Making Changes

Something was pushed up against her son's door. That and the fact that he wasn't answering her had Lisa feeling both frayed, and a little angry. Using her back to push against it, as she dug her feet into the carpet, Lisa grumbled. "Benjamin, if I have to open this door, you aren't going to like what happens." They were going to have to make some changes in regards to how much Ben knew about the cases his dad was working on. There just wasn't a way to avoid that aspect of life. Finally the door began to give. Lisa stopped pushing, shutting her eyes a moment as she took in a few deep cleansing breaths. Focusing on using all the strength in her legs, she resumed pushing against it. As she stopped again, Lisa looked, and felt relief. The door wasn't open that much, but at least she could see inside.

"Ben?"

The first thing Lisa noticed was that his bed was shoved up against the door. With a carpeted floor, getting the bed to move with an obstacle between her and it, made the task nearly impossible. The second thing she saw was his open window. Lisa took off down the stairs, running to the kitchen. She got a flashlight, along with her phone before running outside. "Benjamin Isaac Braeden. You answer me right now!" Since she was in good physical shape, sprinting to the path at the edge of the woods wasn't a problem.

Making it to the path in a matter of seconds, Lisa stopped long enough to get her breath before going into the woods. As she rounded the clump of trees to her right Lisa shined her flashlight as far as the light would go. The trail ahead of her was empty. All sorts of bugs were making noise, making it hard to hear anything. At the end of the long path, where there was a left hand turn leading into thicker trees and brush, Lisa still didn't see any sign of her son. "Benjamin?"

Knowing after calling for him two more times that he wasn't about to answer her, Lisa began to jog back to the entrance of the woods, while dialing Deans number. When it clicked right to his voice-mail, she hung up. Why would their son take off? That was when it occurred to her, that he might be trying to get to Dean.

Scrolling through her contacts Lisa came to the number of Sheriff Mills personal cell. Bobby and Dean told her that if there was ever a need, she could call Jodi. The phone rang twice before the female answered. "Sheriff Mills, I'm Lisa Braeden, Dean's girlfriend. I'm sorry to call so late, but my son just ran off into the woods, and I don't know where he would go." Lisa was pacing, feeling like she should still be searching.

"I'm glad you called me Lisa. Those woods cover several acres of land. Do you mind if I drive out there?"

"No I don't mind. I want to keep searching, but it's not going to help if I get lost."

"You're making the right decision."

Once the conversation ended, Lisa tried Dean's phone again, getting his voice-mail. All she could do was wait for the sheriff and deputy to arrive.

As she sat at the table, she noticed Ben's history notebook across from her, before pulling it in front of her. She flipped through the pages until the last written page was open. The words her son had written caused Lisa to freeze for a moment. "Shit." Lisa got back on her phone and dialed Bobby's number, getting his voice-mail and Sam's. It took all she had not to get in her car, and start looking for Ben on the road. All Lisa knew was that she and Dean were going to have to find a way to get it through Ben's head that he couldn't take off when his life got confusing. There were no regrets for her making the decision to be with Dean, but Lisa was worried about their son. There were no easy answers to this type of life.

A knock at the front door, had her on her feet in a second. Seeing the sheriff and her deputy was a relief. They gave quick introductions as Lisa led them into the kitchen. While they began asking questions, she poured them some decaf before joining them at her table.

"Has he met any friends?" Jodi Mills asked

"Ben has two boys he talks about from school, but there isn't a way he could get to their houses on foot."

Jodi stood up. "Going through the woods would lessen the time. Who are the two boys?"

Lisa gave her the first names of each boy, but didn't know the last names.

"Billy Hawkins and Josh Duncan. Deputy, you go to the Duncan's, I'll drive Lisa out to the Hawkins place."

Knowing that they were getting closer to finding Ben, eased Lisa's nerves a little. She prayed that he was at one of the two houses.

"Now, if we don't find him there, are there other places he could be?"

"Do you know the kind of work Dean does?" When Jodi nodded Lisa continued. "While I was waiting for you, I found his history notebook. On the last page he has information on the thing Dean is hunting. My greatest fear is that he's found some way to get to his dad. The sheriff got on her radio, and called in an APB for Ben, along with Billy and Josh.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the Hawkins house. The house was an old two story farm house. There was also a large barn, and cattle out in the fields. The lights to the house were off, and there wasn't a car in the driveway.

"Do you mind waiting here for me?"

"I'll stay, I'm going to try and get a hold of Dean again." Unable to get an answer from him, Lisa left a voice-mail telling him to call her as soon as he got the message. As she looked out the front windshield, Jodi was returning.

"Nobody home. Billy has an older brother, Justin. He's seventeen." Once she informed Lisa of that, Sheriff Mills got on her radio calling in the make and model of the car Justin would be driving. "Call it in to the state police for me."

Paying Justin $150 wasn't something Ben had to think about, especially when the older boy told him that he would get caught easier if he tried getting on a bus or train. It was going to be a long drive to his old home, but Ben felt confident that he was going to make it there. While he stayed in back, Billy was up front with his brother. They had fueled up before leaving, Ben paying for it with the money he had left.

Justin had driven to a buddy's house, trading his car out for a red punch bug. It was going to be a noisy ride, but the thing moved fast. Idly, as he starred out the window, Ben wondered if his dad liked this type of car, even though this one was only a year or two old. Ben decided not to call Katie, so that if his mom tried, she wouldn't have to lie for him. The last thing he wanted was to get her in trouble.

"So, why are you on the run kid?" Justin was looking through his rear-view.

"My dad lied to me about something. He got on me for fibbing, and some other stuff, but he goes and lies. I decided that I'm not going to stick around while he puts his life in danger.

Billy looked back at him. "What's he do? Is he a firefighter, or in the service or something?

Remembering what Dean told him about John, Ben's grandpa, he had a logical answer. "He's a Marine."

"Tough job," Justin commented.

"Dangerous. He won't talk about his mission, and he told me he will come back. The thing I hate is that he can't promise it. It was better when he wasn't around." It hurt to say it, and deep down, Ben wanted him around. He was just afraid of getting attached only to have his dad taken away. The adrenaline Ben had felt at the time he was leaving was disappearing. Resting his head against the back of the seat, he let his lids slide down, hoping when he woke up, he would be in Indiana.

It only took an hour for Justin's car to be located. Lisa was back at home, agreeing that she needed to stay put in case Ben decided to return. When her son got home, she was going to do something she had never agreed with, or at least try. Spanking her son, had been something Lisa avoided, because of what had taken place when she was a child. Dean had a different approach, especially after the punishment was delivered. He stayed with Ben, holding him until the crying stopped. Afterward, they always talked about why Ben had been spanked. Dean listened to their son, never telling him things like, "This hurts me more than it hurts you." Ben was never told by his father to stop crying, something her parents did once the spanking was over. Was she seriously considering this? The vibration of her phone brought her out of thought. "Did you find him?"

"Not yet. Justin traded his car for Mitch's red VW Beetle. I've already given the information to the state police. I realize you think he might be headed in Dean's direction, but is there anyone else he'd try to get to?"

It was like a light bulb going off in her mind. "Jodi, he's not on his way to Dean, he's going back to Indiana." Why hadn't she thought of it before? Once she gave Jodi the new information, Lisa dialed Deidre Morgan's cell, knowing it was late.

"Hello," a groggy voice answered.

"Dee, its Lisa. I'm so sorry to wake you."

"No, no, what's happened?"

"Ben ran away. I am certain he's heading your way to be with Katie."

Once Dee agreed to look out for Ben, Lisa tried Dean. After getting his voice-mail again, she called Sheriff Mills asking her to call off the police. "I know it's a risk, but at this point, I don't want them to run. I'm going to get a flight as soon as I can, so I can be waiting for him when he gets there."

"Would you like a lift?"

"Yes. Jodi thanks for helping me."

"No problem at all."

On her laptop, Lisa found the earliest flight out was 4am. The tickets were outlandishly expensive, but Ben's safety was her concern, much more than the money she was spending to buy one round trip ticket and one return ticket. Once the purchase was made, and she had the printed tickets, Lisa called Jodi back, letting her know what time the flight was leaving. She also called Dee back, thankful that her friend agreed to meet her in Indianapolis at 8am.

With only an hour and half to get ready, Lisa took a quick shower. After packing a suitcase with some of her clothes and Ben's, she headed downstairs. As she sat at the table sipping coffee, Lisa texted Dean's cell, letting him know that she was heading to Indiana, and that he needed to call her as soon as he got the message.

Not having him around, left an empty space inside. Lisa had raised Ben without help. Knowing that for now she was on her own, she drew on how life had was when it was just the two of them. Now that her anger at Ben had abated, Lisa knew she wasn't going to spank him.

What she wanted to focus on was getting Ben to open up to her. She needed to know what was going on with his thoughts in order to try and help him. Lisa knew a large part of it was Dean being gone again, and Ben's worry about him. Was she worried about Dean? Yes, but Lisa could also logically deduce that any job had its risks. No, she didn't want to lose him, but that was something she knew she had to face, with them becoming a family.

His name being called woke Ben. Outside it was still dark, though the lights from the gas station helped. Ben got out two twenties, and handed it up.

"You want anything to eat or drink?"

"Mountain Dew and a bag of pretzels.

"OK, you two get down till we're heading out."

Ben slid to the floor, appreciating the fact that Justin knew how to keep from getting caught. "Hey Billy, how far are we?"

"Halfway."

Despite the fact that he was going to be in major trouble if he got caught, Ben found that all of his worries had sort of slipped away. Maybe Mrs. Morgan would adopt him.

"So, is she a girlfriend?"

"Not like dating stuff. She's just a friend, and cool. Katie's the only girl I've known who will climb trees, go with me to the creek to catch salamanders and go fishing. But she also likes the girly stuff too. She just doesn't do it around me."

"Sounds like it's a good friendship."

Before he could say anything in response, Justin was back. Once he distributed the food, they headed back to the interstate. Justin put in Ben's AC/DC CD, and cranked up the music. They sang Big Balls, laughing through half of it. Now that he was older, Ben knew what the song meant. Hanging out with the guys, he didn't feel a bit of embarrassment.

"We've got this on Guitar Hero," Billy said once the song was over.

"Seriously, we have got to play it. Get Josh Nate Gabe, and Edwin, and we'll have a kick ass time," Ben shouted feeling the urge to start dancing in his seat. It was rare when he got to drink soda, or eat junk. His mom had always been strict about it.

The drive was even better when Justin started telling them raunchy jokes, along with this cute girl he met just last week, and what he wanted to do with her.

Billy asked questions after he was done, and Justin didn't mind answering them. It would be awesome to have an older brother to fill in the details. Ben knew what sex was, because his dad told him. That talk had been sort of awkward, but after that, Ben trusted him more. He wondered where he was. If he was already home, he and mom would be looking for him.

"Hey Benny, you going to jump Katie's bones?" Billy asked.

"Uh no, she's not that kind of girlfriend."

When Billy started to be an idiot, Ben pulled out his CD player and drowned him out, shutting his eyes again.

It was a relief to find Dee waiting at baggage claim. The two friends hugged, before Lisa asked if she'd seen Ben.

"Not yet. I left Katie home today. She knows Ben is coming, and she also knows not to say anything."

There was a pang of guilt in Lisa's heart. "Dee, I'm so sorry to be putting her in this position."

"Well hopefully we can get there before he does. I've got the spare room set up for you two."

The flight out wasn't until tomorrow morning. The school already knew Ben was going to miss the next few days. Once they were in Dee's SUV, and her friend asked why Ben had run away, Lisa filled her in as best she could. "It's a lot of change for him. The work Dean's doing now is riskier than when he was working construction. We weren't giving Ben a lot of detail about the jobs, his dad was doing, but now, I think he's going to have to know some of it to put him at ease."

One of the many things Lisa liked about her friend, was Dee never pushed for more information than Lisa was willing to give. "It was so much easier when he was eight. How is Katie?"

For the rest of the ride to Cicero, they talked about the kids, and about how their lives were going. Dee filled her in on all the neighborhood gossip, something Lisa hadn't missed since moving away. She had done her best not to talk about any of her friends, even with Dee.

They finally arrived at the house. As they got out of the SUV Katie came out, greeting both of them.

"Mrs. Lisa, he hasn't gotten here yet." There was worry etched in her voice, and Lisa knelt down giving her a hug.

"Don't you worry Katie, he'll be fine." Lisa wasn't sure about that, but sent up a silent prayer to whoever was listening, for her boy to be safe.

The mechanic shop was busy, as Ben sat with Billy and Justin while the Bug was being looked at. They had pulled in to get gas and food, and now the stupid Bug wasn't working. It was approaching 10am, and Ben's stomach was doing little flips. In his hands he held his cell, seeing that his mom had been calling him nearly nonstop. Justin had turned off the GPS so they wouldn't be found, but Ben was starting to wonder if maybe they needed to put it on.

Once again his cell buzzed, and once again the caller ID read Mom. Truthfully, Ben was happy it wasn't his dad, but it could be him. Those thoughts caused him worry about answering the calls. Billy and Justin's phones had been blowing up as well. "I think I better talk to my mom," Ben said looking over at his friend.

"You the guy who brought in that Bug?" A tall mechanic with a red mustache approached them.

"Yeah," Justin answered as he took to his feet.

"Well, your fuel pump is the problem. It needs replacing. Also the starter is starting to go bad."

Justin shut his eyes. "Thanks, will you just leave it in your parking lot?"

"Sure." The guy left, and Ben followed Justin with Billy trailing behind. They were in some really deep stuff.

"Well that's awesome, just fucking awesome. That dick is going to be dick-less when I get my hands on him." Justin looked down at him. "Ben, you need to call your mom. I'll be doing the same."

As Ben pulled his cell out of his pocket, it began to buzz. Again it was his mom. Taking a deep breath, he flipped it open. "Hi Mom."

"Oh thank you God. Ben honey, are you alright?"

"I guess." He had no idea what to tell her.

"Sweetie, where are you?"

"Um, at Joe's Snack and Repair." His hands were sweating as she asked him how far from Cicero they were. "Justin said it was another twenty minutes."

"Okay. I need you to find out the address for me." Ben didn't say anything as he walked into the little convenient center. "Uh, excuse me."

The lady at the register was wearing a tank top and she had big lips. "What can I help you with sugar?"

Ben cringed at being called that. "Um, can you give an exact address for this place?"

"Sure thing sweetness. It's 4413 Jefferson Street here in Indi.

His mom told him she had the information. "Uh, mom, Justin and Billy don't have a place to go."

"Don't worry, we'll think of something."

Outside, Ben joined his friends on a bench. "My mom is already here. She'll be by to get us in twenty minutes, and said that she'll help you two out."

"Correction, she'll be helping you out. I'm splitting." A cab pulled up and Justin got in as Billy tried to get the door opened again.

"You asshole, you can't leave me high and dry like this." His brother flipped him off before the taxi left.

"I hope mom kicks his ass out."

Not knowing what to tell his friend, Ben chose to look at his feet. The boots reminded him of his Dad, and that reminded him of how much trouble he was in. Ben hadn't even gotten to see Katie.

"Dude, he took your money with him."

Money was the last thing Ben was worried about.

"Hey kid, you better tell me where that guy went, else I'm going to have to call someone to tow his car." Billy went over and talked to the mechanic, and Ben stayed where he was. He'd royally screwed up in such a big way, that he didn't know how he would even be able to look at his mom, much less his dad. What did runaways get?

"Ben." Just as he looked up, his mom was in front of him. Ben let her pull him to his feet and as she wrapped her arms around him, he did his best not to cry. If Billy saw, he'd never hear the end of it. The one thing Ben did in front of his friend, was to hug her back. He never wanted to let go.

"Oh, Honey, do you realized the worry you put me through?" Her voice was raised, but she didn't make him let go.

When he felt her hand land on his butt, Ben did let go, shocked as she gave him another hard swat. It only stung, nothing like what his dad would likely do when he got into all of this.

"I'm so angry with what you did Benjamin."

Before she could continue, Billy arrived with the mechanic behind him. While his mom dealt with the Bug, Ben glanced at his friend who was looking at the ground. Once she handled the situation, he and Billy followed her to Mrs. Morgan's SUV. Katie was in the seat behind the driver's side, so Ben took the seat next to hers, while Billy climbed into the back.

She smiled at him, and he did his best to smile back. This was not the way he'd wanted everything to turn out.

It felt like forever since he'd been standing with his nose against the wall, and his arms crossed at his back. Mom had done all of the talking, letting him know just how angry she was. She also had tears going down her face, and Ben had never felt more afraid in his life. She never cried because of him, well maybe when he was in the hospital.

Billy was in the other guest room. He wasn't going to get his, until he got home, but Ben's mom told him he wasn't allowed to leave the room unless he needed to use the toilet. The door opened and Ben felt his hands beginning to sweat again.

"Ben, come over here." It was a relief that it was still mom. He complied and sat down next to her on the bed.

"I need you to tell me why you did this. I want the truth honey, even if this has to do with Dad."

"You won't like what I'm going to say."

"Maybe not, but if we're going to get through this, then I need to know why you ran away so I can understand and try to help." She reached out and took his hand.

For a few seconds, Ben tried to gather his thoughts. "It is about Dad. He said he was going to be coming back to us. Um, I heard you and him talking about Eve and Cas, I muted the phone because I wanted to know how he was doing. He won't tell me the truth because he thinks I'm a little kid.

She's a really, really bad whatever she is. How can he stand there and say he's going to come back when that thing could kill him." Now that he was talking, Ben couldn't stop. "I got my butt busted because Dad doesn't want me to lie, and he did it to me."

When his mom hugged him, Ben didn't mind, letting a few tears fall. "Ben, he didn't lie to you. Yes what he does is very dangerous at times, but he told me he's making changes. They have three plans in place, in case one fails, and he's got enough with him to fight a good fight."

"But, Sam?" Ben whispered.

"I know. Ben, there isn't a guarantee that any of us won't get injured or even die. You almost did, when Ryan beat you up so bad."

He drew in a shaky breath. "How do I not worry all the time?"

"You just try to remember to make the most of the life you have now. Focus on all of the new experiences you've had these past few weeks. You've made some good friends. You seem to like your school."

Ben nodded. "It's not as bad as I thought it would be. Do you think Dad will listen to me?"

He felt her pushing him a little, so Ben looked at her. "Sweetheart, he loves you with everything in him. Has he ever not listened to you?"

"No, he always does. I feel like such a screw up, because he's going to be really mad at me."

His mom put both of her hands against his cheeks. "You are not a screw up."

"Then what am I?"

Again he found her arms around him. "You are my baby. I think you weren't ready for what life with Dad was going to be like. All of us are having to adjust to this way of living, not just you."

"So why do I do such dumb stuff?"

"I think you were afraid of him leaving us."

Ben nodded his head. "He did it before, because he thought he was a bad person, and that it wasn't a good idea for him to be around us. What if he decides it's just too much for him?" Needing to see her, he pulled away.

"He won't leave us, he loves both of us, and he wants to spend his life with us. There is so much your dad missed. He wants to know you better."

There was a knock at the door, before it opened. Katie was there. "Mom wants to know if a pizza would be alright for dinner tonight. She also said there are sandwich fixings waiting when you guys are ready to come down."

"You tell her pizza would be great, and that we'll be down in a few minutes."

As Katie left, Ben felt his stomach rumbling.

"Let's get something to eat. You head downstairs and I'll get Billy."

Knowing that her son needed to talk with his best buddy, Lisa decided not to start his grounding until after they were home. Billy's mom had already been in contact, asking her not to let him out of the guest room unless he was eating or relieving himself. Lisa had gotten a ticket for Billy, telling Gina not to worry about paying her back. What Gina did offer was for Billy to come do yard work, something Lisa told her would have to wait until she spoke to Dean.

It was half past two, and not hearing anything from him, had Lisa on edge. Dean let her know what the next step in the plan was, even though for her it was a little hard to get her mind around. Angels, demons, monsters, and ghosts were one thing. An angel who could hop Dean and Sam back in time was another.

A cool breeze blew her way, as Lisa sat on the porch swing doing some deep breathing to get the tension out of her body. Dean's ringtone got her going. "Dean?"

"What's happened?"

"Ben decided to run off to Cicero which is where we are now." On the other end, Lisa heard him saying a few choice words. "Dean, he's safe. We're flying home in the morning. You and I need to talk about what's happening with him. He's terrified that you will either leave us again, or that you're going to die. He found out about your case."

"When it rains it pours, doesn't it?"

"You aren't wrong about that. What about you?"

"We got what we needed and something else. I'm still trying to figure this one out. My dad is in the other room."

For a moment, Lisa didn't think she heard him correctly. "He's what?"

"Flesh and bones, in the other room. He's not sure how or why he's back, but after we told him about Eve, he's pretty sure it's something to do with that. We'll meet you at home tomorrow."

They talked a while longer before she hung up. At one time Lisa remembered wanting more adventure in her life. Now it looked like that was coming true.

AN: Alright, two in a short time. Not sure when the next will be ready to post. I hope you all enjoy the chapters. Feel free, please to leave comments.

Thank you for reading my story. Just as a reference to the show. Dean and Sam went to the wild west to get the gun and kill the Phoenix. Likely you all figured it out, but if not that is that.

Thanks again.