Favor
After everything that happened with Holly, Ciara decided to reach out to Rafe and see if Ben could spend more time with David.
Rafe said he would talk to Jordan and then let her know. It had been two weeks, and Ciara still hadn't heard from Rafe.
Ben and Ciara were sound asleep when one of their phones went off.
" Ciara, I think your phone is going off."
Ciara reached over and grabbed her phone.
" Hello."
" Hey Ciara, it's Rafe; did I wake you?"
" No, it's fine. What's up?"
" I just got a huge case. And I don't have anyone to watch David. Would you be able to watch him for me?"
" Ben and I would love to."
" Not Ben, just you. I talked to Jordan; she does not want Ben around her son."
" I'll have to talk to Ben and call you back."
" I'm really sorry, Ciara. I don't want to mess this up and lose my chance of getting custody of David."
" I understand, Rafe. I'll call you back."
Ciara hung up the phone and looked at Ben.
" Everything okay?"
" Rafe asked me to watch David."
" Call him back and tell him we'll do it."
Ciara looked away from Ben.
" What?"
" He only wants me to watch him."
" Oh."
" It's Jordan; she doesn't want you around David, and Rafe doesn't want to mess anything up and risk losing custody of David. I'm so sorry, Ben."
" Hey, it's fine. It's not your fault."
" I'll just call him back and tell him I can't do it."
" No. I think you should do it."
" Are you sure? I know how much you want to see David, and I don't want to upset you."
Ben grabbed her chin so she would look at him, " You could never upset me."
" I am going to jump in the shower. Call Rafe back."
Ben kissed Ciara and walked into the bathroom.
Ciara grabbed her phone and called Rafe back; she agreed to watch David only if Ben could join them.
Rafe gave in because he didn't have a choice.
When Ben got out of the shower, Ciara was making the bed.
" Get dressed. We have to be at Rafe's in fifteen minutes."
" What do you mean we?"
" I told Rafe I would only watch David if you could come to."
" You didn't have to do that."
" I wanted to."
Ben smiled and kissed her, " You are very sweet."
" Let's go see your nephew."
They got ready and headed to Rafe's.
" Hey guys, come on in."
Rafe gave them a rundown of David's schedule and what toys he liked to play with. He told them he would check in during the day, said goodbye, and left.
" Hey, Rafe."
" Yeah?"
" I know I'm not supposed to be here, but it means a lot."
Rafe smiled and nodded his head before walking out the door.
Ben went into the living room and saw Ciara playing with David.
" I think he likes you."
" Yeah?"
" Look at that smile."
David looked from Ben to Ciara and smiled at her.
A little later in the day, there was a knock at the door.
" I got it," Ben said as he opened the door.
" Lani? What are you doing here?"
" I came to check on David. What are you doing here?"
" Ciara and I are watching him."
" Oh."
Ciara walked out, holding David.
Lani watched as Ciara handed David to Ben.
" Lani, what can we do for you?"
" I just came to check on David."
" Did Rafe send you?"
" No, I've just been spending a lot of time with David. I wanted to make sure he was okay."
" He's fine. We have everything under control."
" Are you sure it's a good idea to have Ben around David?"
" Look, Lani, this is none of your business."
" Does Rafe know Ben is here?"
" Yes, he does. Lani David is safe. You don't have to worry."
" With Ben around, I worry."
" He is not that guy anymore, and this has nothing to do with you. David is not your son. He is Ben's nephew, and he has every right to spend time with him."
" I think I'm going to talk to Rafe about this."
" It's not up to you, Lani. You have no say. I have to get back. Goodbye, Lani."
Ciara shut the door and joined Ben and David.
Rafe called a couple of times to check-in. They told him everything was fine. David was taking a nap."
Rafe said he would be home around four.
After David woke up from his nap, Ciara changed him. Then they went for a walk in the park.
Ben was pushing the stroller as they walked through the park.
" I heard you talking to Lani earlier."
" Oh."
" Thank you for standing up for me."
" Always."
Ben leaned down and kissed her.
" Let's get some ice cream."
" Sounds good."
Ciara sat at the table with David while Ben got the ice cream.
Ben came back and handed a cup to her.
" Ben, I know these last few weeks have been hard on you because of what happened to Holly. But there is something you can do."
" What?"
" Make a difference in another child's life, Uncle Ben."
Ben just laughed and smiled at David.
" You are going to be able to teach him everything, like how to use chopsticks and how to bowl."
" How to bowl?"
" How to bowl. I don't know how to ride a bike, how to ride a motorcycle, maybe."
" Maybe play a little catch? Skip some stones in the lake?"
" Mm-hmm."
" Help him with his homework. Maybe not. I was a terrible student. But I could try."
" You know you may have been a terrible student, but you are gonna be the best Uncle ever."
" I don't think anybody has ever told me I could be the best at anything. It was just a weird sensation. I like it, though. Thank you."
" Yeah, well, that's because nobody knows you like I do, and David is going to be just as lucky to have you in his life as I am."
" I'm the lucky one."
Ben leaned over and kissed her, " Never forget it," Ben said as he kissed her again.
Rafe will be home soon. We should head back.
Ciara pushed the stroller through the square as they headed back to Rafe's.
When Rafe got home, he thanked them for watching David. Then they left.
A few days later, they were cuddled up in bed.
" Morning."
" Morning."
" Is everything okay? You were tossing and turning all night."
" Yeah. I just had a pretty disturbing dream about Claire. It must have been because of what happened yesterday."
" What happened yesterday?"
" Tripp broke up with her. Yeah, and it sort of sent her over the edge."
" Claire has been through so much ever since Tripp agreed to marry Haley, and he just dumps her? I'm sorry, but I think that's just cruel."
" Hm. Then why did he do it?
" Let's just say that Claire did something very stupid because she was feeling desperate and vulnerable."
" Shocker."
" Yeah. But the least Tripp can do is be a little more understanding, considering how much he's asked of her."
" Well, maybe they'll be able to work things out."
" Maybe. If I'm being honest, I don't think Claire is right for him."
" You think? I wouldn't mention that to her."
" Don't worry, I won't."
They cuddled and kissed a little longer before getting up.
" You ready to roll?"
" Yeah, just let me grab my phone."
Ciara grabbed her phone, and the charger broke.
" Great. Look at this," she said. As she held up her phone with the broken cord in it.
" Come on."
" Just my luck."
" You have another charger?"
" Yeah, I do, but it's at the loft, and I really don't want to walk into a warzone between Tripp and Claire right now, so I'm just gonna go buy a new one right now."
" No, don't bother. I'll swing by and pick it up for you. I have to head to that side of town anyway. What are you up to today?"
" I am actually on my way to talk to Rafe about you spending more time with David."
Ben went to grab her charger while Ciara went to see Rafe. They met up later in the square.
" How'd it go with Rafe?"
" He agreed to talk to Jordan about letting you spend more time with David."
Ben grabbed Ciara and hugged her.
" Oh, that means so much to me. Thank you."
" You're welcome."
" Check these out. I took them while I was there. He's sleeping. But still pretty amazing. Look at that face."
" That is so thoughtful. Thank you."
" No problem."
" Oh, I love it."
Ben handed her the charger, and she thanked him. They walked through the square and went back to the gatehouse.
Later in the night, Ciara walked into the DiMera living room.
" Hey."
" Hey."
" I thought we were going to dinner?"
" Uh, I'm sorry. Stefan is on the warpath right now. He has me going over every single security report until we can figure out how the hell we messed up this whole Holly situation."
" He's blaming you?"
" He doesn't have to. I blame myself. Things have just gotten a lot worse since Chloe moved out."
" So, no dinner?"
" I'm afraid. I'm going to be stuck here all night."
" That's fine. I'll just have to keep you company."
" Are you sure?"
" We're a team now, okay? This is how it works."
While Ben was working, Ciara was working on her own project. She was fixing the figurine that Claire had broken.
Once she fixed it, she took it to Claire so she could give it to Maggie.
The next morning, Ciara walked into the DiMera living room.
Ben jumped when he heard footsteps.
" I'm sorry. I didn't know you were asleep. Why didn't you come to bed?"
" I fell asleep working."
They moved over to the couch, and Ciara massaged Ben's neck.
" I have an idea. Why don't we spend the whole day in bed? Just the two of us."
" I like that idea."
Ben picked her up and carried her into the gatehouse. He locked the door and carried her to the bed, kissing her the whole time.
They spent the rest of the day making love, cuddling and kissing.
Ben rolled over and said, "Best idea ever."
Ciara laughed and hit Ben's chest.
" I am so hungry right now."
" Me too."
" What should we have?"
They looked at each other and said, "PANCAKES."
They laughed as Ben got up from the bed. He slipped his sweatpants on and went to the kitchen.
Ciara put on Ben's shirt and joined him in the kitchen. She stood behind him and wrapped her arms around him.
Ciara started kissing his back.
" Mmm. If you keep doing that I'm going to burn these pancakes."
Ciara laughed and walked to the fridge to get them some orange juice.
Once the pancakes were ready, they got back in bed and started eating.
Later in the day, Ben and Ciara were lying in bed kissing when Ben's phone went off.
Ben let out a groan and rolled over.
" It's Stefan. He needs me for a few hours."
Ben got up and got dressed.
" I should be back around five."
" Okay. When you get back. I will have steak, potatoes, and salad ready for you."
" Sounds good."
Ben kissed Ciara and left.
Ciara got up, made the bed, jumped in the shower, got dressed, and went to the store.
When Ben got home, the smoke alarm was going off.
" Ciara?"
Ciara looked at Ben and said, "I burned the dinner."
Ben just laughed and stopped the smoke alarm.
" I hope you like your steak well done."
" I'm so sorry."
" This reminds me of the loft when you tried to make your Grandma's donuts for me."
" This just proves I'm a bad cook."
" Hey, it was very sweet of you to try."
Ben hugged her and kissed her forehead.
" Let me shower and change, then I'll take you to dinner."
Ciara smiled and said, "Okay."
Ben jumped in the shower, and Ciara cleaned up their burnt dinner.
Ben got dressed, and then they left the gatehouse.