More than a Memory

Chapter 3: Finding Answers

She smiled up at him, "I only go on dates with boys who I know their names."

The smile faded and was replaced with a blush for a second, "Oh yeah, I suppose that would help. I'm Ben." He half extended his hand.

She reached out and touched it, feeling little sparks of electricity when she touched his hand. Judging by the expression on Ben's face, he felt it too. She held onto his hand and smiled up at him, "Hi Ben."

He loved the feeling of her smooth, gently hand in his callused hand and found himself running his thumb over the back of her hand. The two stayed like this, just looking into each others eyes, until Ben felt a motherly hand on his shoulder. He coughed nervously and licked at his bottom lip as he dropped Claire's hand.

"I take it ya met Claire at work?" Jody asked as she handed him a beer.

He looks down at the bottle with a shocked expression. Even though he wasn't a big fan of Sam Addams, free beer was fee beer, and he wasn't going to say no, especially from a sheriff. "Uh, yeah," he finally said as Claire watched him with a pout.

"Oh sure, let the admitted underage drink in your house but if I do, ya'd think the damn apocalypse was gonna happen again," she says, playfully throwing her hands up in the air.

Ben chuckled as he brought the bottle to his lips and sipped. He liked her attitude. Not only could she throw a flirt right back out, she wasn't afraid to stand up for herself. So far, this trip was turning out to be a good idea.

"The boy needs one if what he told me is true," Jody sighed as she reached in her pocket. She looked between the two of them as she dialed a number on her phone. "Gimme a few to try and figure some things out. You two behave and keep your hands to yourself," she said, using a motherly tone at the end and pointing between the two of them.

Claire sighed dramatically and said as Jody left the living room area, "She never lets me have any fun."

Ben raises his eyebrow and smirks, "But she didn't say anythin' 'bout keepin' our lips to ourselves."

Claire had moved her book, giving Ben room to sit. He took the invitation and sat down beside her, taking another sip from his beer. He strained to hear Jody's conversation.

"What did Jody mean by that?" Claire asked, changing the mood in the room.

Ben sighed and licked his bottom lip again, Claire watching his tongue. He smiled and said, "I think she knows my dad."

Claire brought her gaze back up to his eyes, "Oh yeah? Well she is the sheriff of Sioux Falls, so she pretty much knows everyone here." Ben just shrugged, not sure if he wanted another over the top reaction to his secret that he wasn't even sure if it was true. "Who is he? Are ya in trouble? Is that why you're passin' through?"

Ben sighed and took a long swig, "Dean Winchester." He looked at Claire.

Just like Jody, her face paled,but was quickly replaced by a smile and a chuckle. "Good Lord, I figured that man whore always used a condom," she said before she could stop herself. Then she blushed once she realized what she had said. "Oh no, I'm sorry."

Ben kind of appreciated the honest reaction from her. He shrugged his shoulders, "I know nothin' 'bout the man so ya ain't offendin' me. Good to know he doesn't have any attachments."

"He may have one now. Word's goin' 'round that him and my dad," she paused to do air quotes, "May finally be together," she ended with a smile and saw how confused and shocked Ben was.

"Ok, good to know I share my bi-sexuality with him," he mumbled aloud.

"Took 'em awhile to be comfortable with it. Fought it for eight fuckin' years. It's bad enough when me, the daughter of Castiel's vessel can even seen how madly in love and stubborn they are the few times I've met up with 'em."

"Wait! You know Dean?" Ben asked quickly.

Claire nodded, "But I haven't talked to him in 'bout a year. Neither one of us are good with that whole keepin' in touch thing." She rolled her eyes.

Something was very intriguing about Claire to Ben. He found himself being drown to her every movement and he wasn't sure if it was because of her knowledge or her carefree spirit, but he was beginning to hang on her every word. "How old are you?" he asked softly.

"Twenty," she said, trying to follow his train of thought. "I've known of Dean for about eight years but never really got to know the guy. He's a legend amoungst Hunters. Hell, all of the Winchesters are."

Ben smiled at this, feeling a sudden rush of pride wash over him. Maybe his dad really wasn't as bad as the police records paint him to be. Maybe there was a whole other side to him that Ben had yet to uncover. He took another drink, "All I know 'bout the man is his police record and a box of his stuff. I think he was in my life for awhile, but I don't remember it at all." He looked away from Claire and towards the rest of the spacious room, not really focusing on anything. "Judgin' by the pictures I have of us, I would've been 'round eleven or twelve when he left."

Claire began to feel confused. Why wouldn't Ben remember him. Why hadn't Dean ever talked about him. Hell, she even went through his wallet once and never once saw any pictures. She was sure if Dean really did have a kid that he would have at least hidden a picture in his wallet, or his car, but she had never seen this kid before in her life. "How old are you?" she asked, trying to figure out where and why Dean would have hidden him.

"I'll be eighteen in a few days," he said, almost sounding sad.

Claire ignored that fact and focused more on doing the math of when Dean would have been a part of his life. With herself being a new Hunter, she was still trying to get all of the gossip of the Winchesters and their world-saving missions in order. She began to think aloud as she said, "That would've been 2011, the year they stopped the apocalypse and Sam went to Hell. Rumor had it, Dean took off a year" She looked over at Ben, who was watching her. Before she could say anything else, Jody walked back into the room.

"Ben, how do you feel about staying with us for a few days?" Jody asked, looking at him.