Welcome to Stories In My Head! The third in a trilogy I didn't know I was writing. *laughs* I recommend reading The Truth is Better Than Fiction and However, Fiction is Safer before reading this.

Okay, now that is out of the way. This story is a multi-chapter fic, I don't how long, and it focuses on Ben trying to regain his memories and then navigating his father's world.

I plan on focusing on Ben, Claire, Krissy, and Jody. Dean and Sam will show up but it won't be until later. Alex is in here but I'm focusing on the others instead. I've had this idea that Ben, Claire and Krissy become hunting partners in my head for a long time had been unable how to figure out how to bring it to paper, and now I do. *laughs*

In this fic, Ben is 17, same age as Alex and Krissy, and a year younger than Claire.

This show has time jumped a lot, so I'm choosing Ben is 17. If the age is off, roll with it please.

I think that's it.

Enjoy!

Ben was twelve when he realized there was something wrong with his memories. He can remember almost everything with damn near perfect detail except for his eighth birthday, the year leading up to his eleventh birthday, his eleventh birthday, and the day they decided to move out to the country. He also couldn't remember how his mom got stabbed. She couldn't either.

His mom wouldn't say it but she also suffered from memory issues. Sometimes they'll be sitting down for dinner and her eyes would fall to the door as if waiting for someone to walk through it. Her eyes would dim in disappointment then confusion would set it. Who exactly was she waiting for?

Ben did the same thing. At a sporting event, he'll look for his mom then to her right, looking for someone important. His heart would fall then he kicked himself for being disappointed in someone he couldn't even remember not being there for him. No one came up to him while he got ready to bat to give him information about where to hit and whether or not to bunt. No one would cheer the loudest whenever he made a brilliant play and brag about him being his...something. There was no one there.

Neither him nor his mother could ever recall just who it is they're missing. They knew the person they were missing was a guy, and Ben had an inkling the guy was his father.

If so, where is he? Why can't Ben or his mom remember his dad? He can't even remember what his dad sounds like. It's all distorted. He has pictures of a guy that somehow became fuzzy and smudged to the point of being unrecognizable. All of them, and just him too. The few with his mom and him, they're in perfect condition but the man is not.

The whole ordeal should be terrifying but neither he nor his mother are particularly worried about it. Almost as if it was really worth being afraid of, it would be taken care of by someone who can actually take care of something like this.

He has nothing but questions that has him getting powerful headaches whenever he thinks too hard on it.

Sometimes he'll get flashes of a wide smile and green eyes or the silhouette of a tall man with long-ish hair but that's it. One time he got a crystal clear image of a black car. It was a monster of a classic. A 1967 Chevy Impala, his mind whispered. And for some unidentifiable reason he has yet to figure out, the car meant hope and safety. He could practically hear the engine roar and purr as the man with the green eyes smiled widely at him from the driver's side.

It drove Ben crazy sometimes that the man's face eluded him.

He tried drawing the man once for art class but all that came out was something worthy of the great impressionists and Picasso. Ben couldn't even figure out what the hell he drew. He got an A though on the assignment.

Instead of throwing the drawing away, Ben kept it and all the other rough drafts together in hopes of compiling them together someday to see if they somehow make a whole picture. It's why he made friends with the computer kids. If anyone who could figure out a way to do that, its them, and if he has to invite them to parties every now and then, then that's fine with him.

Some day Ben will find out whether or not the guy with green eyes is his father. No matter what it takes, he will confirmation, and when he does, he's going to track him down and demand to know why he abandoned him (again, his mind whispered) and his mother.

BW

Its been three months since Ben lost his mother. They'd been driving home from a late night ballgame, Ben chose not to ride with his team mates because he didn't want his mom to drive home by herself. His mom was crowing about the double play he made in the bottom of the sixth when the sky lit up and was filled with falling stars.

Ben felt his stomach drop at the sight. Something bad happened was all he had time to think before one of the "stars" crashed near them. His mom screamed and swerved but their momentum had the car flipping over three times.

The last thing Ben heard before he blacked out was his mom calling out for him to stay awake and with her. He tried to answer back but his mouth felt like it was filled with cotton and everything sounded weird, and his head felt like it weighed a ton. His mom screaming his name echoed in his mind when the blackness swallowed him up.

Ben woke up in the hospital without his mom by his side. The doctors and nurses avoided all his questions about his mom's whereabouts until a social worker showed up. Ice filled Ben's veins at the sight while his stomach bottomed out, he knew what she was going to say was not going to be good. He was right. Lisa Braeden died from internal injuries. They gave him their deepest and sincerest condolences.

Thank god he was already lying down otherwise he would have ended up on the floor.

"No. No," he shook his head wildly, refusing to believe his mother was gone and that he was all alone in the world now. "No, no, no, no, no!"

They gave him a sympathetic look before leaving him to deal with his grief on his own. He curled into a ball and screamed into his pillow at the unfairness of it all. He screamed so hard and long the nurses came in and sedated him to keep him from blacking out from a lack of oxygen.

When Ben woke up a second time, the social worker was there, introducing herself as Joyce Gray, and talked to him about his situation and asked if he had any family who could take him in. Ben shook his head, telling her his mom was an only child and her parents died when she was a teenager. A bitter laugh escaped at that. He's repeating history.

Then Joyce asked about his father. Ben replied he didn't know who his father was.

Joyce had frowned at that. She scribbled down into her notebook then looked up to ask him if his mother ever talked about a man named Dean Winchester or his brother Sam. Ben stared at her in confusion before shaking his head no.

Joyce hummed before writing in her notebook again.

"Who's Dean Winchester?" Ben asked as a sharp pain stabbed him in the head. "Is he my dad?"

The woman stared at him intently. "Is he?" she asked in a weirdly intense voice. "Is Dean Winchester your father?"

Suddenly uncomfortable and afraid, Ben shrank back away from her and shook his head. "I don't know. I don't think so."

Joyce leaned in close to him, keeping her eyes locked on Ben's as she whispered, "I don't think you're lying to me Ben but you look so much like him. I think it would be best if I sent you some place far away just in case. Be thankful you look like him, Benjamin Braeden. I owe your father a debt and I'm repaying that by keeping you safe."

Ben felt his mind blank out at her words. This woman knows his father and apparently he looks like him.

Joyce turned to leave, the action spurred Ben into asking, "Wait! You know my father? Why can't I remember him?"

The woman stopped just outside the door. "To keep you safe. Your father and uncle has made a lot of enemies over the years. Both Heaven and Hell are gunning for them, and should they find out about you, Ben, they'd use you against them."

"I don't understand," Ben said, his mind no longer blank but swimming with information overload. "Can you help me remember?"

"Yes," she said but her next words dashed any hope he had building, "but I won't. It's safer if you never remember. I'm going to refer you to a colleague in North Dakota for placement families. You'll be safe there. A friend of your father lives there. They'll keep an eye on you. Goodbye, Ben Winchester, and know that what your father did was the hardest thing he's ever done."

With those parting words, Joyce Gray walked out of hospital and Ben never saw her again. It wasn't until later that he remembered he forgot to ask her how she knew his father or who his father's friend was.

BW

Ben found himself imagining what his father's job was, something that felt familiar. His imaginings ranged from a policeman to a fireman to a psychic. Joyce did say Heaven and Hell were gunning for his father, psychic makes the most sense out of all his scenarios.

North Dakota is...boring. He's been here for over five months and he hasn't made a single friend and he hasn't found out who his father's friend is.

Since he doesn't know what his father's job is exactly, he's still not ruling out psychic, Ben's been side-eyeing everyone in Sioux Falls who looks at Ben a little too intently. So far he's come up with nothing, save for realizing there are a lot of pervs living in Sioux Falls. The sheriff, Jody Mills, has a soft spot for him and helped him acclimate to North Dakota life.

Ben already ruled her out as his dad's friend, thinking there is no way the sheriff would be his father's friend. She seems too busy with her adopted daughter, Alex, to be someone willing to drop everything to help his father battle freaking Heaven and Hell.

He's still having a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that angels and demons are real. Or that his father is on their shit list. What does that mean for him? Is banned from Heaven? Hell?

If he dies, where would he go? Purgatory?

Ever since Joyce Gray told him about his father, Ben's been reading a boat load of lore on monsters, demons and angels. He doesn't think they'll actually be of help but he's been keeping a journal of sorts on all the information he's gathered and cross-referenced them with his other sources to see what they have in common then puts that information in a different journal. He has a feeling he's done this before.

Whatever blocked his memory seems to be fading somewhat. He no longer gets wicked migraines when he tries to remember his dad. His dad's face is still a blank but other memories are coming slowly back to him. Like for instance, a box full of books and notebooks. He knows that box is important.

He's been thinking for ways as to how to get the box out of storage. The state of Colorado put his things in storage until he turned eighteen, which won't be for another nine months. Shit. He needs those books.

Maybe Sheriff Mills will help him. He could use the old "it's my mother's, ma'am, and I just want something of hers with me" routine. Sheriff Mills seems like the compassionate and understanding type.

With a plan in mind, Ben waited until after school, Sheriff Mills usually picked up Alex, and Ben wanted to catch her when she was in a distracted mood. He managed to get out of class early and waited for the Sheriff to pick up Alex.

He grinned when he saw the truck pull up, Ben plastered on a smile and waved at her before making his way towards her. She waved back but now she looked slightly nervous at his presence, at any other time he'd ask her about it but right now he has a mission he needs completed. Next time he'll interrogate her and Alex as to why they're squirrely around him.

The first time they saw him, they paled at the sight of him before jerking away from him. They acted weird around him for a while before Sheriff Mills became his personal welcome wagon.

"Hi!" Ben greeted cheerfully. "How've you been, Sheriff?"

Mills shot him tired smile that wasn't fake, Ben's learned to read people these past months in the chance they might be a foe, his dad pissed off angels and demons, remember? It's also a useful survival skill in dealing with people, knowing when to push and when to pull back.

"I've been better. How've you been, sweetie?" She asked him in return.

Ben shrugged before shrinking in on himself and assumed a sad expression. Time to sell it. "Things could be better. I, uh, I came over here to ask you for a favor, Sheriff."

Ben saw the second Sheriff Mills shut down and tensed. His 'something's weird' radar pinged loudly but he regretfully shoved it down. That is not the mission right now.

"And what favor would that be, Ben?" Mills asked, her eyes flicking everywhere but at him.

"My mother's birthday is coming up, and I was wondering if you could put in a request to get a box out of storage for me. When her birthday arrives, I wanted to do something for her, but what I need is in that box. They said I could get it as long as someone of authority authorizes it. And since you're the only authority around, I figured you could do it," Ben told her with a bashful smile.

She relaxed and nodded her head. "I could do that. Is that all?"

Ben nodded. "Thanks, Sheriff. Have a nice day," he told her before leaving, stopping when he saw Alex make her way towards him. She froze when she saw him, paling at the sight of him standing near her mother. Again, Ben is so going to ask them what the hell is wrong with them when he has time.

"Alex," he greeted with a nod. She nodded back and kind of slunk passed him to get into the truck. Ben watched them drive off. He may have to reassess his original thought that Sheriff Mills might not be his dad's friend here.

Shaking his head, Ben shoved the idea aside until he has what he wants.

Soon though, he'll ask them and demand the truth but for now he has something more important to do first.

BW

Sheriff Mills was a woman of her word and within a week the box he requested arrived. She called him at the Marks', the family that is housing him for the moment, and said she could drop it off after work. Ben thanked her for her offer but said he'll be right over to pick it up. He doesn't want her going through it, especially since he now thinks she might be his dad's friend. She might disapprove of the items in the box and keep it from him.

Ben can't risk losing the box.

He borrowed the Marks' car and drove as fast as he legally could to the police station. He found Sheriff Mills eyeing the box with wariness and a letter opener in her hand. His heart leapt into his throat when she moved to open it.

"Sheriff!" Ben yelled in panic. He quickly calmed himself down and moved to grab the box from her while she pretended she hadn't been planning on opening his property without a reason. "Thanks," he told her and high-tailed it out of there before she returned to her senses and used her power as the sheriff to see why he wanted the box so bad.

He'll need to find a hiding place for it. Somewhere he could keep it safe from prying eyes. He knows just the place: The basement of the library. No one goes down there because they think its creepy but Ben's been going down there for months. Nothing ever happened to him.

Ben made a quick detour to hide box before dropping the car off, shouted a quick 'later' to the Marks', and ran back to the library.

He took a convoluted route down to the basement just in case he was being followed, call him paranoid but he'd rather be safe than sorry. Ben double and quadruple checked to make sure he had no tales before slipping through the door marked "employees only" and down a long corridor, and took a right for ten feet to a door that led into a room that housed an old-fashioned printing press and old reference books from the days of yore.

The room is the perfect hiding place.

With giddiness that had his hands shaking wildly, Ben dug into his pocket to grab his pocket knife out and carefully cut the tape keeping the box together. He quickly opened the flaps and carefully extracted the dust covered books and notebooks out of it. He placed them on the floor as he continued digging into the box. He found pictures on the bottom.

Pictures.

What if these ones are blurred and ruined? What if he can finally see what his dad looks like?

Ben momentarily forgets about the books and notebooks to grab the pictures from the bottom of the box. With a level of care usually reserved for handling precious artifacts, Ben grabbed a single photo and slowly turned it over.

Its blurred and splotchy just like the others.

Disappointment flooded Ben, he knew it was a long shot but he couldn't help but get his hopes up that he'd have a real picture of his father. Telling him he looks like his dad doesn't mean Ben has an real idea how he father looks. All he pictures is himself being slightly taller and with green eyes (or so he thinks, his memory really shouldn't be trusted at the moment).

Ben threw the pictures back into the box, not taking as much care as he did taking them out, and focused his attention on the books and notebooks. He ignored the books at the moment and grabbed the nearest notebook to flip though.

He knew it. He has done this before. Ben quickly skimmed through the pages to find that the information he's collected recently is almost on par with the stuff in the notebooks. It must be muscle memory kicking in after all these years. His dad must of had him do this as training or something. The writing in the notebooks match his when he was younger.

Opening the biggest book to peruse through, its easily the same size as his chest but heavier, and finds folders tucked inside. A quick read through reveals it being a case file. Another training technique?

Or is it a test?

His dad could have made Ben learn the book stuff then identify what could have killed the people in the articles as a way to see if Ben had been doing the research. If so, his dad is awesome.

...and hardcore.

Ben could only imagine what his dad would have done if he got it wrong. Would his father ground him from anything to do with this stuff? Or would his father make him try again and again until he got it right the first time? Either way it would suck if he screwed up.

That's the rub though, isn't it? Ben doesn't know his dad, or to be more accurate, he doesn't remember his father. The memories of him have been stolen by the very man he's struggling to remember, and he doesn't know why. Why would his father do that to him and his mom? Why would he think taking their memories of him away would keep them safe? From what though?

Does it have to do something with those "falling stars" that led to his mother's death?

His dad's world seems confusing and dangerous, judging by the articles. A lot of death in his dad's profession.

Ben really hopes his father is a psychic and nothing more.

So, what did y'all think?