Stripped

Disclaimer: The only people own are Ben and Chester Meroff. Don't use them without asking.

Author's Note: Ben came into my mind one day while I was daydreaming and pestered me until I wrote a story. So here it is. Not my best work, but I decided to post it anyway. I have no idea where Chester came from.

Thankies: I forgot to say thanks to my reviewers: Skye-chan, Megana, Rei no Kaze, and kittycat3000. I appreciate your support!

Ben awoke on a bed, on her back and stripped of her shirt. She then felt a soft cloth on her muzzle, and something on it that stung like hell. She jerked her head away reflexively, but a hand held her head still and said something she couldn't make out. Her eyes fluttered open, and saw the form of Dawson, bent over her and tending to her wounds. She jerked away from him, causing him to straighten. She tried to sit up, but her head injury made her dizzy and she was forced to lay back down.

"Stop that, the least you can do is sit still and be a good patient," He told her firmly. She glared at him, but let him continue his work. She flinched as he continued to clean the wounds on her muzzle and bandaged them up. He did the same to her arm wound. She didn't like that fact that another mouse was touching her, especially a male. She never did like people touch her, with the exception of her father, and ever since that day Chester touched her, she downright hated it.

"I'm finished, but I noticed something about you," He told her, putting his supplies back into his bag. She just cast an unfocused glance in his direction, signaling that she heard him.

"You're not a boy. You're a girl," He said quietly, putting his supplies back in his black doctor bag. Ben stared at the wall. Since he knew her secret, there was no use of staying silent.

"How did you find out?" She asked, her voice a raspy whisper, a result of her injuries and of not using it in a long time.

"I've treated patients who posed as boys before. They use the same wrappings as you do," He answered, walking for the door. Just as he was reaching for the doorknob, Ben spoke up again.

"Don't tell Basil."

"He's on a case now, but I won't tell him, even though I think he all ready knows." With that the doctor walked out of the room, leaving Ben alone with her thoughts and her pain.

Chester sat in his red velvet armchair, dressed in a black tuxedo. In his paws he held a revolver. He was spinning the bullet holder when Stetter walked in and went over to stand in front of Chester.

"So, did you kill her?" Chester asked, keeping his gray eyes on the gun as he ran a paw over the barrel.

"Um, no, bu' I-" Stetter started, but got cut off as the gun shot out, the mouth of the barrel pressing up against his forehead. Stetter broke out in a cold sweat.

"I told you to finish her off," He said, and pulled the trigger. Stetter fell back, a bleeding hole where the barrel once was.

"What was I thinking? Changing my usual way of killing my victims," Chester raved, kicking Stetter's corpse, watching the blood flower over the carpet.

"I'm just going to off the little wench myself. When she gets here that is," He said, holding the locket up, the gold reflecting the lights on the ceiling.

Ben sat up, wanting to get her shirt back on. She didn't care if it was ripped and bloody, she just wanted to cover up. She shifted around, so that her legs were dangling over the side of the bed. She looked around for it, but the only shirt in the room was next to her. She didn't know if it was meant for her or not, but she pulled it on anyway. She was just about to button it shut, when she heard the doorknob twisting. She quickly shut her shirt with her hands as the door opened and Dawson walked into the room.

"I just wanted to check on you to see how you're feeling," He told her.

"I'm fine," She told him, and started buttoning her shirt.

"Are you well enough to walk? Basil's still gone, but he should be getting back soon and if he finds you in here he's going to get angry."

"I can walk," She told him, standing up and swaying slightly.

"Are you sure you can?" He asked.

"Yes," Ben whispered, making her way unsteadily to the door. The doctor stood behind her, ready to catch her if she fell. She managed to make her way over to the couch and sit without any accidents.

"I'll go ask Ms. Judson to change the sheets," The doctor said, and went off.

Ben sat there on the couch, nausea welling in her gut. She swallowed, trying to null it. It helped a little, but not much. She heard the front door open, signaling that Basil must've been home.

"How was your case today Basil?" Dawson asked his friend.

"It was non challenging as usual." He said, arrogance tiniging his voice slightly. He walked into the living room, shedding his Inverness and Deerstalker and throwing them in the clock he always kept them in. He glanced over at Ben, noticing her bandaged muzzle immediately.

"What happened to him?" Basil asked Dawson, pointing at Ben.

"Chester's thug is what happened," Ben rasped out, causing Basil's eyebrows to shoot up.

"So, you can talk, and my suspicions were correct. You are a girl," He said coldly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"So throw me out why don't you?" She sneered. She was in no mood to deal with him right now.

"Believe me, if you didn't prove that you had brains by arranging my chemicals the other day, you would've been out on the street by now."

"You men are all the same," Ben seethed, forgetting all about her injuries and venting all her pent up anger on him." You keep a girl for as long as it benefits you, then you chuck her out like she was trash." Her eyes bore into him, like blue daggers.

"Well, you women are the same. You come in here, play your little games, and get angry when someone finds you out." Basil shot back, his hands now clenched at his side and his green eyes flaming with anger.

Ben walked over to him, ignoring the dizziness in her head, her left hand curled into a fist. She then drew it back and landed a solid punch on Basil's nose. He staggered back a step, taken off guard, and held his bleeding nose.

"Forget you, I'll find Chester myself," She growled, swaying slightly, then walking out the door, leaving behind the injured Basil and a stunned Doctor.

Well, I bet you didn't see that one coming. I think there was some OOCness, but not a lot though. More to come, so sit tight.