Smooth, sleek steel, perfectly aligned rubber and metal. The pure shine of new paint. Leather upholstery. Perfection. The newly remodeled, refurbished, rebuilt, sexy 1967 Chevy Impala thundered down the streets of Chicago.

Dean had never felt so proud, so free.

He ran his hands down her steering wheel just as "Ready for Love" came on the radio.

Benny had doubted him, Rufus had wanted to scrap her, but here she was, Dean's baby, handling like a dream. He almost felt like ditching Lisa and Ben and just driving around in his beautiful car till the sun came up.

But he didn't.

He parked down the block from Lisa's, locked his baby, and walked up to Lisa's front door.

Ben ran up to Dean immediately, hugging his leg. A warm smile pulled at Dean's lips. His smile faded when he locked eyes with Lisa. She had that look, that far too serious look she got when a fight was going to start.

Dean forced a smile back on his face as he looked down at Ben. "You gonna stop me from coming in, big guy?" he asked.

Ben shook his head but didn't let go of Dean's leg. Dean chuckled and walked inside with the kid still attached to him, making Ben giggle uncontrollably.

Dean reached up a hand to touch Lisa's arm, but she side stepped him. Great. He was really in for it. And he hadn't the slightest idea why. Awesome.

Dean dragged Ben into the living room. Ben plopped down to sit on Dean's foot, still wrapped around his leg and laughing all the while. Dean reached down, freeing his leg from Ben's grasp, and pretended to tackle Ben to the ground. Ben screamed happily. When Dean started tickling him, the screams only got louder and happier.

Lisa said, "Dean, don't rile him up like that. It's past his bedtime."

Dean paused. It was late. He'd been at work longer than he'd planned.

"She's right, kid," Dean said, hauling Ben up and over his shoulder, "Time for bed."

Ben squealed as Dean carried him out of the room.

Dean heard Lisa sigh behind him, and something cold, tense, and sour churned in his stomach. He kept a smile plastered on as he plopped Ben onto his bed. Lisa walked in to tuck in her son, and Dean left the room quietly.

The house was silent, everything seemed soft and still. As he made his way back to the living room, not a sound was heard. It did nothing to soothe his anxiety. He didn't want to fight with Lisa. He really, really, didn't. But he knew it was coming.

Lisa stepped into the room with all the foreboding of a darkening sky. "You could've called if you knew you'd be this late," she said.

Dean turned away from the couch to face her. "Actually," he said, "I'm late because we were so busy that I couldn't get away to call even if I wanted to."

"So, you couldn't have called when you left?"

"It takes ten minutes to get here. What would be the point?"

"That's ten minutes that Ben could've been in bed."

Dean chuckled lightly trying to break the tension. "Y'know, you didn't have to let him stay up," he said.

Lisa snapped, "Oh, so this is my fault now?"

Dean sighed. He said, "I don't think it's anyone's fault. Ben stayed up a little later than usual. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that Ben stayed up waiting for you, and you weren't here for him until it was obscenely late," she said.

"Obscenely late? Lisa, it's nine o'clock."

"That's late for a five year old, Dean."

"Again, you could've put him to bed anytime you wanted."

Lisa let out a frustrated sigh. "Why'd you even come over tonight?" she asked angrily.

Dean said, "I figured being here late was better than not being here at all, but if you want me to go, I'll go."

"No!" Ben screamed as he ran past his mom and hugged Dean.

"Ben," Lisa started.

Ben looked up at Dean and said, "Daddy, don't leave."

Dean froze.

Ben released Dean abruptly and ran back to his room crying.

Dean barely even noticed. All he could see was John Winchester walking out of a motel door, leaving him and Sam behind.

Daddy, don't leave. Those words had escaped Dean's mouth so many times. They kept echoing around his head in Dean's voice, not Ben's.

When he was four, holding a baby Sam in his arms, watching his dad run back into their burning house.

Daddy, don't leave.

When he was six, being told not to open the motel door for anyone, watching John load his gun before leaving for the night.

Daddy, don't leave.

"Dean."

John's hands tightening on the steering wheel, the creak of cold leather in the silent car.

"Dean."

John's flimsy smile, the gun in his hand.

Daddy, don't.

"Dean!" Lisa snapped.

Dean took a deep, shaky breath.

"You need to talk to him," Lisa said.

Dean said softly, "I need a minute." He put a hand on the arm of the couch to keep the world from spinning for a moment. His head was pounding. Don't leave. Don't leave. Don't leave.

"No, you need to get in there and talk to him now," Lisa said sharply.

Dean wanted to argue with her, to tell her he just needed a goddamn minute. He wanted to tell her to back off. But he had no more fight left in him. And if his chest got any tighter, he'd break.

And it was Ben.

Dean shot Lisa a weary look as he went to Ben's room. The hallway seemed long and full of echoes of Dean's father. Keep an eye on Sammy. Do as you're told.

Dean shook his head. He needed to keep it together.

He knocked on Ben's door. Ben didn't answer.

Dean slowly opened the door to see Ben curled up on his bed facing away from the door. "Hey, kid," he said softly.

Ben sniffled and said, "Don't call me kid."

"Ben, listen," Dean said, "Can we talk for a minute?" Dean's head ached and his breathing felt ragged and uneven. More than that, he felt horribly fragile and hollow. But this was a conversation that needed to be had.

Ben didn't reply.

Dean sighed and said, "Okay, I'm just gonna talk, and we'll see how it goes, alright?"

Still no reply.

Dean sat down on the edge of Ben's bed. "You know I'm not your dad. I'm just your mom's friend," he started.

"That's a lie," Ben said.

Dean paused. "What?" he asked.

Ben rolled over to face Dean with tear-stained cheeks. He huffed and said, "I saw you and Mommy kissing."

"Oh," Dean said, wondering if Lisa knew about that, "Well, yeah, we do that sometimes, but that doesn't make me your dad."

"I know," Ben said sadly, "I didn't mean to call you that."

Dean said, "Oh, okay. Well, good. I'm glad we've got that straightened out. But why are you so upset?"

Ben said, "You and Mommy were fighting and I heard you say you'd leave and I was scared that-that-that you might leave forever." He sat up quickly and hugged Dean.

Dean hugged Ben back and said, "I'm not going anywhere. I love you and your mom. I'd never just leave."

Ben let go and looked at Dean. "Really?" he asked.

"Of course," Dean said, "I might not be your dad, but I'll always be here for you."

Ben smiled and rubbed at his eyes.

Dean lifted up Ben's blanket, so he could get back into bed. "I'm going to head home, but I'll be back tomorrow and spend the whole day with you, okay?" he said.

Ben nodded, still smiling.

"You want your mom to read to you before you fall asleep?" Dean asked.

Ben nodded quickly.

Dean grinned and said, "You got it." He patted the bed and went to go find Lisa.

Lisa was right outside the door.

"Ben would like a story," Dean reported dutifully.

Lisa nodded and asked softly, "Did you fix it?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, he was afraid that we were going to break up, because we were fighting," he said.

"Break up? He doesn't know we're together," Lisa said.

"Yes, he does," Dean said, "He just told me he caught us making out. But honestly, I think he's cool with it."

Lisa sighed but smiled. It was the sort of smile that made Dean think that dealing with all the fighting was worth it. But with how broken he felt even after his anxiety and panic subsided, he knew things were really fucked between them. He just hoped he could make it work with Lisa for Ben's sake.

"Of course he's cool with it," Lisa said, "He really likes you."

"He's a great kid."

Lisa asked, "And did I hear you telling my great kid that you're leaving now?"

Dean nodded. "I kinda promised him I'd spend the day with him tomorrow. Gotta do a few things around my apartment tonight if I want to make that happen."

Lisa smiled. "Thank you," she said.

She gave him a quick kiss before going to get her son back to sleep.

On the way back to the Impala, Dean's mind began to wander to dangerous places. Thoughts about John Winchester floated through his head. Like what his dad would think about Lisa and Ben. He hoped his dad would be proud of him despite how his headache got worse thinking about it.

Dean's phone rang in his pocket and successfully pulled him out of his own head. "Hey, Cassie," he answered weakly as he slid into the driver's seat of his beautiful car.

"Dean, are you okay?" Cassie asked.

Dean sighed and said, "I'll be fine. What's up?"

She paused for a second before saying, "Can we talk?"

"Sure," Dean said, starting the engine.

"I, umm, I joined the army," she said.

Dean laughed and said, "Yeah, that's a good one. What's going on?" Cassie said, "I'm not kidding, Dean. I joined the army. Boot camp starts next month."

Dean stared out his windshield at the dark street in stunned silence. For the second time that night, his world started spinning.