Plans
Letting Lisa lead the way from the couch to Ben's bedside, Dean hoped that now was the right time to let Ben know the truth. As they took the two seats to the left of the bed, Ben still played his game. "Ben, when you get a second to pause the game, I have something that I think will make you happy."
Normally, Ben would have asked to find a good stopping point, this time he put his DS down, looking at his mother expectantly. "Do I get to go home?"
Lisa reached out taking his left hand in hers. "Not yet. Ben, all the times you asked me about who your dad was, when I told you that I didn't know, it was the truth. There is a test that can be given to find out if someone is a parent of a child. Dean took a test like that..."
She didn't have to finish. Ben glanced at her, then up at him. "It's true kiddo."
"This means you can't leave us right?" A haunted expression fell over the features of his face, allowing both of them, but mostly Dean to realize what leaving had done to his kid.
Wanting to lighten the mood, Dean grinned. "Nope, you're stuck with me kid."
His son drew in as much of a breath as he could, before puffing the air out of his lungs. "Good, because it sucked while you were gone."
Without having to think on it, Dean stood, and bent over his son, giving him a gentle hug which Ben did his best to return. "I'm sorry I left like I did, and I'm going to make sure that won't happen again." Ben held on to him, and Dean wished his son didn't hurt so bad, so he could hold him. Once the both let go, Ben picked his game back up, and had Dean watch as he played.
Not long afterward, the pain from his injuries began to bother him, though he didn't complain. Dean noticed as he had to put the DS down to take in some breaths. "Hey, why don't we look at that book?"
Ben yawned, nodding once. Once he had the book, Dean started to give it to him. "You read it," he said through another yawn.
After scooting the chair in a way that they could both see the book, which had pictures of the planets and galaxies, Dean started on the chapter about Black holes.
Once he began to read, it didn't take long for Ben to drift off. Given the opportunity to talk some more, Dean sat with Lisa on the couch in back of the hospital room. This time Dean felt that she needed to know everything, if he was going to stay with her. He started by telling Lisa about his mother's death, along with how he and Sam had been raised, mostly on the road with their Dad hunting for answers.
Dean told her about his trip to Hell, and how an angel named Castiel had pulled him back to his body. She got the full story on what had happened to Sam, about how he was Lucifer's vessel. Dean told her about Adam, and a little of the regret he felt about not knowing he had a brother, not knowing him much at all before Michael took him as his vessel. All the while he talked, Lisa sat facing him, holding his left hand in her right. When he finally finished, Dean wasn't sure what she would say or do.
Lisa took a few minutes to respond. "We talked about trying things differently than other hunters, back before I knew all of this. I've been pretending that I could just move on from you. All the relationships I was in before you found us at Ben's eighth birthday, were ones that I knew wouldn't work out. What I need is for you to be there for Ben and for me as much as you can. If you are willing to teach me, I want to learn enough to be able to take care of the two of us when you aren't around. There isn't much tying me to Indiana, and if we have to move around to keep safe, I'll take it."
Now she was giving him a lot to consider. One conversation he had with Sam came to mind. They had been in a hotel room with the baby shape-shifter. Dean had been talking about being a father to Ben. He told his brother how he wanted to do things differently in regards to how Ben was raised. Dean had gone a full year without hunting, and the world hadn't come apart. Granted many things had changed since then, but how he felt about Lisa and his son, that had never changed. "It's a lot to consider," he warned, wanting to be sure she realized that.
"For me, it's simple. I don't know what this will be like for us, but I'm not willing to let you walk away again, and I'm sorry I pushed you."
Just as he was about to pull her in for a kiss, his phone buzzed. Dean didn't let her hand go as he picked up, seeing it was his brother. "Sam?"
"It's over. How's the kid?"
"Pretty banged up. Look, why don't you come this way." Dean gave his brother the address of the hospital, telling him that they would talk more once Sam got there. After the call ended, Dean did what he intended, wrapping her in his arms as he brushed his lips against hers.
The breathing treatments Ben underwent every hour during the day, was something the kid clearly hated. Another thing Ben was getting tired of was being reminded to breathe normal breaths. With his broken ribs breathing normally hurt, and if Ben wasn't focused he took shallow breaths. Even with his games, and knowing Dean wasn't going to leave them for good, Ben sat unhappily as the nurse came in with a device called an Incentive Spirometer.
Lisa had been doing her best to coax him to do the exercises with no luck. After another failed attempt, Dean walked to the other side of the bed and knelt down. "Ben, the more you do this, the sooner we can get you out of here," He explained.
His son looked over at him. "It hurts too much, and the medicine they give me after, makes me feel all dizzy."
"Tell you what. You take my hand and you squeeze it as hard as you can while you're doing this. Let's see how strong you really are."
His son seemed to think about that for a moment before he grasped Dean's hand with both of his. While Lisa held the plastic device, Ben began to suck in on the mouth piece. The pressure on Dean's hands began to increase as his son blew out into the device as long and as hard as he could. Ben's breath lasted for five seconds before he released the mouth piece, though not Dean's hand.
After two more breaths, fewer seconds than the last, Ben had tears coming down his cheeks.
"Very good Ben," Nurse Jean told him. She was about to put medicine in his IV, but Ben shook his head.
"Don't want it."
When she looked at Lisa getting permission, she gathered up her things to leave. "Call me if he changes his mind."
Staying where he was, Dean ruffled his kid's hair. "You did good pal."
Ben nodded as he focused on breathing in slowly, until it seemed the pain was enough where he could focus on other things. "What's the worst you got hurt?"
There were many times Dean recalled being injured, most of them not suitable at this point for sharing with his son. "The worst when I was your age, well a little younger, was when I decided to see if I could fly." Dean caught Lisa covering her mouth, shaking her head. Ben too was doing his best not to laugh.
"Who did you think you were, Superman?"
"Batman actually. I jumped of the shed we were on first, and sprained an ankle. My brother, who had a better chance at flight as Superman, ended up with a broken arm."
This time Ben giggled. "That's not that bad, not as bad as me," He said, wincing.
"Not as bad. How are you feeling?"
At that question, Ben looked away at his fingers. Dean watched as Lisa reached out putting her hands over his. "Ben, I know you don't like how the medicine makes you feel, but do you really like sitting there while you hurt? You also need to remember to breathe normal breaths.
"I'm doing fine," he snapped, pulling his hands away from her.
On any other occasion, Dean would have reminded him not to snap at his mother. Given the pain Ben was in, all they could do was try and make him feel better. "I've also been injured in my job." When he had Ben's eyes on him, Dean asked if he remembered the adult Changeling.
"It threw you and Sam around like a sack of potatoes."
"It sure did. Once we left, after taking you back to your mom's house, we drove until it was dark. That night I took some pills to sleep and get rid of the pain."
"Are you going to be here when I wake up?" The question ended with his voice cracking.
It made Dean feel like such an ass for leaving the way he had. He kissed his son's cheek. "I'll be here."
Once Ben was assured he let his mom call the nurse in for his pain medication, falling asleep a few minutes after the injection.
It was a little after midnight when Sam arrived. Lisa was asleep on the sofa, and Dean got up from where he was sitting by Ben, greeting his brother at the door. Sam gave a more detailed account of what tied the spirit to their world, and what he'd done to end it.
"How's he doing?" Sam asked glancing over at the bed.
"Tired of being in bed, and in a lot of pain."
Sam nodded. "How did this all happen." When Dean motioned for him to follow, Sam did, taking a seat next to him. "Three older boys beat him up. Two held him immobile while one of them used him as a punching bag. He has seven broken ribs and a ruptured spleen."
The look in Sam's eyes turned dark. "Are they being dealt with?"
"Juvenile lock up for now. There hasn't been a lot of time to deal with them other than that. Look Sam, there's more you should know. My blood matches his, which is one of the first reasons I came here. I took a Paternity Test, and he's my kid."
The only sound in the room was the beep of the heart monitor and the drip the IV made. "Wow, that's pretty awesome." Sam grinned. "Guess that makes me an Uncle."
For Dean, it was a relief knowing that Sam was happy with his news. That same conversation in the hotel they had, when Dean told his brother he wanted to do things differently with Ben, Sam pointed out how hard it would be for Ben to have a different life. Now with Lisa on board, Dean knew even though it wasn't going to be easy, they would figure this out.
The door opened and Ben's evening nurse arrived. As she started moving around, Ben shifted before opening his eyes. He glanced at Dean, then Sam. "Dad, your short compared to Sam."
A second later, Sam was shaking with laughter, and after a moment Dean joined him.
Ben grinned, and didn't fight as his nurse took his temperature and blood pressure. When his mom came over to join them, Ben let her in on what was so funny, and she laughed with them. Laughing was something they had needed to lighten things up just a little.
After Ben fell asleep again, Sam pulled a chair to the back of the room and sat across from the couch Dean occupied with Lisa at his side. One of the first things he suggested was contacting Castiel. "He could heal him."
"I considered that," Dean said, looking over at Lisa. "He has the ability to heal people. However I don't think we need to draw that kind of attention to Ben. A spontaneous healing would be all over the news." When she agreed, Dean felt relief, not wanting to start any sort of argument. He also realized that she had just as much right to make decisions as he did. The year they were together, he for the most part let her lead the way in parenting. It was only the times when Ben resorted to lying, or was rude to her, that he would step in to help out.
They talked for a while longer. After Sam agreed to stay in town for a little while, he left to get a hotel room. Once he had gone, Lisa leaned in against Dean's shoulder. "He is taller," she whispered.
Without warning, Dean wrapped his arms around her tickling under her arms, as she tried not to laugh too loud while doing her best to get away. He finally stopped when she was out of breath. "You do know payback is hell."
He leaned in and nuzzled behind her ear. "Mmm, payback." If Ben wasn't here, he could think of a million ways he would like some payback.
A little after another visit from the nurse, once Ben, was asleep along with Lisa, Dean was trying to figure out what would be next for them. He looked at the door right as Cas appeared. Since he hadn't prayed to Cas, Dean had a good idea that his brother had, yet couldn't really be made by it.
"Sam asked for me to come to you. I can heal Ben in stages, enough so that it won't bring any attention to him." Behind him, Dean heard Lisa's approach taking her hand when she was next to him.
"Will it hurt him?"
"No. He will feel warmth, as when taking a drink of a hot liquid, though it will go to the area I focus on."
Her eyes fell on his, and Dean smiled at her. "He's telling the truth." Dean looked over at Cas. "Can you do this without waking him?"
"Yes. I'll start with his spleen." With their consent, Cas moved over to the other side of the bed. He lowered his hand above the place of injury and a light shot out of his hand. As he stood there, eyes closed, Lisa leaned against Dean. They stood silently for another minute before the light went away.
At that moment Ben began to stir. Cas disappeared before he woke fully.
"Hey buddy," Dean said feeling relieved that one of the many injuries was healed.
When he asked for a drink, Lisa left to get him some fresh water.
"Dad, where did Uncle Sam go?"
"To a hotel for some rest. He'll be back in the morning."
Once he had taken a few sips of water, Ben drifted off to sleep without much of a fuss. After Lisa was sitting on his lap Dean wrapped his arms around her. The two sat quietly, watching their son sleep, both happy that he wasn't going to have to suffer through a long recovery.
Over the next week, Dean contacted Bobby several times on one of the secure lines, letting him know about Ben and Lisa along with the plan of staying with them as much as he could. This conversation, Dean told him about what he and Lisa had been discussing. "Lisa agreed that she wants to be wherever is safe, and around other hunters. I was kind of hoping there might be a house for rent or for sale in your neck of the woods. One with a basement, say for a panic room?"
"I'm sure I can come up with something. How long till you need it?'
"With any luck, Ben should be able to go home in another week and a half. So three weeks? Sam said he'll come down and help."
"I'll start checking places out. You take care of that kid."
"Already doing that." Once he hung up, he glanced at Lisa. She was on her laptop in the passenger seat next to him as they headed back to the hospital. Sam had volunteered to stay with Ben.
Before they left, there was a chess board set up on Ben's lap. He had been listening intently as Sam explained each piece and the object of the game. Chess had been a game that neither Dean nor their Dad had ever wanted to learn.
"What are you checking for?"
"Realtors for this area, and movers."
More than once, Dean had been surprised at how willing Lisa was to do this. She was willing to uproot both of them and move them to be in a safer area. He was still trying to figure out why. "Lis, I'm really glad you're doing this, I am, but moving is a lot to deal with."
After closing her computer, Lisa looked over at him. "Leaving is a big step for me, and it will be for Ben. When you left after the night you came in through my window, he was really upset. He blamed himself for not getting away from you when he was told to. He overheard the phone conversation after that, when I asked you what was going on, why you shoved him against the wall. His anger turned towards me and he asked me how it was so easy for me just to call it quits.
I was scared Dean, but once that wore off, there was this loneliness. I tried to fill it with another man, when there wasn't a place for anyone else. Being with you as much as I can is what I need. It's not going to be easy, but what relationship worth having ever is?"
Glancing ahead of him, Dean saw a road and turned off, pulling into the grass. After putting the car in park, he turned, undid her seat belt and pulled her into his arms. Maybe God was somewhere after all, and for once smiling down on him. All Dean knew was the woman in his arms that he was kissing, was the one he would love until his dying day.
AN: This chap is a little shorter, but I want the next chapter to be separate once they are out of the hospital with Ben. Alright, thank you all for reading. And if you would please please leave reviews. I'm a sucker for them. Till next time, happy reading.