378

As he made his way out of the lobby he wondered what was taking Gabriella, Catherine and Tina. He’d check on them when he returned from the pharmacy.
The sky was blue and the air was cool but he fully expected it to get much warmer. He’d dressed in light clothes as he expected to be carrying quite a few bags today. He made his way into the pharmacy and grabbed a basket. He headed straight for the aisle where the condoms were. He found the lube and dropped a few boxes of the individual packs as well as a jar of the stuff. Then he headed over to the aisle for shaving stuff. He needed to get Lucy a pack of fresh disposable razors, special shaving gel like his, and something to prevent skin irritation.
They had the special gels on the bottom shelf so he had to squat down. He heard the door chime then the distinct sound of Gabriella’s voice as she spoke to the cashier by the door. He didn’t quite catch what she said but the tone of her voice set off his nerves. He slowly walked to the front of the store as she rushed back into the aisles, grabbed something and rushed back to the cashier. Ben was just about to the front and saw what she placed on the counter. His mind blanked momentarily and when he returned she was gone.
He paid for his items and took the bag in his hand as he rushed back to the hotel. He wasn’t sure why he was rushing but there was an urgency he couldn’t deny. He went straight to the elevators and up to their floor. He knocked on Gabriella’s door and waited but she didn’t answer. Then he knocked on Catherine’s door but she didn’t respond. He turned and stiffly walked over to Tina’s door. There was a roaring in his ears as he heard voices inside. He stood there unmoving. Minutes passed then he used his key to open the door and step inside. He saw Gabriella and Catherine looking at him with surprise and worry on their faces.
There was a strange man in the room with his back to him. Ben took in a doctor’s bag on the bed. The man turned and there was Tina looking dazed and pale holding a pregnancy test in her hand.
“Ce est le père?” At Ben’s blank look he spoke again. “Are you the father?”
Ben was crashing into the elevator slapping at the ground floor button. There were shrill voices behind him but he couldn’t make out what they were saying over the roaring in his head. There could have been crying but his confusion was keeping him from comprehending the sounds. The doors finally opened and Ben surged out of the elevator and raced through the lobby and out into the street. He didn’t know why he was running. All he knew was that something horribly painful was behind him and he had to keep out in front of it.
Megan saw Ben run through the lobby and glanced at Sophia. She held up her phone and set off after Ben in a sprint. She spotted him running down the street to the right in the direction of the Seine. She raced after him, keeping him in sight but not so close as he saw her. Then she spotted the woman in front of her who also seemed to be running after Ben.
She saw him stop at a corner and look in all directions. She and the woman both ducked for cover when his head turned in their direction. That confirmed for Megan that the woman was chasing Ben. She looked out again and saw Ben turn left and she and the woman rushed forward. Megan made sure the woman didn’t see her as she turned the corner then ducked around the corner to see Ben far ahead and the woman picking up her pace to keep up. Megan also ran faster and soon she saw Ben reach the walkway next to the lovely river. He seemed to be leaning over a trash receptacle… oh. He was being sick. Maybe he had what Tina had? She began to really worry.
Gabriella pushed out of the elevator with Catherine and saw Sophia standing in the lobby.
“Did you see Ben?” she gasped.
“Yeah, he ran right through the lobby and outside.” Before Gabriella could move to give chase Sophia put a hand on her arm. “You’ll never catch him at this point. He was moving too fast.” Gabriella looked like she was going to collapse so Sophia took her shoulders and looked in her eyes. “Don’t worry, Megan went after him and she has her cell. She’s the only one of us who could keep up with him and she’ll keep him in sight.”
Gabriella looked up hopefully and hugged Sophia. The rest of the group exited the restaurant and Gabriella indicated they needed to go upstairs. “Come on. Everyone brush their teeth so we can be ready to go when Ben gets back.” she said. They headed to the elevator.
Megan watched Ben walk along the sidewalk next to the Seine. He looked from side to side occasionally like he was lost and she suddenly realized he was. She increased her pace until she was up to the woman following him.
“Why are you following Ben?” she barked and the woman spun to look at her.
“Who are you to ask me that?” the woman growled back.
“I’m Ben’s friend, who watched you following him all the way from the hotel.” Megan growled back.
“Oh, you are one of his bitches. Piss off little girl. I’m working here.” the woman sneered and looked away.
“If you are working the street I guess that makes you a whore.” Megan snapped.
The tall brunette spun to look at her with rage in her eyes. She slapped Megan’s cheek, hard enough to daze her and knock her onto her butt.
“HEY!”
She spun to see her quarry running towards her so she turned and ran. It wasn’t time to confront Kirion, yet.
Megan sat on the sidewalk holding her cheek and rolling her jaw side to side as Ben arrived. He knelt down to see if she was ok just as her phone buzzed with an incoming text. She picked up the phone and saw it was from Sophia. She replied all was good.
“Are you ok?” Ben asked turning her face to see the bruise coming up on Megan’s cheek. He pulled out his phone and took a picture of the bruise. Then he noticed he had texts. From Gabriella. Why did he suddenly feel so nervous?
“Ben? Ben!” Megan was calling his name.
“Huh? What?” he said.
“Let’s sit down on this bench and catch our breath for a bit ok?” she asked. He looked around and saw nothing familiar.
“Where are we?” he asked.
“A couple of miles from the hotel.” she responded as they sat. “Just close your eyes and breathe. Relax.”
He immediately did as he was told and she blinked. He must be in a suggestible state. “Can you hear my voice clearly, Ben?”
“Yes.”
“The sun feels good, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, it does.”
“We should just rest here for a bit and relax. Can we do that?”
“Sure.”
Megan began to text furiously.
Gabriella and Catherine were in Tina’s room and she was crying inconsolably on her bed. The doctor was sitting on the end of her bed as Gabriella asked him to stay when Tina had said the baby was Ben’s. She knew Ben was sterile so she needed the doctor to explain this to Tina so maybe they could get the truth from the woman. She and Catherine were stunned. While Ben had no reason to expect fidelity from any of them the last person they thought would find another partner was Tina. The doctor estimated she was likely six weeks along and from what Catherine had said, their flight over was the first time Ben had been able to have sex with anyone since his hospital stay.
“Tina, you need to tell us the truth. Ben is sterile. He hasn’t had sex until this trip. It can’t be his.”
Tina rolled over angrily and glared at Gabriella. “I have not had sex with ANYONE but BEN!”
“He was on medication for weeks after the stabbing. Barely conscious most of the time. He couldn’t have had sex with you!” Catherine pushed.
Tina’s face looked stricken and they thought she was going to confess the name of her other lover.
“I had sex with Ben when he was sleeping.” she whispered, her face flushing with shame.
“What?” Gabriella was confused. How was that even possible? Catherine just sat looking at Tina with her jaw open.
“The drugs made him sleep but he would become so hard and I was so desperate to be with him. He had died. I was so scared I’d never be with him again. So I climbed on him and was careful not to press on his chest. But I had sex with him every day for weeks like this. Sometimes… twice a day.” She looked down. “I feel bad for doing this while he was sleeping but I needed him so much! Needed to be with him.” Her shame was plain to see on her face.
“But… but Ben is sterile. He said he had a low sperm count to start with and then he was shot and the doctor said the bullet cut his cords.” Gabriella mumbled.
The doctor perked up. “Has he been tested?”
All of the ladies looked at him. “What?” Gabriella asked.
“Has he been to a fertility clinic to be tested? I believe your doctor was full of shit. You are all so excited about guns! Take your man to a fertility clinic to have him tested. Tell the clinic he has a low count so they check very carefully. The doctor probably did not check sufficiently. A low sperm count doesn’t mean you can’t get pregnant. It just means it can be exceptionally difficult to get pregnant. Taking steps as Ms. Lee did may have increased her odds just enough. Once the child is born a paternity test will prove who the father is.” He smiled at the stunned women. “If that is everything I must be on my way. Good luck to you all.” With that he gathered his bag and left.
The room was silent except for the occasional sniff from Tina.
“Ben’s going to be a father.” Gabriella finally said. Tina’s face burst into a smile as she heard her friend confirming her belief in her. Gabriella held open her arms and Tina was in them instantly. Catherine threw her arms around both her friends and they all cried tears of joy together.
Once they got control of themselves again Gabriella smiled at Tina. “We have to get Ben to take that test. He needs to believe it too. Whatever happened to him in his past has done some damage to his mind. He needs to see that psychiatrist we all hate so she can help him heal. Shocks like this need to be delivered gently. Not from him bursting into the room.”