Sorry! I had this done almost a week and a half ago. I forgot about it. Again, sorry.

Turns out God is not a dick but He does have a sick sense of humor.

Ben doesn't have to shadow the Sheriff with Claire at the Sioux Falls Police Department. Oh no, he has to have "study group" with Alex as an excuse to have a "study group" with Claire, and after which, the Sheriff quizzes them on what they read about that day. On the weekends the Sheriff takes him and Claire down to the shooting range where they spend hours working on their aim, reload time and familiarity with various guns the Sheriff brings them to work with.

He has no idea what the Sheriff tells her deputies when she takes with her all the different guns to the shooting range, but Ben guesses her deputies are smart enough not to question her over things like that. Though he does wonder what they think when they see her toting around a duffle full of weapons or how they'd react if they found out the guns were for a couple of teenagers.

Now that would make them think their sheriff is a little off the deep end.

Stifling a laugh, Ben finished up his Algebra homework and proceeded to work on his art project that's due at the end of the week. Some of his classmates are starting to realize he's a bit of a nerd when it comes to his school work and are starting to tease him for his studying habits. Well, excuse him for wanting to go to a decent college with a full academic scholarship.

Would his dad be proud of him for working so hard on his school work or would his dad prefer he turns his attention to hunting? God, there is so much he wants to ask his dad but he can't. At least not right now.

The Sheriff promised she would call him the second his dad got in contact with her but warned him not to hold his breath. His dad is prone to not getting in contact with old friends unless it was absolutely necessary or he had no other choice. The Sheriff told him his dad has a martyr and guilt complex so vast that it puts the Grand Canyon to shame when it comes to the safety of his friends, and would often push them away to "keep them safe" from whatever it is he's currently battling. His uncle is apparently the same way.

Until his dad returns the Sheriff's call, he's been keeping his head down and focusing on school and learning how to be a hunter.

Ben is spending so much time with Claire, he's starting to think her cruel barbs and insults are witty and endearing. It's like Stockholm Syndrome or something because he feels odd when he doesn't see her for a day and finds himself missing her. That can't be good, right? Psychology isn't his thing.

Maria and Logan have been awesome and rewarded his dedication to school by not asking any questions about his "relationship" with Alex and the Sheriff. That's good 'cause Ben has not been able to think of a suitable explanation as to why he's spending so much time with Sheriff Mills and her adopted daughter. Well, Logan already knows the Sheriff knows his dad so he could say he's hanging out with her to learn about his dad, but then he runs into a problem should Logan ask about what he's learned about his father. He's still shit at lying that it could backfire horrendously.

So yeah, he's happy with this arrangement . . . for however long that lasts.

He is starting to go a little crazy though. He has no social life outside of the Sheriff, Claire and his foster parents. He needs to let off a little steam but his current status as the school nerd is seriously hampering his ability to get invited to parties. He needs to party or something. Like now.

Or even go for a ride. Just drive for an hour or so, letting the wind roll over him with the windows down, music blaring out the speakers as he cruises down the highway, and not a care in the world dragging him down. The action feels familiar somehow. He bets his dad did that with him. His mom didn't. She didn't like blasting music out while driving with the windows down. It was one or the other, never both, so it had to have been his dad.

Logan and Maria would never let him take their car for that long.

Would the Sheriff? Maybe she'd understand his desire to just drive for an hour or so. It wouldn't hurt to ask.

With an internal shrug, Ben finished up his homework and told the Marks he was heading to the Sheriff's place. They told him to be back by curfew, he promised he would, and went to go grab his bike out of the garage to take to the Sheriff's. He really needed to get a car, and soon. It is not fun riding a bike everywhere.

Claire teases him constantly about his ride. She has this perpetual sneer on her face and Ben tells her she's very attractive like that, her face twists even more, and Ben laughs at her. The Sheriff usually breaks them up before they sling even more harsh insults.

Alex is usually in the corner laughing at them. Claire flings an insult at her before storming off into her room and slamming the door shut, making Ben and Alex laugh their asses off, quite loudly too. On purpose of course, just to make Claire peek her through the door to yell at them in an even more colorful language. Colorful enough the Sheriff yells at her to watch her language.

Ben and Alex are usually rolling on the floor in laughter at that point. The Sheriff shushes them but gives up after a few minutes.

That's the routine at least. They have a routine. That's how little of a life he has. He has a routine with people Ben couldn't stand two months ago (in Claire's case a month ago). God, he really wishes the Sheriff will let him use her car.

"Hey Sheriff," Ben greeted her when he walked through the door without knocking.

The Sheriff replied back without looking up from the table, "Hey, Ben. What's up?"

"Can I borrow your car? Just for an hour or so. I'll put gas in," Ben added as in incentive. He really needed to get away for a bit.

"Why do you need my car? Why didn't you ask the Marks'?" She asked reasonably, finally looking up at him.

Ben shifted on his feet, ducked his head and mumbled, "They won't let me take the car for that long. I swear I just want to drive, to get out of my head a bit, you know? There's nothing like driving down the highway, windows down with music blasting out the speakers. It's how I get out of my head for a bit," Ben admitted. "It's either that or I find a party to go to."

There was silence that seemed a little bit . . . loaded, if Ben had to guess. He looked up to see the Sheriff looking at him with an odd expression on her face. Now Ben's starting to know her faces and this one is her 'God he reminds of [insert his dad's name here] so much that it's surprising and a little heartbreaking' face. Ben's not a big fan of that face. She's sad for him whenever she gets that expression and Ben is starting to hate it. At least he knows he has a lot in common with his dad.

He's starting to get good at finding the upside of things, which is a good thing according to the Sheriff. Especially in the line of work Ben wants to go into.

"Fine, but I expect you to fill the tank up," the Sheriff said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Ben lit up. "Really?" he asked incredulously. He expected to work a little harder on convincing her to let him borrow her car.

"Go before I change my mind," she shooed him away with a grin. She tossed him her keys and Ben took off before she really did change her mind.

"Thanks, Sheriff!" Ben yelled as he ran out the door. He heard Claire and Alex set up a caterwaul at the unfairness of Ben getting to use her car when they can't. He grinned widely and taunted them with the keys from the car. Their faces turned ugly and they started gesturing wildly, undoubtedly yelling at the Sheriff.

Ben let out a laugh as he turned on the ignition and drove out of there before Claire snapped and came after him. Thank God the Sheriff didn't park in the driveway and instead parked on the street.

He drove for hours, letting his mind quiet as he took the back roads, not wanting to run into anyone. He kept his promise and filled up the gas tank before returning back to the Sheriff at precisely 9 o'clock. Three hours after he intended but not even the Sheriff could complain since he filled up her tank.

Well, she didn't complain, Alex and Claire did though.

Luckily, Ben tossed the Sheriff her keys and took off before they could hit their stride while yelling at him. He shot the Sheriff a commiserating look through the window. She shook her head at him and turned her attention to the complaining girls. He saw her raise her hand in a very familiar manner that told him Alex and Claire were gonna get a real talkin' to, and they weren't gonna like it or him, knowing Claire she'll blame him for her getting a lecture.

Ben'll take it. He's used to her blaming him for everything going wrong in her life. Better him than his dad.

Maria left him some peanut butter cookies she undoubtedly stress baked - she's waiting to hear back on whether or not she got hired full time for her job as an assistant at the local real estate office - were left on the counter for him when he got home. He read the note that told him his dishes before balling it up and threw it towards the over flowing trash bin. It bounced off a paper plate and onto the floor.

Close enough.

He ate over half the cookies and saved the rest for his snack during his study session with Claire after school. She's lucky she's a drop out. She has more time to learn about the creatures they may encounter as future hunters.

The Sheriff told him if he even thought about dropping out, she'd tell Logan and Maria, she'd stop training him, and worst of all, when his dad finally contacted the Sheriff, it would be the first thing she told him. Ben didn't know if school was important to his dad but he rather not disappoint his dad before Ben even remembered him. Getting yelled at by his father during their first meeting, is not one of the ways he imagined meeting his dad after so many years apart.

Maybe that's a good thing. After his dad is done yelling at him, Ben could yell right back at him for taking his memories away. It's a good ice breaker.

It'd be cathartic.

Besides, it's not like Ben would actually drop out of school. He made a promise to his mom and he intends to keep it. He'll hunt full time after he graduated from college with a Masters in Engineering or something. He's not sure yet. Choosing a major seems more like a second year thing than a first year one, and he doesn't intend to fall into something he might not even like.

He's heard horror stories about choosing a major too soon and wasting money on a degree they didn't even want in the first place. Ben has no intention of wasting money like that.

He can minor folk lore or something, right?

Shaking his head, Ben shucked off his clothes and trudged his way to the bathroom to get ready for bed. It may be earlier but he feels exhausted. He has all his homework done and the zen he found while driving is still lingering, which means he'll be able to go to sleep tonight without overthinking everything that happened today. A rarity lately.

When Ben's head hit the pillow he was instantly thrown into a dream full of shadows, fire, lightening, loud voices and the smell of sulfur that was suffocatingly strong. He saw his mom tied up and a shadow appear in front of her. She screamed in terror, Ben's own heartbeat threatened to burst out of his chest, and he screamed a name, his dad's he thinks. The only thought in his mind was that his dad will come and save them like he did last time with the monsters who looked like kids.

One of the shadows let out a cruel laugh and made its way towards Ben. He screamed louder, hoping his dad could hear him and come save him and his mom. The shadow got closer and Ben saw black eyes staring at him, glittering with malice, and when it opened its mouth, Ben saw rows of razor sharp teeth dripping with blood, and the smell of sulfur grew stronger.

The fetid smell almost made him throw up but he kept on screaming for his dad. His dad will come. He will. He always does. He'll kill the monsters and make them pay for hurting and scaring Ben and his mom.

"Dad!"

"Ben!" A voice yelled from far away. He's here! His dad's here! Ben knew he'd come. "Ben, where are you?"

"I'm here! Dad, I'm here!" He screamed so hard he felt his vocal cords strain and threaten to break but Ben didn't care.

The voice came closer, yelling his name in a deep voice. He could hear the rage and worry in the tone. He's almost here. He'll save him and his mom.

"Ben, wake up!" His dad shouted. "Wake up!"

He looked up at the door to see his dad's shadow on the other side. "I'm here! Dad, help me! Dad, please! Help me, the monster's gonna get mom! Daddy!" He screamed again as loud as he could.

"Ben!" Another voice yelled out, and Ben flinched from it. "Ben, wake up, you're dreaming. You need to wake up right now," the voice that's not his dad's ordered in a scared tone.

Ben ignored it in favor of screaming for his dad to come save him. His throat felt like it was on fire but it didn't him stop him, in fact it spurred him on, convincing him that if he kept yelling, it'll make his dad move that much faster. It seemed to work, too. His dad was at the door and Ben could hear him yelling for Ben to stand back.

Kind of a moot point since Ben is downstairs, far away from the door at the moment.

Just as his dad kicked the door in - Ben could see his father's silhouette - he's woken up suddenly, and this time when he yells, his voice gives out. He's cold. So cold. And wet.

Ben opened his eyes to see Logan standing above him, pale, and holding a bucket that, Ben is assuming, recently held cold water.

"Wh-," Ben started to cry in outrage but his voice gave out into nothingness. He lost his voice, and not only that, but his throat feels like he gargled lava recently. He must have been screaming in real life as well as in his dream. If so, no wonder Logan looks completely freaked. Maria comes running in, phone on her ear, looking just as pale as Logan.

Oh, man.

Before Ben could even pantomime just how sorry he was for scaring them so badly, the Sheriff comes bursting in, still wearing pajamas. Well, isn't that great? Claire is so going to tease him for this.

Maria hangs up the phone, so Ben thinks she was on the phone with the Sheriff in the first place. The Sheriff takes over the situation and calms Logan and Maria down before sending them out the door so she could talk to Ben in peace, though Ben suspects it's so he could talk about what his dream was really about.

It's a nice thought but he really doesn't think he could actually, physically speak at the moment. He doesn't feel like writing and it'd take too long to text.

Not that it matters. The dream is already fading, but the fear is still there.

"Are you okay, Ben?" the Sheriff asked in a soothing voice. He thinks it's her 'cop voice'.

Ben hesitated before nodding.

"Nightmare?" Ben nodded again. "Demons or monsters?" The Sheriff inquired.

Ben shrugged and gestured towards the right to signify monsters. He has no idea what demons look like, the pictures in the books are not very helpful in that aspect. It's all kind of abstract when the illustrators of the lore books try to draw what they think a demon looks like. Like he said, not very helpful.

The Sheriff hummed thoughtfully. She moved to sit by him on the bed.

"Ben, do you know what time it is?" she asked softly.

Ben shook his head and looked at his alarm clock to check the time. His jaw dropped when it read 6 A.M.. He thought it was earlier than that. He feels like he barely went to sleep before the heart of the dream started. The fear still lingered from the dream, but at least it wasn't fading away like anything else that has to do with his father.

Granted, he never really saw his father's face, and his voice was distorted, so he guesses that's why he can remember the dream with the limited detail given to him. Soooo...upside?

Ben pointed towards his throat and then at the clock, silently asking how long he'd been screaming.

"Since you went to bed at ten last night," she answered with a grimace of sympathy.

He blinked in shock. There is no way he'd been screaming for eight hours straight. No wonder Logan and Maria looked freaked and called the Sheriff. Why didn't they call the hospital or something?

The Sheriff guessed what he was thinking.

"I told them not to call the ambulance, told them I'd take care of it. I must have taken too long since Logan gave you an impromptu ice bath," she said wryly. Ben snorted then grimaced in pain at the action. He won't be doing that again.

"Though I think we should take you to the hospital anyway. I'm pretty sure you'll need something for your throat."

Ben nodded his head instead of grunting.

"Get dressed," the Sheriff ordered.

Ben saluted and got a snort of amusement from her. He gave her a cheeky smile, ignoring the lava in his throat, before he changed into some pants and a shirt. Maybe he should be a little self-conscious about being practically naked in front of the Sheriff but he views her as a second mom, and he wouldn't have been embarrassed in front of his mother by being in just his boxers.

She nodded at him and lead the way out to her car, she stopped to talk to the Logan and Maria, she waved him by when it looked like he was gonna stop too. He gave them an 'I'm sorry' face when he walked passed.

He waited in the Sheriff's car, happy she brought her personal car instead of her police truck, he has no idea how he'd fend off his fellow classmates' questions as to why the sheriff was at his house at ass o'clock in the morning. They already think he's a nerd, he doesn't need them to think he's a troubled nerd as well. His popularity is damn near nonexistent at this point, he doesn't need a bad reputation on top of everything else, and most importantly, he doesn't need Claire to hear about this.

She'll never let him live it down.

Alex might be a little sympathetic to his plight but that will only go so far. Soon she would join in on Claire's teasing of him.

Teenage girls are mean when they don't like you.

The Sheriff emerged from the Marks' house looking a little haggard. What happened in there? What did they talk about? Is he going to be relocated because of this incident? If so, where will he go? Would the Sheriff keep him or would she think he'd better off away from her and the life he's thinking of pursuing?

Anxiety kicked in and his breathing picked up in pace as he struggled to breathe and calm down. No point in worrying about something when there's no proof any of those fears will come to anything.

Ben was a second away from a full on panic attack when the Sheriff entered the car. She noticed his distress and quickly fell into mom mode instead of cop mode, for which he was grateful.

The Sheriff managed to cut off his impending panic attack without saying a word.

"You ready?" She asked instead of asking if he's alright.

Ben nodded that he was.

The ride to the hospital was quiet and Ben could feel the Sheriff shooting him concerned looks every now and then but didn't say anything. Again Ben is grateful for her tact.

He knows he can't say anything but he's too exhausted to pantomime what's going on with him.

It's a memory, a foggy one granted, but it is a memory of his dad. A memory he remembers (yes, he knows how that sounds, but considering what's been going on with him these past few years, it's the wording that works best), though thinking about it now, Ben's not all too sure he wants to keep that particular memory. The fear he felt is all too real for him. He'd rather go back to those vague, distorted beyond recognition memories if they're all going to be like that one, and he's honestly terrified they will all be like that.

Ben closed his eyes to block out any distraction so he could think, and all of a sudden he could feel a familiar weight in his hands, the weight of a sawed-off shotgun, and he could hear a voice (his dad, presumably) yelling at him to shoot at anything in their way.

He could feel the powerful recoil of the shotgun as he shot at shadow after shadow. He feels a real urgency in his movement. His dad's counting on him to get them through all the monster shadows (Demons?), he's counting on Ben to clear the way because his mom is hurt. She's hurt real bad because one of the shadow monsters hurt her to hurt his dad, and if they don't hurry, he could lose his mom. The thought steadies his hand and banish any doubts of shooting the shadow monsters.

"Ben!" The Sheriff shouted and shook him out of his pseudo-dream/memory.

He shrugged her off and gestured with his hands, 'what?'

"We're here. I've been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes. You weren't answering me," she said, worry clouding her face.

Ben glanced at the clock to confirm he lost over fifteen minutes, the ten minutes it would have taken to get to the hospital from the Marks' house, plus the five minutes it took for the Sheriff to get his attention. What is going on with him?

Is it good or bad this is happening now?