Ben & the Enlarging Ch. 06

"Baby what would be silly is you keeping all this inside. Besides, don't you know, girls like a vulnerable man who shows his emotions. Very sexy"

That made Ben laugh and they hugged even tighter. She took his hand and led them up the stairs. They turned to the family room and found Beth, Julie (now in shorts and a tee shirt), Charlotte, Dionne, Katy, Karla, Allison and Angela sitting, waiting patiently for them. Ben started to panic, why were they here, what was going on? Why had the Circle convened in front of him and Debbie.

Angela spoke and invited them to sit down, and to not worry as everything was going to be alright.

"Dee Dee there are some things that have happened in the past that you were not part of, but now you are at the centre of all that's going on and deserve an explanation, and maybe an apology for not telling you sooner."

Beth was sat on the other side and took her hand. "Dee Dee I promise you everything is going to be alright." Debbie turned and nodded, still looking like a deer in the headlights of a rapidly advancing truck.

Angela continued.

"This goes back to the time when Ben became sick. He was getting the best medical treatment available but it wasn't working, it was only slowing the disease down. You know that the local churches all prayed for him, including yours, but what you don't know is that Julie and Samantha, their Momma, sought help from another source."

Debbie nodded, knowing everything up to the last point.

"All of the women in this room around you are part of an...organisation that's been around for a very long time. We call it the Circle and you can trace it back to long before the Europeans set foot in America. Amongst other things, we're healers and carriers of wisdom from ancient times. So when our help was called on, we answered."

Debbie's mouth dropped and quickly closed.

"You saved Ben. With what? Incantations? Potions? Magic spells?"

"Some of that. We harnessed the power of nature and it's goodness and gave his blood the strength to fight back and beat it. Watching Ben get better has been one of the greatest achievements of our lives. It comes with certain, shall we say side effects?"

Debbie glanced at Ben.

"How long have you known?"

"A couple of weeks. Like everyone else I presumed the doctors were successful."

Debbie hugged him, then turned back to Angela.

"Side effects? Okay so power in the blood gives him the big cock, assume that his virility is associated with this too. Must also be generating massive amounts of pheromones which would explain why I'm perpetually horny. Most of you here too I bet."

Beth smiled. "I told you she was smart and intuitive."

Angela nodded. "That's most of it. We call the power we have called on the Enlarging. It's been around for a very long time, and it's purpose is to support its host and to perpetuate itself. It's essentially looking to make lots of babies and in doing so it grants the host an ability to summon changes in women. The original idea is to improve the chances of bringing a child full term and nursing it after."

Debbie paused and looked at Allison and Angela.

"Ben summoned your boobs?"

Both women nodded. Beth smiled again. "Yeah not much gets past you honey. We call it the Gift, and it's entirely up to Ben who he grants it to. We had to tell him after the changes manifested in them as well as his favourite nurse, or else it might have gone out of control. I...have asked for the Gift as have the twins. Others may yet do so."

There was a pause while Debbie processed all this. Angela continued.

"There's more. While Ben is in this phase he is incredibly fertile, and any unprotected sex has a very high chance of resulting in pregnancy. All of the women in the Circle are on birth control right now to protect against that, as the Gift is completed only once the host has sex with the recipient. We think this period will last a few months, but honestly we're not entirely sure."

"Guess that's the risk with using ancient powers. But it does not explain why Ben was so upset in the basement. What the heck is going on?"

Katy and Karla explained the situation with their sister and what they had asked of Ben.

"So you asked him to fuck your married sister and father a child, and anyone wonders why that might be causing him to feel...fuck I don't know what he's feeling but I can only imagine. Honey you are doing NOTHING that you don't want to do, mystic cock spell be damned!"

Ben looked up and around the room, then kissed Debbie.

"I would not be here without this. My life has taken a turn for the weird, but I'm also grateful. I won't decide today, I want to sleep on this, but the idea took me by surprise."

The twins quietly thanked him. Debbie took a deep breath, before continuing.

"So are we going to deal with the elephant in the room? You've just told me that you're all members of some ancient sect who cast a spell to save this man here. Why tell me now? You need me to swear I won't tell your secret or something?"

Angela looked round the room and received nods from every other woman there.

"You're too smart not to have figured out something was up sooner or later. I'm actually really sorry we didn't tell you before, but none of us anticipated you and Ben becoming so...close in such a short space of time. You can promise us to keep our secret, and I know you Debbie D'Angelo, a promise made is a promise kept. Or you could join the Circle. The craft is passed down from Mother to Daughter and has been for centuries, but from time to time we induct new members who are especially worthy, who's courage, intelligence, wit and beauty will bring joy. I can't think of a better description of you Dee Dee."

The women of the Circle burst into applause at that. Debbie blushed deeply, and Ben whispered in her ear 'Devastatingly pretty', which made her laugh, then cry and hug him.

The drive back from Ben's house was initially in silence, which was very unlike Debbie and it was killing Beth. Was their bold and exciting new friendship now derailed because of the secrets of the Circle? Finally one of the texts she received made her giggle.

"Dee Dee, please say something. I hate that I've had to keep all this from you, but it doesn't change how I feel about you."

Debbie paused, then took a deep breath. "It does change how I think of you."

Beth's heart sank.

"You and all of the girls kept this completely from me. I'm impressed with that, given that Charlotte can't normally keep a secret for more than fifteen minutes. But Angela told me that you were the one who nominated me, pushed to get me accepted and insisted it was inevitable that I would figure out something was up and keep digging away. You told her that I was as worthy as anyone in the Circle and deserved to know, especially with what was happening with Ben. So yes it's changed how I think of you. You're my Captain, my friend and my Queen. No one has looked out for me more or cared as much about me, and that is very, very special."

Beth's eyes were filling with tears and she pulled the car over.

"I love you Bethany Jones, with all my heart. This has been the most intense weekend of my life, but I'm absolutely certain of this. I know I will pledge myself to the Circle, but no friendship will ever be more important to me than yours." With that they hugged and Debbie whispered assurances into Beth's ear, until she calmed down.

Beth quickly looked in the mirror and her face was a collage of streaking make up and puffy eyes.

"Wow I look a complete mess."

Debbie squeezed her hand. "Yeah but you're my mess. Let's take a minute or two and tidy you up, make you presentable. I know you've met my family briefly before, but come on in and have some tea, sit down and let me show off my special friend."

Beth initially protested, but as she would often discover in the future, when Debbie made her mind up there really was no changing it. So off to the D'Angelo household they went, and Beth was introduced to them all, and smothered in family love. It was abundantly clear where Debbie got her heart from, and it convinced Beth more than ever that sticking up for the remarkable woman beside her was one of her best decisions ever. She left an hour later, her belly filled with delicious pasta which Mamma D'Angelo had insisted on making for her, and her heart filled with the love of the family of her friend. Best friend? Perhaps.

The tiny box of delicious pastries that she was handed as she left to take home with her just reinforced what a warm and loving household she had left. She took them into the house, and spent the next hour explaining the day that was to her Mother. Her phone buzzed all the way through the conversation, but she ignored it until she went to her room, enjoyed a long hot shower and changed into her cutest pyjamas. Her phone was awash with messages from all of the senior squad checking in with her, from Angela thanking her for being such a strong advocate for Debbie, from Debbie herself telling her she missed her already and loved her, to Ben asking her to call. After answering most of the messages she finally did call him.

"You know three weeks ago a phone call from you would have been terrifying." Ben's laughter made her feel warm and safe inside.

"Well until recently I WAS a first class bitch. It's thanks to Dee Dee and you I've found myself. I'm a better person for knowing you both, and I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you."

"Just keep being who you are Beth. You were amazing today, I honestly wasn't sure how much longer I could keep Dee Dee away from all that's happening, but Angela and I had a long talk and she told me over and over how you stood up for you're newest initiate. Also she reckons that one date was fine and she loved it, but she would not get in the way of whatever happens next. So gracious, such a big and generous heart."

"Lot of that going around Ben."

"Yeah, it's kinda cool. Anyway I just wanted to check in with you, make sure you're okay."

"That's so sweet. I'm fine, I ended up visiting Dee Dee's house and man that is some family they have. You can see where the girl gets her love from, they did nothing but be nice the whole time I was there. Sent me away with some gorgeous pastries after her Mamma fed me. For an hour I just felt...loved. It was beautiful." Beth tried to hide a sniff as her emotions bubbled up again, but Ben could hear it in her voice.

"Well get used to it. People really like Beth 2.0, I know I sure do and I'm not alone."

That made her laugh.

"Beth 2.0. I kinda like that. A fresh start around some great people. You know with everything that's going on with you and you're calling me to check I'm okay? What did I do to deserve that? I'm a lucky girl to have friends like you in my life."

Ben laughed. "I think it's the other way around. But you know, all we will have to get through life is each other. The people you surround yourself with, the family you choose are every bit as important as the family you're born in to. I really hope that you're in my life for a long time to come."

Beth's voice croaked with emotion. "Thank you sweetie. You'd better get used to it though, as I think Dee Dee and I are gonna be besties for a very long time to come. If you guys are gonna be something together, then I'm definitely around."

Ben assured her he was very fine with that, and they said their good nights and ended the call. She rolled onto her side, pulled the duvet up to her chin and cuddled tight her old and very favourite teddy bear. Finally exhausted though still vaguely horny, she closed her eyes and drifted off to a well earned sleep.