A/N: This might be considered a little dark. Or at the very least, angsty.

"Martin, I told you I don't want you hanging out with that Ray anymore," Roberta Deeks said, hands on her hips as she frowned at her son. It didn't have nearly the same effect as it used to now that he was taller than her.

He didn't answer right away, resisting the urge to roll his eyes and finished the algorithm he'd been working on for 20 minutes. His mom had been bugging him about Ray off and on for months. She tapped her foot impatiently and then added,

"He's not a good influence."

"He's my best friend," Marty answered dismissively. Ray had his problems, but he wasn't a criminal or anything. Besides, he kept Ray out of trouble. Well, most of the time.

"Martin, he was nearly arrested!" She glared at him incredulously, shaking her head at him.

"That wasn't his fault." He tried not to sound too disrespectful; he knew his mom worried about him, but he was old enough to handle things like this himself.

"Then whose was it? You're just lucky that you didn't get caught up in it," she continued, her tone becoming a little more frantic.

"Mom, you're acting like I'm going to turn around and be a criminal one day," he said jokingly. Naturally, she didn't laugh. He didn't expect the uncomfortable silence though, and when he looked at her, she shifted, not meeting his gaze. "Wait, you really think that, don't you?"

"No of course not! It's just–" He cut her off, jumping to his feet."

"You think the second that you stop watching, I'm going to do something terrible."

"No! Stop putting words in my mouth, Martin." Marty saw a spark of anger in her eyes, but ignored it. He was angry too and he didn't feel like giving in.

"Why, because it's the truth?" he asked, ruthlessly.

"Martin, you need to stop now," she said tightly, warning in her voice. He barreled on anyway.

"You're afraid that I'm going to turn out just like dad." He felt a perverse satisfaction at her shocked expression. Before he could say anything else, she smacked him, the force of her hand twisting his head to the side. Somehow he hadn't even seen her move.

"That is enough!" she shouted. Deeks stumbled back in surprise. She'd never hit him before, not even the time he ruined her favorite pan or broke a window while goofing around with Ray.

His mom sucked in a deep breath, her chest heaving as she glared at him. Then in an instant her expression changed to one of horror as she realized what she'd done.

A vivid memory of his dad beating the crap out of him nearly brought him to his knees. It wasn't the same, he told himself as his mom covered her mouth.

"Marty," she breathed, reaching for him. He shied away instinctively and her face crumpled. Distantly, he realized his cheek stung. "I didn't mean to, I don't know what happened. I didn't…" she babbled.

He reached out and pulled her into his arms, trying to stop the trembling running through his body. His mom clutched the front of his shirt frantically.

"It's ok, mom," he said, in a voice that sounded far away, like someone else was saying it.

"I'm so sorry."

"I know, mama."

"I promise I'll never lay a finger on you again," she promised, grabbing his face so he was forced to look directly at her. There were tears running down her cheeks.

"I know, it was an accident, I don't blame you," he assured her, tucking her head under his chin. Eventually, he figured, it would be true.