into his limbs.

"Son?"

The word and the deep masculine voice which delivered it was like a splash of cold water. Ben blinked and saw he was alone in the living room facing Master Sergeant Jack McGovern.

"It's my understanding that you've just discovered you took a man's life. This isn't your first time though, is it?" the sergeant asked.

"No... but I beat someone to death. Just like he did," Ben said.

Jack looked at him and nodded. He understood from speaking with Cat that there had been extenuating circumstances that led Ben to his violent act.

"I know a little something about how that feels. Maybe we should talk?"

Ben's eyebrows rose as he looked into the man's compassionate gaze. He nodded. He needed to talk.

Chapter 46

Tina busied herself in the kitchen making breakfast for Ben, Lucy, and Gretchen. She could faintly hear Ben in the basement as he worked out on the exercise machine. She was so glad he was feeling better this morning. He'd had a bit of a rough night even with her and Lucy cuddling up to him.

She was also so grateful for Catherine's father coming to Ben's rescue last night. She had been so frightened when Ben reacted badly to the news of the man's death. Catherine had known what to do and sent her father in to talk to him when he just... froze on them. He wouldn't respond to their voices at all but Mr. McGovern just had to say one word and Ben was back. They'd talked for a long time as the rest of the party went downstairs to run through the ceremony for this afternoon. Catherine assured everyone that her father knew what he was doing as he'd done it before.

Jayden had been so upset he'd mentioned the fight to Ben as he said that seemed to have started everything. They assured him he had nothing to apologize for. They gave Hannah hugs as she felt bad too.

When the group was almost finished the rehearsal Jack and Ben joined them and they were quickly shown what was expected of them. They both felt they would have no problems with their duties. Ben announced then that he was going home and got kisses and hugs from everyone. He hugged Jayden and the young man had tears in his eyes but a smile on his face when they left. Ben carried Christopher home in his arms and seemed to take great comfort from doing that.

When they'd gotten inside Ben looked to Tina and smiled. "I'm not him," he'd said quietly as he gently passed her yawning son into Lucy's arms.

Tina didn't know who 'he' was but intuitively knew Ben needed her to acknowledge this significant fact. She rushed forward to hug Ben. She'd felt him relax in her arms and once more offered a silent thanks to Catherine's father in her mind. She would try to get the story from him or Hannah if Ben couldn't tell her.

This morning Tina was so relieved to be able to move around without the cast and she barely needed to use the cane. In the kitchen she had the counters to lean on. Making a meal for her family felt so good!

Ben walked into the kitchen and she smiled appreciatively as she eyed his glistening muscles which looked so big after he worked out. He walked over and bent down to give her a kiss. She felt the heat radiating from his body and a tingle shot through her. His kiss was sweet and she smiled up at him.

"Breakfast is almost ready. Go get cleaned up and dressed. And wake Lucy lazy bones if she is still asleep!" she grinned.

Ben smiled and made his way down the hall. He heard noises from Gretchen's room so he knocked. Moments later she opened the door and her eyes flew wide as she looked at his sweaty muscles.

"Good morning!" he said and glanced over her shoulder to the paused video on the screen of her new computer. She was watching a tutorial for her drawing application. He smiled in satisfaction.

"Good morning Ben! Why are you all... shiny?" she said with a pleased look as her eyes roamed over his chest.

"I just worked out. Are you ready for breakfast? Tina said it's almost ready."

She didn't appear to be listening as she reached out and ran a fingertip over his chest.

"Ah ah, Tina didn't say there was time for that!" he said and moved back.

She grinned at him as he moved into the master bedroom.

Lucy was still sleeping as Tina had suspected. He pulled the blanket gently back to expose her head and kissed her cheek. She stirred and opened one eye.

"Mmmm, that's a nice sight for sleepy eyes," she murmured.

"Tina made breakfast."

Lucy frowned and shook her head. She wasn't up to it.

"I'll let her know," he said and put the blanket back over her head.

He took his shower and pulled on a t-shirt, socks, and some track pants. They were just going to relax around the house until they had to attend the wedding in the late afternoon.

When he got to the kitchen Gretchen was sitting at the table with Christopher on her knee. He was talking to her a mile a minute and she was smiling as she tried to make heads or tails of what he was saying. Ben dipped down and kissed his cheek and he squealed happily.

"DADA!" Arms were raised as he wanted to be picked up. Ben scooped him up and flew him in a circle before sitting down and seating the boy on his lap. He hugged the child and for just a moment the boy hugged him back. Then the chattering started up again. He began talking about the games he played with the other kids in the daycare.

Tina set the plates on the table and picked up Christopher to put him in his own seat. She was glowing happily as she sat beside Ben.

"Lucy is not feeling well this morning?" she asked.

"Yeah, she won't be joining us for breakfast," Ben said.

They ate together, enjoying each other's company in silence. Aside from Christopher's happy chatter.

When they were done Ben cleaned up and Lucy shuffled into the kitchen. She sat at the table and Tina placed a plate with lightly buttered toast in front of her.

Lucy looked at the toast and looked up at the petite Korean. "Could I have some jam?"

Tina smiled happily and nodded. She turned and accepted the jar of jam and butter knife from Ben's hands. She added some jam to the toast as Lucy leaned her head against Tina's arm affectionately. "You're too good to me," she murmured. Tina kissed her forehead and put the jam away.

Ben was finished so he walked out into the living room, settled down on his chair and flipped open his laptop. He checked his mail and answered a few.

He was just signing into the Engineering bulletin board when the doorbell rang. He got up to answer it and saw Daniel standing on the doorstep.

He let the boy inside and looked at him curiously. "Good morning Daniel! What's up?"

"Hi Ben! I was wondering if it would be possible to do the shopping for the consoles today as I've been invited to Rick's place tomorrow for a game tournament with a bunch of friends from school. If not, it's cool. You asked first."

Ben quickly thought about the timing and realized today worked for him as well. "No, we can go now if you like."

Daniel's serious expression broke into a relieved smile. He'd been hoping Ben would say yes as he really wanted to go to Rick's tomorrow. "That would be great!"

"Hang on, I'll get my wallet and keys," Ben said.

He headed down to Gretchen's room and looked in her open door. "I'm going to the store to get some game consoles and a TV. Do you need anything for your computer?"

She beamed him a big smile over her shoulder but shook her head. She did rush over to get a kiss. He grinned at her as she rushed back to the computer.

Ben grabbed his wallet and stopped in the kitchen with Daniel. "Tina, Lucy, we're heading off to get the game consoles for Karen and Penny. Do you two need anything?"

"No, I am good. Thank you," Tina said with a smile. Lucy just shook her head and smiled. Ben gave them both a quick kiss, kissed Christopher's head and led Daniel into the garage to his truck to get them on their way.

They were among the few early bird customers in the electronics store. Ben grabbed a cart and followed Daniel who led them immediately to the game consoles. He showed Ben the new models and explained the benefits the new units had over previous models, primarily their ability to handle the higher resolution screens. Ben put two boxes in the cart and they determined that they needed four additional controllers. They chose different colors and these went into the cart as well. He suggested a separate charging station for the controllers so Ben got two of those too.

Daniel took him over to the games. He explained the benefits of the games he selected for Karen and Penny. He included the ones they'd played at the parties and got a few new ones that he thought they'd like.

Then Daniel froze and pulled a game off the shelf and appeared to be reading the cover feverishly.

"What is it?" Ben asked.

"It's the latest release of 'Omnichron Specialist'! This wasn't supposed to be released until next month! None of my friends have this yet!" Daniel gasped.

"So... is it one we should get?" Ben asked curiously.

Daniel looked at Ben with an almost pained expression. He shook his head. "No, I don't think they'd like this one."

Ben saw it was difficult for Daniel to put it back on the shelf and smiled. He reached over and plucked it off and put it in the cart. Daniel just looked at him blankly.

"Compensation for your time and effort today helping me pick out these items," Ben said.

"No-"

"Ah! I won't hear it! Come help me pick out a TV," Ben said and pushed the cart in the direction of the TV's.

Ben stopped in front of a set which was identical in size and look of the one the girls already had on their wall. He felt Daniel lean against his side and looked down to see the young man looking up at him with a small smile on his face.

"Thank you Ben," Daniel said quietly.

He gave Daniel a one-armed hug against his hip and smiled at him. "You deserve it." He looked back at the TV. "Do you think this one is a close enough match to the one they have?"

Daniel smiled then walked over to look at the TV's spec sheet. "You don't want this one. It won't display the games well." He led him down the aisle and pointed out a better model. Ben nodded and flagged down the salesman. He left to check their stock and returned to say they had two and one would be brought out to the cashier station momentarily. He helped them pick out a wall mount for it and Ben thanked him before they went to make their purchases.

When they got everything in the truck Ben fished Daniel's game from the bag and handed it to him. The young man grinned from ear to ear and thanked him again.

Ben just smiled. "You earned it!"

Rain opened the door for them when they arrived and helped them carry the stuff downstairs. They left the wall mount, TV, and one of the consoles in its box against the wall where the equipment was going to be set up. Daniel connected the new console to the existing TV as Karen and Penny excitedly bounced on their toes behind him. Daniel was having some difficulty concentrating with all the jiggly movement of their abundant boobage. He glanced at Ben who told the ladies to sit and be still so Daniel could finish.

"I'll install the second set once I pick up a small cabinet for its game console. I also need to pick up the wall plates for the in-wall cable channel," Ben said.

Daniel got the console set up and their favorite game running. Karen and Penny jumped up and gave the young man hugs until his head was spinning.

Ben snorted in amusement and headed out after getting kisses on the cheek from his daughters and a delightful kiss from Rain. Daniel made his exit as well clutching his new game happily. He had camera duty later so he'd have to put off playing until much later.

After he drove home, Ben went inside and settled back down in his chair to relax with his ladies.

It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon.

The banquet hall Catherine and Chanel arranged to have their wedding in was gorgeous. The beautiful archways, high ceilings, and elegant chandeliers were only outdone by the huge, floor to ceiling stained glass windows overlooking the gardens which let the late afternoon sun in, splashing the room with dazzling colors. Rows of chairs were arranged to face the window with a central aisle and the chairs were filled with guests. Neighbors and family on one side, coworkers and friends on the other. Catherine knew a lot of people through her charity and some of Chanel's fellow officers had attended as well.

The ordained minister they hired was standing at the windows smiling at the guests.

Ben and Jack stood in the hall outside the main room glancing in the doors.

"I can't believe how nervous I am!" Jack grumbled.

Ben smiled at the war veteran and shook his head. "Have you forgotten what to do?"

Jack smirked. "No. It's just... I missed the first time she did this and I don't want to screw this one up for her."

Ben looked him right in the eye. "You can't. She's probably floating two feet off the ground right now. Just being there to keep her feet moored to the ground is going to be all she needs." He caught a nod from Sophia. "It looks like we're up. I'll go get Chanel. As I recall, we go first. After Catherine's daughters and Gabriella. See you up there."

Ben turned and walked down the hall to knock on the door of the room where Chanel was getting ready. He went in and saw her standing by the window. She turned and the late afternoon light painted her lovely white dress until she shone like gold. They had opted for simple, slim dresses without the huge skirts, loads of lace or beadwork. Still, the dress was stunning on her amazing figure.

"You look breathtaking!" he sighed in awe and she smiled fondly at him.

He moved closer. "It's time," he said as he held out his elbow. She took his arm and he led her out into the hall. There they stopped to wait their turn. Through the doors they heard a very talented guitarist begin playing a beautifully intricate piece of music on his twelve string and the guests stood to face the hallway and aisle. Miriam went first and dropped flower petals on the white runner down the aisle. Megan was next with Rachel then Sophia following.

Ben watched them approach then turn left to enter the doors to the main hall. Each gave them a wide happy smile as they turned. Gabriella was last and would be standing at the front beside Chanel as her 'best woman' with flower girl Miriam next to her.

Then it was their turn. Ben stepped forward with Chanel on his arm and felt her tremble.

"You ok?" he whispered.

"This... this feels like a dream!" she whispered back.

"Do you love her?" Ben asked.

Her eyes snapped to his face and saw his gentle smile. Her expression softened. "More than I thought possible."

"As much as Catherine loves you then. Good!" Ben finished as they moved down the aisle.

He saw Daniel moving around with his camera, taking photos from unexpected angles and vantage points. He smiled as he could only imagine how interesting these shots would be. He saw the intensity in the young man's eyes and knew he was in the zone.

When they reached the front, Ben kissed Chanel's cheek and moved to stand between Tina and Lucy who looked stunning in their swept up hair and elegant gowns. Tina was hiding her baby bump as well as she could. Gretchen was on Tina's other side in one of the fancy dresses Rainor had bought her. The only good thing he'd done. She flashed him a smile which he returned.

In the next row back were Lisa and Lori. Their red hair was piled high as well but some fell artfully over their bare shoulders. They'd chosen to wear matching red sheath dresses which immediately caught Ben's attention as he saw them. The twins drank in how sharp he looked in his dark and crisply cut suit. They smiled at his own appreciative stare. He nodded to them as Catherine entered the room holding her father's arm.

Ben thought she looked absolutely beautiful and his heart did a little jump in his chest. She smiled to her guests and her eyes caught his as they got closer. He felt her love for him as an almost tangible pull and he smiled at the joy on her face. Then her eyes were on Chanel and she bit her lip as a visible shiver went through her body. She smiled at the woman waiting for her at the altar.

When they stopped, Jack kissed Catherine's cheek. He leaned in to whisper something to her and she put her hand over her mouth as happy tears came to her eyes. Jack was smiling at her with tears in his own eyes as he stepped back beside his wife. Catherine waved at her face to dry her tears and took the final step up beside Chanel. Sophia handed her a tissue she quickly used to dap her eyes. Sophia took the tissue back and it magically seemed to disappear... somewhere. There certainly weren't any pockets on her lovely cream dress.

The minister asked everyone to be seated and she began the ceremony as the last of the sunset painted their gowns with its fiery reds and splashes of other colors from the stain glass.

The ceremony was mostly traditional but each said a brief statement of their personal promise to each other and the minister continued. Gabriella handed the ring Chanel picked for Catherine to her and she placed it on the blonde's trembling finger as she spoke the words. Her voice wobbled but she made it through.

Sophia handed Catherine the ring she'd chosen for the woman she wanted to spend her life with. Cat grinned and spoke the words boldly. She was almost giddy with happiness as she put the ring on Chanel's finger.

The minister announced them married and they kissed as everyone cheered. Daniel caught the moment when they turned to the gathering holding hands and smiling blissfully.

They signed their marriage contract, Gabriella was Chanel's witness and Sophia was her mother's. To make it official the minister put her signature and seal on it. Gabriella took the document with her.

The reception hall was a short distance down the hall and the guests made their way to it. Due to the short time span their preparations took place in, they'd opted for an informal self-serve buffet but they had a huge variety of delicious dishes so everyone found something they liked.

Daniel was able to relax and hang out with Miriam, Karlene, Savannah, Madison, John, and Jane. There were no formal seating arrangements and no head table. The atmosphere was very relaxed and happy. Catherine and Chanel made the rounds and greeted everyone.

Ben was sitting at a table enjoying his dinner with his three ladies and the twins around him when the music began. A section of the dancefloor was cleared so the older guests could enjoy the mellow classics before the faster tunes began. That's when the younger members of the party would get up to dance.

He saw Jack and Lynda getting up to dance and smiled at them as they began to move. He felt a tug as he watched them dance but he looked away and the pull slipped back into the recesses of his mind.

As the next song began Sophia showed up at his elbow with a hopeful smile. He nodded to her and swept her out onto the dancefloor. They began to move and Sophia's eyes sparkled with joy as he moved with the grace he'd shown in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles.

From the hours he'd spent with Dr. Granger in hypnotherapy he could now tap into his memories of Margaret Cosburn without losing himself. He didn't have to think about dancing, it just... happened. The muscle memory from the lessons she'd drilled into him every day until he was exhausted remained. The unfortunate caveat of addressing these memories was that, for now, he felt the pain of her loss as a fresh wound each time he did. Dr. Granger assured him that now that he wasn't suppressing the memories the pain would diminish over time. For now, he bore the pain silently as dancing like this made Sophia so happy. He dipped her and they flowed around the dance floor as time stopped for them.

Jack and Lynda were sitting this one out and watched Ben and Sophia in amazement. Gabriella was sitting with them so Jack turned to her with a wide grin. "The man moves like Fred Astaire did on his best days. Where did he learn to dance like that?"

Gabriella's smile was slightly pained as she watched Ben move. Jack's smile faltered. "I'm sorry if I brought up something painful for you."

She shook her head. Hannah had filled her in on the details. "No, not for me. Ben was taught to dance by a foster care mother when he was twelve. He... fell in love with her at that tender age. It must have been a profoundly deep and pure love. Even for someone so young. Her husband discovered they'd been dancing and had been for some time. In a drunken rage he beat her to death. Ben took her death extremely hard. Submerged the entire ordeal in his subconscious. It was what caused his recent issues."

Jack and Lynda looked back out on the floor as the dance was coming to an end. Ben and Sophia were the only ones dancing as everyone else was just watching. "He dances beautifully," Lynda sighed and Gabriella nodded as she got up to go to him.

Jack was connecting his discussion with Ben the previous night to Gabriella's confession. Ben hadn't told him who the monster of his childhood had beaten to death. Just that he was terrified he was following in the man's footsteps. Jack felt deeply relieved he'd gotten through to Ben to make him realize he was his own man and shared no other significant traits.

Sophia was trembling with joy as she and Ben stilled themselves on the last note. "That was so wonderful Ben! Thank you!" she gasped. He smiled and bowed to her then released her fingers and moved towards his table.

The sweetly familiar notes began to play and the silky smooth voice was next:

"When I fall in love it will be forever

Or I'll never fall in love..."

Ben's feet stopped moving as his heart seized in his chest. He couldn't breathe from the fresh anguish he felt at her loss. Following Dr. Granger's instructions, he closed his eyes and took deep breaths as he told himself it was pain from the past. It didn't belong in the now. He felt a soft body press against his side and picked up the scent of Gabriella's delicate spice perfume. He opened his eyes but let her guide him out into the hall and down to the grand room where Catherine got married this very day.

He sat down and she took the next chair. Trish walked in having seen them leave and Catherine rushed into the room with Tina in tow. Lucy, Gretchen and the twins were right behind. They took chairs around him and he held up his hand to make them listen to the words to the song as it drifted down the hall after them. He found himself singing along but he did the music no justice.

"And the moment I can feel that you feel that way too

Is when I'll fall in love with you..."

He looked into their eyes and they saw the pain and wonder in his. "This was our song... and now I understand. Now that I can hear the words and not get swept away, lost in my memories. After all this time... I finally understand what makes me fall so deeply and completely in love. It's in the words of the last song she ever gave to me. Our song." He smiled gently though his bottom lip trembled.

Chanel walked in and saw the group. He gestured for her to come closer. She stood next to Catherine and touched her shoulder. Cat reached up and took her hand.

"I'm sorry for being a nuisance on your beautiful evening. I'm just having a grand epiphany about the importance of this song. I think you two should also take its words to heart... though to me I think you already have," Ben said.

Chanel and Catherine smiled at him and nodded.

"As a wedding present I was going to give you two an all-expense paid honeymoon to anywhere in the world but maybe this song is as good a gift?" Ben asked as he looked questioningly at them.

They looked back at him in shock.

"I'll take the trip please!" Catherine blurted and Chanel nodded rapidly as they began to giggle.

"Fine! Trip it is. If you change your mind, just let me know," Ben said seriously with a raised eyebrow.

Catherine leapt up and wrapped her arms around Ben's neck and gave him a very nice kiss. Chanel hugged them together.

The music picked up in tempo but it was still an oldie. Ben's muscles twitched in response. "Oh! I have to dance to this one!" he said with a grin. Smiles encircled him so everyone got up.

And they danced.

Chapter 47

Ben and his family spent a quiet day on Sunday just relaxing at home. In the late afternoon they had a visit from Gabriella who joined them in the living room. She pulled up the ottoman before his chair to speak to him.

"I heard from Monique Lemoine. Wendy's interview was broadcast in Italy last night. It will be re-broadcast tonight on at least two major US networks. Are you ready for the trial tomorrow?" she asked Ben.

He nodded. "I was speaking with Walter a couple of hours ago. He'll meet us at the courthouse at 10AM. He assured me there is no merit to her case but we will get a legal dissolution of the marriage at least."

Gabriella smiled and took his hand. "Are you ready for meeting Wendy tomorrow?"

He looked down at her hand in his and smiled gently. She loved him. He knew it. He felt it. He saw it. He looked at the faces of the women in the room with him and they were all smiling at him. He was surrounded by love. He nodded. "Yes. I'm as ready as I will ever be. It needs to happen. I need closure."

"Did you have a good time last night? When did you leave?" she asked.

Ben grinned as he looked at Tina across the room who blushed. He'd had to carry her out to the car and into the house as she'd exhausted herself dancing the night before. Now that she had the cast off she thought she could leap right back into things but she discovered she couldn't.

"We had a lovely time and danced the night away. We were one of the last to leave. I think the twins and I were the last ones on the dance floor. It was a beautiful wedding and a wonderful party!" he said with a smile.

"I've seen the pictures on Daniel's tablet. They're gorgeous! Catherine and Chanel are going to love them!" the mother gushed.

Ben grinned. "I look forward to seeing them too!"

He watched the pride on Gabriella's face and felt the warmth of her hand in his and a pang went through his heart as he realized she'd be going back to Europe soon. He needed some alone time with her before she left. "When- when are you flying back to Milan?"

"I'm not."

Ben looked at her. He must have misheard. "Sorry, what?"

"I'm not going back to Milan. I'm home to stay," she said with a happy smile.

"What?!? What about Brezza? Your CEO position?" he gasped suddenly afraid she'd done something wonderful but terrible at the same time.

"I never accepted the position. I got them back on their feet, with your generous help, but I came to realize that... Brezza wasn't mine. I didn't build it from the humble beginnings to the company it is today. The CEO position sounded exciting at first but I want to make my own company grow and thrive," she said with enthusiasm.

"But won't they still need you?" Ben asked, trying to contain his explosive joy.

"Oh, I'm still on their payroll but as an independent consultant. I left the company in good hands. Before I left I set up an executive steering committee which I have a seat on. I can cast a vote on any decision they feel they need my input on. I want to concentrate on building my own fashion distribution network business. It's small now but with the contacts I've made and the experience I just went through it's going to grow fast- EEEEEPP! MMMMmmpphhh!"

Ben lifted her off the ottoman up onto his chest and kissed her passionately as he wrapped his arms around her.

The other ladies in the room began to giggle.

When she finally managed to come up for air her head was spinning and her body was tingling madly. "Ben! Put me down! For Heaven's sake!" she sputtered but secretly she was delighted.

He gazed deeply into her beautiful green eyes. "I'm so glad you've come home!"

She managed to slide down his body, feeling some wonderfully hard muscles and other hard things along the way, until she could get back on her feet. She tugged her dress back down, making her breasts seem to rise up and almost burst out of the deep V of the neckline. His eyes flared with hunger and a rush went through her body making her tingle all over.

"It's good to be home!" she said as she gave him an equally hungry look. She gave herself a shake as she had things she needed to do today and rolling around in bed with Ben, as delicious as that sounded, would have to wait. "I just wanted to check in on you and suggest you not watch that interview tonight."

"Not to worry, I won't. I'm getting a haircut tonight apparently. Ashley cornered me at the party last night and told me its length had become completely scandalous and I shouldn't delay any longer," he said seriously.

Gabriella snorted happily. She knew the woman also had a major hankering for Ben. "I'll see you tomorrow at the courthouse then."

Ben got up and walked her to the door, helping her put on her boots and coat. He pulled her close and kissed her amazing lips until they both had to stop to breathe. "I love you so much Gabriella!" he said softly.

"I love you so much too Ben!" she whispered to him as she smiled joyfully. She headed home and Ben locked up.

Walter changed his mind about meeting Ben at the courthouse after the interview was broadcast. He'd called Ben to ask him to drive to the law firm's office so they could all go together. He'd spoken to a few contacts he had in the press and discovered there was going to be a significant increase in the press outside the courthouse. He didn't want Ben driving through that mess. The broadcast had apparently returned the public's attention to him in a big way.

Ben was wearing his serious business suit. The dark charcoal grey one that gave him confidence. He thought he looked pretty good in it and with his short but stylish haircut he thought he cleaned up pretty good. Tina and Lucy liked his haircut too but that didn't stop them from teasing him about how his haircuts always included an overnight stay.

He recalled Ashley's happy smile that morning and felt warm all over. He'd put up with the teasing.

Tina and Gretchen went with him and they all drove in a black limo from the law office to the courthouse. As they approached they saw a madhouse out front. Reporters and camera crews were set up and as the limo got closer Ben saw they were doing interviews. "What the-"

He spotted Gabriella speaking to one of the major nightly entertainment reporters. His eyes widened when he spotted the rapper Killah D with his girlfriend Brooklyn on his arm speaking with another reporter on camera. The big man had a serious expression as he spoke and Brooklyn was nodding.

La'Shia was a little further along the sidewalk working the crowd and taking selfies with the surprised fans.

As the limo pulled up to the sidewalk Ben lost track of them as the reporters suddenly rushed in around the vehicle in a mob. Court officers pushed them back behind the barricades and Ben looked nervously at Walter who would be the first to exit.

"Show time," Walter quipped and opened the door. The volume suddenly spiked as the vehicle's soundproofing no longer kept it back. The man stepped out onto the sidewalk and adjusted his suit jacket as he looked out at the crowd. He made a gesture with his fingers to indicate they should follow.

Tina stepped out next and Walter helped her out and forward.

Gretchen was clinging to Ben's arm nervously. "It's ok Gretchen. I'm right behind you," he said.

She nodded and accepted Walter's hand to step out. They both moved away from the door to give Ben space.

When he exited the volume and flashes went up a hundred fold. He scowled but did his best to ignore them as he followed his lawyer and the two ladies into the building. He met Killah and Brooklyn just inside and went over to greet them.

"Ben! So good to see you again if not in the best venue," the rapper said with a smile and shook Ben's hand, pulling him in for a brief chest bump. Ben kissed Brooklyn's cheek and gave her a hug as well as he remained stunned by their appearance.

"It's great seeing you two but... what are you doing here?" he gasped.

"We'd spoken with your lawyer a few days ago but we didn't think we could make it for the trial. But after what that woman said about you on TV last night there was no way we could stand by and let those lies go unchallenged. We knew the reporters would be here so we came to set the record straight," Killah said with a serious frown and his girlfriend nodded.

"Uh, wow, I don't know what to say. That was above and beyond. Thanks!" Ben stumbled with his words.

"Nah man, the truth is a privilege to speak."

Ben smiled and nodded as Walter gestured for them to move on. The couple waved as Ben caught up with his group.

When he entered the court room he was taken aback by how packed one side of it was. The rows of benches on the left were filled with people but there were only a few sitting on the right side.

He saw Mr. Holland scowling back from the table in front of the empty rows. Wendy was sitting between him and another man who might have been LaRue. She was looking over her shoulder at the throng of people in the rows behind the table Ben would be sitting at. Her expression in profile and partially hidden by her shoulder was impossible to read but her eyes scowled at her lawyer when she looked at him. She turned away from the back of the room so Ben could no longer see her face. She hadn't seen him so Ben felt a little relieved. He wasn't ready for that.

Ben looked at the full benches and saw the Hernandez family, all of them. He saw La'Shia and Tilisha smiling at him. They had space next to them probably for Killah D and Brooklyn. He nodded in return.

He saw people he worked with at the Milling Shop. Jerry Taggart, his financial advisor and others he'd worked with. He looked out over this group with a stunned expression.

As he got closer to the front he saw Trish sitting with the McKellan twins and Rain. Next to her was Dr. Granger and Hannah.

Lucy had Karen and Penny with her. He gave them a look as they were supposed to be in school but they just grinned back at him. Then he spotted Catherine's daughters next to them. They were also supposed to be in school.

Up on the front bench was Gabriella, Miriam, and Daniel with space left for Tina and Gretchen. Directly behind them was Chanel, Catherine, Jack and Lynda.

Ben steeled himself and finally looked over at the other table. Wendy was hidden behind her lawyer but Derek LaRue was on her right and was glaring at him angrily. The man's hair had thinned considerably and he was pale and skinny. It was the bitterness in his eyes that surprised Ben the most but he had no time for the man so he just looked away. Wendy had not attempted to look at him yet so Ben just sat next to Walter.

A few minutes later the Bailiff walked in and announced the arrival of Judge Billings. Everyone rose to their feet except for Wendy, Ben noted, and the judge entered. The man glanced once at Wendy then sat down himself. Everyone sat. The judge looked at some papers on his desk for a moment.

"Mr. Holland. I see from your documents that your client is unwell. Is she well enough to attend this proceeding?"

The lawyer stood. "Yes your honor though my colleague's attempt to turn this into a circus is wearing her reserves down causing her to be unable to stand as you arrived," he said flinging his arm back to point to the full gallery behind Ben.

Judge Billings gave Holland a weary look. "A little less showboating please, Mr. Holland." He turned his face towards Walter. "I am curious about why there are so many people in my courtroom for a divorce proceeding, Mr. Greyson. Might you explain?"

Walter stood. "Yes, your honor. Thank you, I will." He looked at Holland. "My colleague intends to prove the validity of his case based on claims that my client was abusive towards his client during their marriage and is a man of low character. The televised broadcast last night was nothing more than an attempt at character assassination. Each of the people in the gallery behind my client has come of their own free will to give statements which directly refute these accusations. Each of these people have direct contact with my client. Many were close neighbors at the time my colleague's client abandoned him."

"I object!" Holland barked, leaping to his feet.

"Sit down Mr. Holland. He's answering my question. Continue Mr. Greyson."

Walter nodded. "They can and will give testimony which proves my colleague's case is comprised entirely of fabrications."

The judge nodded and Walter sat once more.

He looked up at Mr. Holland with a curious expression. "I'm not seeing anything in your documents that proves your client's claims or justifies the need for a hearing."

Holland was back on his feet once more. "Your honor, my colleague's audacious attempt to mislead you with a noisy group of strangers is nothing more than another grievous injustice perpetrated upon my client! She-"

"SHUT UP!"

The courtroom went quiet.

"You're fired! Get out!" Wendy said staring at the table before her, trembling.

Holland leaned in to speak to her. "I said you're fired! Get away from me!" Wendy yelled.

Ben stared in her direction in surprise and saw Holland stand and nod to the judge as he collected his brief case and walked stiffly down the aisle. Ben watched him as he exited the court. Two police officers were waiting for him and took him into custody. Ben looked back towards Wendy but she was looking at Derek. He was rubbing her back and whispering to her.

"Don't! Don't touch me. Never again. Leave! Don't come back," she hissed at the man.

Derek stood and glared down at her. "Fucking bitch!" he growled and stormed off with a final glare at Ben.

Now Ben could see Wendy as she faced forward. He saw the signs of the disease that had taken her mother. Wendy was ill.

"Mrs. Shepherd-" the judge began.

"Harrison. Call me... Wendy Harrison. I don't want his name linked to mine anymore," Wendy said tiredly.

"I'm certainly willing to grant you the divorce if that is what you want," Judge Billings said.

"Yes," Wendy sighed, still looking at the table surface.

"What was the point of this hearing?" the judge asked.

"We weren't supposed to see the inside of a courtroom. Holland convinced me Ben wouldn't risk us going to the press with our story and would pay up. He met Ben on several occasions to threaten him with it." She snorted and looked over at Ben for the first time.

Ben saw the same bitterness in her eyes he'd seen in that restaurant the night she'd left him. "He didn't pay. Holland said he was going to have to play dirty but still, he didn't pay."

"Ms. Harrison, you understand you are implicating yourself in a case of extortion," Billings said.

"I'm dying! It doesn't matter, does it," she growled.

The judge looked at Walter and raised his eyebrows. "No I suppose it does not. I am granting the dissolution of your marriage." He signed the paperwork. "This hearing is adjourned. Case dismissed."

"All rise," the Bailiff called out as the judge left and the gallery erupted in cheers.

Ben watched as Wendy shrank in on herself just a little more. He stood and moved to her table ignoring the calls from behind him.

"Wendy, may I sit?"

She wouldn't look at him but she nodded so he took the chair next to hers.

"Why didn't you just... speak to me directly?" he asked.

She was quiet for a moment then she looked at him. Her eyes contained rage and confusion. "Because you still love me! Don't you get it? I don't love you!" she hissed.

Ben felt the pain of that but pushed it aside. He shrugged.

"Why didn't you just pay?" Wendy asked. "You're rich now I hear."

"Because it's not my money. It belongs to them." He gestured to the gallery over his shoulder. "I do what I can to take care of them. What do you want? What can I do to take care of you? Have there been any breakthroughs in experimental medicines? Clinical studies?"

Wendy sat back and stared at Ben incredulously. She shook her head then frowned as a tear rolled down her cheek. She caught Ben's hand twitch like he was going to reach for it. She wiped it away herself. It was too much.

"There... there's a clinic. In Switzerland. They can help... I think," she said finally, all of her energy gone.

"Good. Good. I'll get Walter to sit with you to make the arrangements. We'll get you to that clinic. We'll make this work for you. Ok?"

She nodded but her heart wasn't in it. She looked completely defeated. Ben glanced at her in worry.

"This is goodbye Wendy. We won't speak again," he said and she nodded once more, eyes on the table surface. He nodded to himself and moved back to his lawyer's side. He spoke briefly into his ear and Walter looked at him in surprise.

"Are you sure?"

"Walter, please make sure she gets to that clinic. First class and cover her costs. No cash, Holland and LaRue get nothing, but pay for her treatment. It's what she wants. It's the least I can do," Ben explained.

"I think it's more than you should but if that's your decision," he said and Ben nodded. Walter went over to speak with Wendy who was staring off at nothing.

With a final look at Wendy Ben joined his ladies who were looking at him in concern. He smiled at them.

"It's ok. I'm good. Wendy is going to get treatment in Switzerland. I don't know what they can do but it's an attempt at least. No money for Holland or LaRue as they're scumbags. Let's go!"

They looked puzzled but they moved with him as he made his way out of the court.

Ben felt... lighter. The pain he'd been carrying due to Wendy was gone. He smiled at his friends and shook their hands and kissed cheeks. He still wasn't looking forward to getting through the gauntlet of press outside but he hoped this might be the turning point for his popularity. Maybe it would fade now that the trial was over.

He was waiting for Walter as he was their lift back to the law office. When the lawyer finally arrived most of his friends had headed off. Chanel and Catherine were still there with her parents but her daughters had headed back to school. Lucy had left with his daughters. Gabriella gave him a kiss and headed out with her kids to get them to school. Trish stopped by and got a kiss as did Lisa and Lori which made Walter's eyes pop a little.

"Aren't they Daphne's kids?" he asked.

Ben just nodded and shrugged.

They all headed outside as Walter called the driver to pick them up.

Gretchen was walking on Tina's left with Trish on her right, putting the small woman in the middle and making her look so tiny. With the twins behind Trish, Tina looked even smaller. If Catherine and Chanel who were behind him had been up there too... Ben grinned at the idea. He would tease Tina about it when they got into the limo.

The barriers were up again making a walkway to the road. Paparazzi were out in force as were reporters with video cameras. Ben saw Gabriella and the kids heading off through the crowd to the left so the court officers must have let them through the barricade. He looked back down the channel as a taxi pulled up. The back door opened and a woman stepped out onto the sidewalk.

Wavy mahogany hair and caramel skin. Dark brown eyes locked onto his.

Ben began to smile. "Margaux?" Then he saw she wasn't smiling. She'd been crying, in fact.

Time slowed to a crawl as her right arm came up holding something silver and snub nosed.

Ben's smile faltered as Margaux's eyes held a terrible rage in them.

He heard a voice yelling something from behind him and hands were pulling at him but he was locked in place, focused on Margaux's eyes. Then he couldn't see her as someone stepped between them with her arms stretched wide.

A shot rang out.

Ben's eyes refocused on Gretchen's back as she dropped to the ground like a puppet with her strings cut.

Margaux came back into view but she was watching Gretchen fall as well. Her expression wasn't one of horror at what she'd done but just frustration. She looked back at Ben and her arm began to rise again.

Bang! Bang!

The noise was deafening and came from behind Ben's left side.

Margaux was suddenly knocked backwards but her gun went off one last time.

Ben felt a stinging bite on his left shoulder and staggered back a step but didn't go down as he watched Margaux slam back against the side of the taxi behind the open back door. The silver gun spun loose from her hand and dropped as her body followed it down. She fell like Gretchen had. Lifeless before she hit the ground.

He felt numb as people screamed and ran in all directions. Ben looked down and to the right and saw Trish had caught Tina when Gretchen protectively shoved the tiny woman at her. Trish had pulled Tina down behind the shelter of a concrete flower box. Lisa and Lori were crouched beside them. All four women were staring at him with wide, frightened eyes... but he saw they were safe.

Ben turned his head back to Gretchen lying on the cold concrete and found he was able to move again. He walked forward stiffly and knelt, pulling her up onto his lap to look into her unseeing eyes.

"Gretchen dear?" he said with trembling lips, gently touching her cheek, her soft lips.

She was gone. He saw the red flower of the blood on her chest where the bullet took her life. He was deeply shaken by how suddenly she'd been taken. He looked over at Margaux, crumpled face down on the sidewalk, her mane of thick brown hair spilling forward to hide her face. The beautiful, intelligent but tortured woman who'd... come all this way... just to kill him? He didn't understand.

Hannah and Dr. Granger, who had left just before Gabriella, were now kneeling next to him. They were saying something but his scattered mind couldn't make out their words.

Jack was suddenly before him, looking into his eyes. "Son. You've been shot. They need to take a look at that." Sounds snapped back into place for Ben when the man spoke to him.

Ben noticed the man had blood on his jacket. "You've been shot too?"

The older man looked down at the splotches. "No, this is your blood. The bullet went through you and deflected upwards just over my head. We were behind you."

"Anyone else hit?" Ben mumbled.

"No, just the two ladies and you. I'm so sorry," Jack said.

Ben looked up into sad eyes. "Did you shoot back?"

"No, that was me," Chanel said as she walked up holding Catherine's hand. "I am very sorry but she would not drop her weapon." She looked at him anxiously.

Ben nodded. He understood it wasn't her fault. "No, it's ok," he said roughly. His throat closed up because it wasn't ok. It was far from ok. Gretchen was dead. Margaux was dead. It was just too much. He slowly curled over Gretchen's lifeless body and wept. He made no sounds but his large body shook with his grief. Flashes of light painted the area where he knelt.

Jack and Chanel finally pulled Ben to his feet as Dr. Granger and Hannah gently took Gretchen's body from his hands. He was handed over to the paramedics who moved him into the ambulance.

As the door closed he saw the ones he loved standing in a group looking back at him. He closed his eyes and let his mind slide away.

Chapter 48

Ben walked up the driveway of his home five days after the shooting. He thought it seemed so cold to call it that. A shooting. The term was too impersonal for Ben. It was missing the shattering horror of losing Gretchen just as she'd discovered her new place and purpose in life. It failed to express the tragedy of Margaux's descent into her own personal madness driven by jealousy. The death of these two women needed a better label than 'a shooting'.

Ben shuddered as he dragged his thoughts back to the present. He'd spent a good deal of time with Dr. Granger over the past week and owed the woman a great deal for her guidance and patience. She immediately attacked his guilt for Margaux's murder of Gretchen. He recalled how intense those sessions had been.

"Ben, what about you was Margaux attracted to?" Granger asked.

He looked at her warily. "I- I wasn't after her money or her position."

"And?"

He shifted. "We were physically attracted to each other."

The doctor looked at him closely. "Did you behave differently around her? Did you act in any way contrary to who you are?"

Ben frowned but shook his head.

"So you were being yourself, Ben Shepherd, and she fell in love with that man," she said gently.

Ben's throat hurt so he just nodded.

"Without her getting help for her jealousy issues who would you have to be to ensure her jealousy never surfaced?" the doctor asked.

He thought about that but he couldn't find a solution.

"You couldn't be you, could you? But if you weren't you, you wouldn't be the man she fell in love with." She watched that sink in. "There was nothing you could have done if she wasn't willing to seek help in controlling her jealousy first. The problem resided within her. Not you."

"Gretchen didn't-"

"Are you going to deny her profound gesture of love?" Granger interrupted.

Ben stared at the doctor in surprise.

"I read the reports. Gretchen protected Tina then put herself between Margaux and you. To protect the ones she loved. It was a genuine and profoundly powerful act of love. Don't you think so?" She watched Ben closely as he struggled to come to terms with her sacrifice. He finally broke down and wept. He treasured Gretchen's final act of love but hated the cost.

Ben returned to himself standing in his driveway. He shuddered again and wiped the fresh tears from his eyes as he took some deep breaths. He made his way up to his front door. It opened immediately and concerned eyes looked at him. He stepped inside and hung his chilly jacket on the hook before hugging Tina and Lucy against his body, soaking in their love for him. He kissed them tenderly and let them draw him into the living room where they sat him on the couch and sat on either side of him. Lucy had to be careful of his left shoulder which was still healing.

"Karen and Penny are coming over tonight for Chinese take-out," Tina said and Ben smiled at the idea as he watched Christopher playing with his toys.

The two ladies shared a look and held his hands.

"We followed your instructions and gave her computer to Daniel for working on his photography. Her tablet and cell phone went to Ashley for her daughters to use. Lisa and Lori took the clothes to donate. Walter took care of the arrangements for her. For them both," Tina said gently with tears pooling in her lashes.

Tears rolled down Ben's cheek unnoticed. He nodded to Tina and hugged her a little tighter. He kissed her forehead and then Lucy's.

They spent the rest of the day simply being together. Remembering Gretchen who had been in their lives for such a short but sweet time.

For Ben, memories of Margaux would have to wait until the pain faded. If it did.

Ben's celebrity was anchored in the minds of the public by the sordid tale of his jealous lover's murder of his newest love interest. The images and video of him weeping over the body of his slain lover while ignoring his own bullet wound went viral in minutes as they made their way around the world. It seemed like any chance of Ben fading from the public consciousness was gone.

During the next weeks the media filled their time slots and pages with a frenzy of speculation surrounding the events of the day. So called 'insiders' divulged juicy secrets only to be refuted by other sources 'close to the Shepherd family'.

Walter surprised Ben with a midafternoon personal visit in the midst of this media storm. His relationship with Daphne continued to grow so Ben was pleased to see the man, thinking he was just finding excuses to be in the neighborhood.

"Walter! What brings you around?" Ben smiled knowingly as he welcomed the man inside. The man's smile looked a little strained and Ben's smile slipped away. They were hard to maintain these days.

"Could we sit for a moment?" Walter asked and Ben nodded, worry plain on his face.

"Hello, Mr. Greyson!" Tina said as the two men entered the living room. Her smile also muted as she saw their expressions. She looked to Ben but he just sat next to her while Walter nodded to her. He sat across from them.

"So sorry to barge in on you like this but I wanted to speak to you before the media catches wind of this as I'm sure they will. You deserve to hear it from me first," he said.

Seeing that he had their undivided attention he began. "I received a call today from the Swiss clinic we arranged for Wendy to receive treatment in." He saw Ben's expression become wary and it hurt his heart to do it but he continued. "Ben, she wasn't getting treatment for her disease. The clinic informed me that she requested them to assist her suicide. She... passed away last night."

Tina gasped and took Ben's hand in hers as a tear rolled down her cheek. Inside she was raging that this woman's final act had hurt Ben one last time. She was glad Wendy was dead.

Ben nodded to Walter who was watching him closely. "Thank you for telling me personally, Walter. You're right. This would have been much worse to hear through the news."

"I'm so sorry-" Walter began but Ben held his hand up.

"No, you are a true friend and I really appreciate your compassionate delivery of this... information," Ben said.

"Are you ok?" Walter asked as Ben seemed... a little numb.

"Yeah... I think so. I suppose I should have expected it. I knew she wouldn't have wanted to endure what her mother went through." He smiled weakly at Walter.

With his news delivered Walter rose to his feet and Ben walked him to the door. After he left Tina crushed herself up against Ben's chest and they held each other for a long time.

Walter was right about how the story would get out. Ben's paying for his ex-wife's assisted suicide was just what tabloid television ordered and the spin was vicious and brutal. It went on for days dredging up the debate over the morality of assisted suicide and linking Ben's name to it. He was both vilified for his cruelty and praised for his compassion depending on the side of the argument.

Ben remained silent and refused all requests for interviews or comment on this topic.

With the permission of the Sheriff's department Ben hired off duty officers to set up a checkpoint on the entrance to Ashburn Court to ensure only residents and legitimate traffic gained entry. The noise and commotion proved to be too much for the occupants of 1, 2, and 4 Ashburn Court. Ben bought their homes at a generous premium allowing them to move to quieter locations.

Living in 1 Ashburn Court, Kevin and Wanda Baker, both retirees in their 70's found themselves able to afford to purchase a beautiful condo in Florida to spend the rest of their lives in comfort and, most importantly, warmth.

Dwayne and Melanie Robinson from 2 Ashburn Court demanded twice the going rate for their place but Ben paid it. The owners of a Logistics company they invested the extra cash in upgrading their fleet of trucks with improved GPS trackers and moved... south. They didn't want any contact with Ben or his mess.

Wally and Carolyn Green, occupants of 4 Ashburn Court and owners of the 'Yogurt, Now!' frozen yogurt chain moved to California to get away from the other cold stuff.

Dominic Sellini asked Ben if he could buy the Green's home from him so he could fix it up for his son's family. Ben gladly gave him a deal on the price and was happy to know another good neighbor was moving into the neighborhood.

Luis and Jaclyn Hernandez in 3 Ashburn Court had no intentions of selling or moving now that their family had moved into the neighborhood. They just stayed in their son's guest suite while the press were making a nuisance of themselves.

Ben's financial advisor didn't bat an eyelash when Ben told him he was purchasing the additional properties. Not since the royalties from his filter began pouring in. The orders were exceeding the capacity of Sturn Manufacturing so the company bought out the neighboring property and expanded once more. Bill and his team were happy indeed.

The people on the list Ben had sent to Jerry started seeing statements indicating income coming into their accounts. There had been delighted responses when the initial notices went out indicating a trust had been created by Ben for them. It only truly sunk in what that meant when the monthly statements started showing up. Ben's phone line was busy with happy people thanking him enthusiastically.

Along with this windfall, Ashley Beaumont was suddenly presented with another fortune. She was contacted by a lawyer in Austin, Texas who informed her of the passing of Jacob Sturn, the father of her late husband. Ben heard the news the same day from Bill Freeny. The lawyer notified Ashley that she was the sole inheritor of Jacob's entire estate as the man had no other family. The lawsuit the company had been under was settled after the dissolution of Sturn Enterprises and there was still a considerable amount of money left in the estate for her and her children. The first thing she did was buy her home back from Ben though he insisted she pay no more than what he had.

Rain, Karen, and Penny got their family van after a fierce tournament of video game racing to determine the color. Penny was the overall victor so the van was deep blue. The girls wanted to begin driving lessons immediately so Ben signed them up for classes in defensive driving. In the meantime, Rain was their chief driver and got to use the van when she did late shifts at the clinic.

Months after his brief conversation with the woman, a couriered envelope arrived for Ben from Margaret Dawson in Australia. Inside was a letter and a key. Reading the letter he learned that during her interview with Gretchen when Ben had been on his way to Margaux's condo, Gretchen had signed over her inheritance to him. Every investment, every property, every piece of furniture in those properties, right down to the contents of the safe deposit box in Germany, which was still an unknown, now belonged to Ben. The key in the courier pack was for the safe deposit box. The contents of Rainor's condo in Sydney had been shipped to the states and were waiting in a storage container in San Francisco for him to deal with it. He also learned he now owned a penthouse condo in Berlin, the keys for which he would get from the landlord as Rainor's set was probably at the bottom of Sydney Harbour.

While the storm of attention raged outside the little pocket universe Ben had made of Ashburn Court, life simplified for him as he worked on projects for the engineering boards, both the public and military ones. In the tranquility of his office he set his mind on the projects and produced a steady stream of solutions for his 'clients'. Captain Kendricks was thrilled and Ben's status as a significant contributor soon spread to other branches of the government. He was offered other projects but he insisted if they wanted his help they'd have to submit the requests through an engineering forum board as he had no time to deal with alternate systems.

As he was spending so much time in his basement office he finally got around to replacing the panic room door. He was pleased with the faster closing rate of the new, stronger door. He ran drills with his family to ensure they knew how to use it. Tina already knew and helped Lucy get comfortable with it. The front door had been replaced with a much stronger one so Tina felt very secure in the home.

When the winter finally showed signs of passing Ben went ahead with the renovations on his home, extending the building back and upwards. The huge room he built on the back was going to become a playroom for the kids with a five level, padded jungle gym, complete with slides, tunnels, a ball pit, and cushioned floors for tumbling and running around.

During all this crazy renovation work in mid-March Tina went into labor in the wee hours of the morning. Ben and Lucy rushed her to the hospital while Ashley came over to watch over Christopher. After four hours of labour Tina gave birth to an eight pound baby boy. To Ben's great relief both mother and baby were healthy.

Tina was exhausted but she held the tiny life in her arms as Ben watched with joyful tears in his eyes.

"He's beautiful!" Ben sighed and kissed Tina's forehead. Lucy kissed her forehead as well. She glowed with happiness.

"You must give him a name," she said as she gazed at the boy's sleeping face.

Ben thought about that for a moment. There was a name he'd been thinking about a lot recently. "Would it be ok if we named him after my father?" he asked.

"That would be perfect! What was his name? You've never shared this with me," she asked curiously. Ben was very tight lipped about his past. Even the good years.

"His name was Sam."

"Short for Samuel?" Tina asked with a happy smile.

"No, just Sam," he responded automatically and flashed to a memory of his father saying those exact words. His eyes teared up as he felt the warmth of the memory.

Once Tina was taken to her room to rest and Sam was taken to the nursery Lucy and Ben went out to address the crowd of friends waiting for the news and announced the birth of his son, Sam Shepherd. He hugged and kissed and was kissed and hugged until he dropped into a chair, his exhaustion catching up to him. Lucy rested her head on one shoulder as Gabriella rested hers on the other. It was one of Ben's best days.

When they got back home Ben put extra effort into finishing the renovations to ensure Tina and Sam didn't have to endure the noise and mess. Once the playroom was ready and passed its safety inspection Ben offered its use to Daphne for visits from the kids in the daycare as it had an entrance from the backyard. Daphne had the parents sign permission slips so twice a week the kids got to run themselves ragged in the big room while the adults watched from the comfort of the seating area below.

On top of this utopia for kids Ben built a huge deck on the roof with a 360 degree view of the neighborhood and surrounding forest. He had a built-in grill and cooking area up there with plenty of seating for a group of thirty or so. As was Ben's style, the entire structure, right down to its excessively strong foundation, was over-engineered and could have easily supported a CH-47 Chinook helicopter with room for the troops to deploy from the rear loading ramp.

At least that's what Kendricks said when he and several visiting military engineers were enjoying an evening drink out on the large deck.

The night was warmer than usual and Ben was enjoying a lemonade after giving the men a tour of his workshop in the basement. They'd been amazed by the display cases and what they contained and equally thrilled by the jungle gym he'd designed for his kids. The deck just took their breath away. They'd been sharing stories for a couple of hours when Ben heard the chirp of the intercom system he'd installed.

"Ben?" Tina said from the speaker.

"Yes?" he called out as it was voice activated once engaged at one end.

"Lucy's water just broke," Tina replied. Ben's eyes widened.

"Should I call in the helicopter?" Kendricks asked and several of the men laughed. The funny thing was he could and would do it if Ben asked.

Ben grinned at the man. "Thanks, but I think we'll take a more conventional mode of transport this time. I'm sorry to end your visit early but... nature calls."

More chuckles erupted and they moved downstairs and headed off after giving them their best wishes.

Once more Ashley came over to watch the children as Ben drove Lucy and Tina to the hospital.

Ben and Tina were in the birthing suite with Lucy for eight and a half hours waiting for her to become dilated enough to give birth. They held her hands and gave her strength as she pushed and soon they heard the squall of a newborn taking her first breath of outside air.

"Good lungs!" Tina said with a grin and Lucy smiled exhaustedly at her.

"Congratulations on your baby girl!" the doctor said as they brought the bundled up child for Lucy to hold. Tina and Ben smiled at the beautiful girl with a shock of black hair. Sam had been born with only a peach fuzz on his head which had eventually become black.

"Good hair too!" Ben smiled.

With smiles on their faces, the medical team left.

Tina looked into Lucy's eyes and nodded. Ben looked at them curiously.

Lucy looked at him and bit her lip.

"What is it?"

"I'd like to name her Gretchen," Lucy said quietly.

Ben rocked back. The pain from losing the woman hadn't left him but as Lucy's words reverberated in his mind he found himself nodding to the two woman waiting for his answer. There was a beauty to the gesture he couldn't deny.

He looked down at the face of the baby and whispered the name to himself. The child had an entire world of potential open ahead of her. A potential the woman who shared her name had just discovered for herself.

Ben nodded to Lucy and Tina again, more firmly this time as they relaxed and smiled at him.

"Thank you, Ben," Lucy said gently.

"No. I have to thank you. For the beautiful gesture. For dealing with my baggage. For everything. I love you both so much!" he said as his throat tightened with emotion.

"We love you too Ben. We always will!" Tina said as Lucy nodded and held his hand.

Walter would have to do his magic once more to legally adopt the child but she would be Gretchen Shepherd with her brother's Christopher Shepherd and Sam Shepherd.

Chapter 49

Ben faced the source of most of his current problems. His body trembled as his first impulse was to take violent action, to extract his vengeance for the destruction it had wrought upon his life.

Trembling, he used every ounce of his willpower to resist that impulse as he knew how impotent and futile such an effort would be. The damage was done, no matter how satisfying it might be to act now.

He took a step back and glared at the bold and defiant expression on the bronze statue's face.

"Stupid asshole," he growled.

"That's a mean thing to say to your likeness, Ben."

He turned and looked to Stephanie Murino, blind sculptor extraordinaire and creator of this 'art'.

"He and I don't see eye to eye," Ben grumbled.

"How could you, he's only four feet tall," she returned with the hint of a smile on her lips.

Ben sighed and moved to pull Stephanie into a hug. "How are you doing?" he asked.

"My, I keep forgetting how big you are!" she squeaked. "I'm doing very well! I'm getting a lot of requests to sculpt people but there is always something missing."

"Clothes?"

She snorted and shook her head in his direction. "Passion! With you, it radiates from within! But these others... meh." It was Ben's turn to snort.

Her face took on a strange expression. "I have been asked by a very reputable art house to do a new piece. Life sized this time."

Ben looked at her wondering what she was getting at then it hit him. "NO! Absolutely not! I'm done with having the world ogling my... naughty bits."

She clung to him and turned her face up to his pleadingly. "It would be my finest masterpiece! You would be immortalized!"

"No!"

"They've already seen you naked! How could this make it worse?" she pouted cutely.

"Gabriella! Tell your cousin, when I say no I mean no!" he huffed in frustration as the woman squeezed herself against him. He began to react.

The beautiful brunette smiled at Ben, her green eyes flashing with joy. "Ben, you know I'm powerless when it comes to resisting art. I would personally love to see what magic Stephanie could do with a life sized sculpture of you!"

"Oh my god! That would be so fucking hot!" Trish gushed as she walked up to Gabriella's side. "Do it, Ben! For art's sake!"

"You two are NO help!" Ben growled.

Stephanie was biting her lip as she could feel Ben pressing against her sensitive places. "Passion, Ben. There is so much passion in you," she whispered.

"If you keep doing that you might find my passion inside you," he rumbled back quietly and she trembled with a wide grin on her face.

"Stephanie! Are you going to hump our special guest before he checks in with his... extended family?" her sister Alexis barked at her, her wife Béatrice grinning at her side.

Pouting, Stephanie pulled back from Ben but not before running her fingers over the large bulge in his pants. "This I remember very well!" she said quietly to him with a coy smile.

Ben shook his head and looked at the grinning women around him. Gabriella was looking back for her kids but Trish was just admiring the contours of his pants.

Mason and Ryan went charging by, excited to be in France but mostly to be out of the car. Hannah followed them around the corner and spotted the statue.

"Oh my god! That is magnificent!" she sighed as she got closer.

Stephanie beamed happily in the direction of her voice. "Can you imagine a life sized one?" she gushed.

"You're going to pose for another one?" Hannah gasped looking at Ben in surprise.

"No!" Ben barked and Hannah sighed in disappointment. That drew some laughter.

"Not you too!" Ben exclaimed. Then he caught in the corner of his eye the two boys charging down the path towards Arsene's house. "Boys!" he called out and they stopped to look back.

"It's ok Ben. We own that property now." She waved to the boys and they went charging off downhill. "We tore down the barn and Arsene's old house and built a number of beautiful little cottages. It's all ours!" Alexis said with a happy grin. "They are very private and truly secluded." She bounced her eyebrows at Ben.

"Are there any other guests staying with you?" Ben asked, trying to hide his blush.

"No, as per your request, every room and cottage is reserved for you and your guests for the entire month of August," Béatrice piped in. "You may take your pick!"

Ashley walked around the corner from the parking lot with Joshua in her arms and Beth by her side. Their kids followed close behind though Savannah only had eyes for Daniel who was describing Ben's adventures on their last visit in explicit detail. Madison was busy talking with John while Jane, Miriam and Karlene burst into giggles about... something young women giggle about.

Karlene had been a last minute addition and looked thrilled to be included. Gabriella lobbied hard for permission from Karlene's mother to bring the young woman along. Ashley was looking around like she'd landed in Wonderland.

Tina and Lucy, babies in their arms and Christopher at Tina's heel, followed.

With the approach of the young people, Alexis stepped forward and wrapped her kerchief around the statue's midsection... for discretion's sake. Ben nodded his thanks.

"Oh my stars, Ben. This place is lovely!" Ashley sighed.

"Thank you!" Alexis and Béatrice said in unison.

Ashley froze in shock. "Is... is that the gazebo from 'The Sound of Music'?" she gasped.

Their hosts chuckled happily at how thrilled she was. "Just a replica but it was designed after the one in the film." Alexis said proudly.

Finishing off their party Lisa and Lori joined them after locking up the vans. Or fish tanks as Ben called them. He'd rented five of them as he, Trish, the twins, and Gabriella knew how to drive the manual transmission people movers. Catherine and Chanel could too but they would only be joining the group when the group ended the vacation with a few days in Paris.

He looked at the collection of people admiring the chateau, the cottages, and the grounds and recalled the emergency meeting they'd called when he announced he needed to get away for a while. They sat him down and gently informed him they didn't want him travelling on his own anymore. He understood their concern and he silently agreed. He couldn't take the chance of meeting another Gretchen or worse, a tortured soul like Margaux. He also didn't like travelling without his family so his answer was to bring as many as could take the time off.

Gabriella made the introductions and they took an inventory of available rooms and cottages and assigned them to the guests.

Once the rooms and cabins were allocated Ben saw the kids were staying in the large family cabin separate from the others. It had bunk beds so it was like they were attending summer camp. The ladies however... aside from the twins they each had their own room as they had their own ideas of nighttime entertainment. His face heated up when he realised he'd been set up as they shared knowing smiles. He could almost see them working out a schedule! Even Stephanie seemed to be in on it. Well, he had something to say about that!

"I'm still not posing for another sculpture!"