This popped into my head while watching The Flash of all things.
I refuse to believe Ben isn't Dean's son. He is, end of story. ;)
Ben was five when he realized he wasn't like other kids. His classmates and friends had a mom and a dad. All Ben had was a mom. Don't get him wrong, his mom is awesome, but it bothered him he didn't have an awesome dad too.
The other kids noticed his abnormality and made fun of him for it. They picked on him and called him names that had him crying, which made the teasing worse, and told him his dad hated him so much he left him and his mom. Ben had been hysterical that day and refused to leave his room for anything and wouldn't tell his mom why.
His mom managed to get the truth out of him and she was livid. She pulled Ben out of school and moved to a different district where he could go to school without being bullied for not having a father.
His mom rarely talked about his dad, and would roll her eyes when he asked about him.
It got to the point that Ben started making up stories about his dad. Ranging from a cop to a NASA scientist (not an astronaut, his dad's smart not crazy, thank you very much), but his all time favorite fantasy was his dad being a firefighter.
A neighbor of his had their house burn down from an electrical fire when he was six. Ben had watched as the firefighters saved his neighbors and most of their stuff before the house burned down. Ben had been in awe at their courage and he instantly imagined his dad being one of them, a hero.
Ben's dad was a hero. Nothing would ever change that.
He told his mom as much and she got this pinched look about her and made her 'I'll agree with you because I don't want to upset you' nodding gesture. Ben hated that particular nod. It told him he was way off-base with his assumptions of his dad, but this time Ben refused to change his mind on his father being a hero.
For two years Ben stubbornly believed this until his eighth birthday when he was proven right. Oh, his dad wasn't a firefighter, he was a monster hunter, and that was even better.
Ben knew the second he saw Dean he finally found his dad.
How awesome is that? On his birthday, he found his dad, and he learned just how cool his dad is on that day. It was the best birthday gift in the history of the world. They liked the same music and both knew how to talk to the ladies. His dad also taught him how to make a bully leave him alone after he stole his gameboy.
It was the first time he got advice on how to fight bullies without running to his mom and complaining about it, which would make the bullying worse. Dean showed him how to throw his first ever punch, and the best part was being left alone afterwards.
Yeah, his dad was already awesome before he saved him from the monsters.
Ben remembered playing his new gameboy in his room, he heard a noise, then a smelly rag was placed on his face, and he woke up in a cage with a monster that looked like him and his friends. Their faces changed and he had never been so scared before in his life. All he remembered was black eyes and rows of sharp teeth.
He didn't know how long he was in the cage with the other kids and the mama monster but he heard his dad calling his name. The mama monster snarled and went upstairs. Ben was scared for his dad.
What if he didn't know it was a monster and it killed him?
"Dean!" he screamed while his mind shouted, 'Dad!'
He didn't want his dad to die. He just found him!
There was a bloodcurdling scream that had him shrinking back against the cage in fright but he relaxed when he saw his dad appear holding a home made flamethrower. He used it on the mama monster, killing it.
His dad saved him. He knew he was a hero.
Dean had gotten him safely home with his mom who almost suffocated him with her hugs. Dean told her he hunted monsters and what took him was called a changeling. Fire is the only way to kill them.
Ben sat on the stairs listening as his dad explained what his mom needed to watch for from now on. They needed to salt the doors and windows to keep ghosts and demons out. They needed iron and silver too. He also told her to keep people out who ask about him. They're dangerous, his dad said, and would do anything to hurt Dean.
Just before his dad left, he asked his mom if he was his. She lied and said he wasn't. Ben hated her for that, especially when he saw his dad's face. He looked just as devastated as Ben felt, and a white hot fury rolled through him at his mother's lie. He was Dean's son!
Ben snuck out the back and ran down the block, knowing Dean would have to pass by it to get to the interstate. He didn't have to wait long.
The awesome black Chevy Impala rolled to a stop by him and his dad got out. They looked at each other for a minute, then Ben shot forward and hugged his dad for the first time in his life. His dad hugged him back just as tightly.
Ben buried his face into Dean's stomach and cried. Dean shifted down to his knees so he could hug him better. He didn't say anything as Ben sobbed his heart out, getting tears and snot all over his jacket, only holding him tight against his body. It made Ben cry even harder at the thought of this being the one and only time he'd ever get to hug his dad.
"She's lying," Ben said after he managed to quit sobbing. "You're my dad."
There is a terrifyingly long pause before Dean answers with absolute certainty that threatens to make Ben start crying again, "I know."
Ben compromised by hugging his dad tighter.
"Don't go," Ben begged, and his dad kissed him on his head.
"I have to," his dad said in apology. "It's my job to kill monsters, Ben. What happened to you could happen to someone else. There are other monsters out there that are worse, I can't let anyone else get hurt."
Ben let out a sob. He knew his dad was a hero, he just never thought to think that being a hero meant his dad would be gone all the time saving people. He didn't want his dad to be a hero anymore and told his dad as much.
"Oh, Ben," his dad whispered, and picked him up like he was a little kid again. It didn't stop Ben from wrapping his legs around his dad's waist though, silently marveling at how strong his dad is to hold him like he weighed no more than a baby. He tightened his grip on his father. Forget acting like a big boy, he just wanted his dad to stay with him and protect him from monsters and do all the father/son things they missed out on. He wanted his dad to stay and watch him play little league and rave about his art projects that he brought home for him.
Is that too much to ask for?
"I would stay with you until the day I died but I have work to do before that happens. I'm sorry." His dad sounded just as sad as he felt.
"Okay," Ben said softly. "I understand. You'll come back?" He hated acting like a big boy.
His dad had a pained look, one like his mom wore when she didn't want to lie to him and make him sad. It made his heart stop and he felt like he couldn't breathe.
"I'll try," his dad promised and Ben believed him.
His dad is a hero after all, and heroes don't make promises they can't keep. If his dad says he'll try to come back home to him, then he will.
They stood there for another couple of minutes just soaking up each others presence, Ben memorizing his dad's scent, and imprinted as much of his dad he could before he left to save people. His dad seemed to do the same thing.
He gently untangled Ben's legs from his waist and his arms from around his neck. Dean dropped down to one knee and took one off one of his bracelets. He grabbed Ben's wrist and tied the bracelet on. Ben examined it curiously and marveled at how tiny the symbols were on the beads.
"My dad, your grandpa, gave that to me when I was little bit older than you. He told me it would keep me safe from the monsters," Dean told him. "He gave your uncle one too. It's a Winchester tradition."
Ben felt tears prick at his eyes. He's a Winchester, no matter what his mom says. "What about you? What will protect you from the monsters now?" he asked fearfully. What if his dad gets hurt because Ben has his protection bracelet?
His dad smiled cockily at him, it made Ben give a watery smile back. "I can handle them now. I'm a Winchester, monsters are afraid of me."
Ben giggled and hugged his dad one last time. He started walking home but not before waving goodbye to his dad and uncle. His uncle had a sad look on his face and gave a small wave. Ben decided the next time he saw his uncle, he'd have him get a haircut, and have him tell him his name. Ben forgot what it was. He was too excited by finding his dad at the time they met.
That night he slept in his mom's bed but he didn't feel afraid. He had his dad's bracelet to keep him safe from the monsters.
Ben smiled softly at the thought of monsters checking under their bed and closets to make sure his dad wasn't there to kill them. Of course his dad won't be there. Those places were too obvious. No, his dad would sneak attack them with his uncle providing back up, and kill any that escaped from his dad.
The monsters don't stand a chance against his dad. His dad is a hero and the hero always wins. That's the rule, and because he is the son of a hero, he will have a happy ending with his father and uncle.
His dad will come back, and he will finally be like the other kids, but he will have the coolest dad in the world because he killed monsters. No one else will ever have a dad as cool as his or the bravest. Not even Billy Roland's dad, he was a cop, or Jenny Chandler's dad who was a Marine. No, his dad is better than all of them.
All he has to do is wait. That won't be hard. He waited eight years for his father, what's a little longer?