Falling as far as you can go...

[mini_dean]

ooc: takes place after this. Foul language and drug use behind cut.

Ben sat on the couch, looking at the little piles of white powder and weed. So Mom was running to shack up with Dean again. He was in town a day, and yet there she was all over him again.

He was disgusted. Not that Mom was leaving Jeff - Ben would happily kiss that man goodbye with a bullet to his skull if he could - but for Dean of all people?! Was she just a glutton for punishment? He was just going to hurt her and leave her again. Maybe with another kid too. Yeah, that would be wonderful. How many other half siblings did he have out there anyway? Dean was probably a one man baby depot.

The anger led him to open the white powder packet. Shelia wouldn't notice one missing. He found the pipe and the razor, making the little lines expertly and leaning down, sniffing one up, then the second. He rubbed at his nose, then leaned back as the blessed numbness fell over him.

Now he felt better. Here he didn't give a damn about the world. It was nice like this. Peaceful. Painless.

But the world was shattered about 20 minutes later when his door was kicked down. Ben barely opened his eyes when he felt the hand on his throat, lifting him off the couch and throwing him against the wall.

"Where are they?" Jeff growled, slamming Ben's head back into the wall.

It took Ben a moment to remember, then he laughed. "Like I'd fucken tell you. Check the local motel. They're probably humping like bunnies."

"You're still a little shit, aren't you?" Jeff threw Ben across the room. Moments later he pinned Ben to the floor, his fists flying into the boy's ribs and face. Ben tried to fight back, but he was seeing double and the drugs were making it hard to block Jeff's fists.

"Pathetic. If you were my flesh and blood, I would have killed you a long time ago like the worthless runt you are," Jeff growled, pulling Ben to his feet and looking at him. Ben just laughed, then spat blood into his stepfather's face. Jeff growled, smacking Ben across the face hard, throwing him to the side as Ben then crashed into the counter of the kitchen area. Jeff looked down at the drugs on the table and laughed. "Still doing the small time drugs, aren't you, Benny boy?"

"Not... mine." Ben reached up to touch his head, finding blood where his head had connected to the wooden corner of the counter.

"No, just like there's not white powder on your lip." Jeff grabbed one of the needles that had been used to help test the drugs and knelt down, holding it against Ben's neck. "Now, I'm only going to ask you one last time, Ben; where did Dean Winchester take your mother? AND... if you say you don't know - you won't live to see either one of them again."

Ben's blue eyes looked at his step father, trying to look intimidating but he wasn't able to focus on him. "Go to Hell. I'd rather my Mom be with Dean than you any day."

Jeff laughed. "Oh, I'll find her, Ben. And what I did to you will be nothing compared to what I do to her and him. But for now, I'll just remind Lisa just how much she hurt me."

Ben winced as he felt the needle press against his neck, praying for someone to save him.

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[mini_dean]

Ben's eyes blinked awake, then his body clenched and he pushed her out of the way as he fell to the ground. His stomach didn't like even the lightest smack and he just started to heave, the little that was in his stomach going out the wrong way as the drug interaction in his body took a wrong trip on the yellow brick road.

Then he collapsed on the floor, shaking bad now.

[ilove_atallman]

There was another sigh as Ruby moved over to him, stepping over to straddle him and crouching down to check his vitals. His heart was racing, which was normal for someone on drugs, but otherwise he seemed like he would be okay long enough to wait for Dean to get there.

She pulled back after a minute, before moving over to where Jeff was. She hooked her arms lightly under his shoulders, before dragging him back towards the bathroom and tossing him none-to-gently inside. The lock on the door was broken -- go figure -- but she picked up one of the chairs in the room and wedged it under the door knob, should Dean take longer than expected getting to them.

[mini_dean]

Ben was back awake again when Ruby came back into the room. He was sweating bad, trying to turn onto his back to breathe better.

"Why...?" he asked, wanting to know why she had come to save him. A demon, of all people. Not that he wasn't grateful, but she surely wasn't what he had been expecting.

[ilove_atallman]

Ruby looked over at him with a smirk before replying. "Because it means your dad owes me a favor. And frankly -- I love having things to hold over Dean Winchester's head." She paused again, before picking herself up and glancing around, her nose wrinkling in disgust slightly. "Besides -- saving Winchesters and Winchester spawn is kind of what I do best."

[mini_dean]

Ben's eyes rolled a bit, more from the drugs than the mention of his father. "He got a ... guilt complex or... something? Never cared till now..."

[ilove_atallman]

Ruby paused for a minute, a little unsure how to answer the question, because she had a feeling she was going to have to clarify either way. "Well -- he does, but that's a whole other story. But look, kid -- " Because she still didn't know the kid's name and frankly, didn't care all that much. " -- your dad got mixed up in some bad shit not too long after he met you. Big time demons wanted his head on a plate. He wasn't going to put a little kid in danger -- especially when he was told that the kid wasn't his. Once things cleared up -- I guess he just never got back to your end of Indiana. Maybe he figured that he'd been gone long enough, and you two were probably okay, and didn't even remember the guy who saved your life once a long time ago, maybe he thought you were better off without him at the time, whatever. I'm sure he regrets it all now, but hey -- what can you do."

[mini_dean]

"Better if he... stayed gone."

Ben's eyes slid shut and his head fell to the side. He was still awake, but the lights were hurting his eyes that were already hard to keep open.

"Don't need him."

[ilove_atallman]

"Yup," Ruby replied, smacking him hard on the back as she pushed herself to her feet. "You're just doing a bang-up job on your own." Sarcasm, but it was sarcasm with love.

Not.

[mini_dean]

"Fuck you," Ben muttered, curling on his side so he didn't have to look at her.

[ilove_atallman]

Ruby snorted slightly, before her head snapped up at the sound of footsteps in the hallway, and she moved to stand in the doorway, giving Dean a look as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I got shot. You owe me big."

"Where is he?" Dean frowned, looking down and spotting Ben on the floor. "Jesus."

"He's fine, he's just tripping," Ruby replied, get him out of here, and have a doctor look him over when you're far enough away, and he should be fine."

"Where's -- "

"I took care of it. Get him out of here, settle your male aggression issues later. You want to lose him you have to leave. Now."

Dean sighed slightly, before reaching over for Ben, placing a gentle set of hands on his shoulders to get him up. "C'mon -- let's get you out of here."

[mini_dean]

Ben struggled feebly, trying not to let Dean help him. "No, leave me alone..." he tried to push Dean away. His eyes, while still glazed, where a mixture of pain (both mental and physical) and anger. "I don't need you..."

[ilove_atallman]

"Dean. Your kid is an ungrateful little shit. I say we leave him here."

"Ruby." He shot her a look, and she gave him one right back before rolling her eyes slightly, and reaching for Ben.

"Sorry, kid -- you have no say." She picked Ben up before he had a chance to struggle, hauling him up roughly so he could lean on her shoulders, and starting to walk him slowly towards the door.

[mini_dean]

"This is my place..." Ben complained, but Ruby was stronger and not so gentle so she actually got somewhere in making him cooperate.

And of course who would walk in but Shelia, carrying a bag of food from McDonald's. She looked around the place, then saw the three people and crossed her arms at the state of her boyfriend.

"What the fuck, Ben? I just ask you to do one fucken deal for me... one deal and you can't even do that without getting your ass whooped? I hope you got the damn money at least."

She had no care that Ben looked like he was half dead, or that there were two people in the room trying to help him. She just saw her stash messed up and all over the floor.

[ilove_atallman]

Ruby looked back at Ben, before over at Dean. "Can I kick her?"

Dean looked back at Ruby for a minute, and she rolled her eyes, before taking Ben and the two of them started edging their way out around the doorway, with Ruby taking Ben to the car. Once Ben was far enough out of earshot, Dean turned back to Sheila, before sliding his hands in his pockets and turning back to her with a cool stare he usually reserved for demons, but was making an exception for the time being.

"Look, I don't know what kind of relationship you and Ben have, nor do I care, because as of right now, it really doesn't matter anymore. But I will tell you this. You're lucky my associate -- " Ruby was never his friend. Ever. " -- didn't call the cops. Hell, you're lucky we didn't call the cops now. And we won't. But you ever so much as speak to Ben like that again, and I will put in a special call to some cops who I'm sure would love to lock up a piece of shit like you. You come near Ben again -- and the cops will be the least of your problems. Are we clear?"

[mini_dean]

Lisa was pacing nervously downstairs, waiting. Dean had told her to stay there, so she did. But when she saw the woman leading Ben out of the apartment, she ran over to them. "Oh my god, Ben! What did he do to you?"

"Lay off, Mom. I'm alright."

"No, you're not. Damnit, Ben, you can't keep doing this to yourself." She helped Ruby get her son to the car and into the backseat, and she climbed in beside him, her hands checking over his injuries. "I'm going to make this right, Ben, I promise you." Ben just rolled his eyes and closed them, knowing when he wasn't going to win.


Shelia just looked at Dean. "You can't tell me who I can't speak to. Ben came to me, and he'll come back. He always does." She crossed her arms, smirking.

[ilove_atallman]

Dean just looked her over again, before snorting slightly and making his way out the door. She wasn't even worth the comeback. Instead, he just pushed past her and made his way down the hallway and back out to his car, where the rest of them were waiting.

Ruby leaned back against the side of the Impala, having closed the back door behind Lisa and Ben and just waiting for Dean to join them. When she spotted him, she tilted her head to the side slightly.

"Do you think we should have warned her about the gun toting psychopath locked in her bathroom?"

Dean smirked slightly, before shrugging. "I think she'll figure it out soon enough." He turned back to her. "Thanks Ruby."

"As I said -- you owe me." She glanced up and down the street, before nodding to the car. "You guys better bail before an incensed citizen calls the cops about that gunshot they heard earlier."

[mini_dean]

Lisa saw the cuts and felt the blood on her hand as she played with Ben's hair. "I told you that girl was no good..."

"Mom, please, don't start." Ben's voice started to fade.

"Ben?" Lisa tried to shake her son, but he didn't move. "Ben?"

When Dean got into the car, Lisa looked at him. "Dean, he's not waking up..." she whimpered, looking at Ben and not knowing how to help him.

[ilove_atallman]

Dean turned, reaching over the back of the seat, placing his fingers against the side of Ben's neck lightly, looking for a pulse. After a minute, he nodded. "He's okay. He's just worn out."

He started to turn around and glanced over at Ruby. "You coming?"

She shook her head. "I'll stick around to make sure the scum's cleaned up and check up with you back in New York."

[mini_dean]

Lisa just bit her lip and sat back, pulling Ben's head into her lap. She took off her scarf and started to wrap it around his head gently to at keep the cut there covered.

"New York? That's almost a day away," Lisa said. She wasn't sure that would be the best for Ben, especially with how wonderful he was looking at the moment.

[jstliketherifle.livejournal.com]

"We'll stop in Pittsburgh," Dean said with a sigh. "I'll clean him up and we can get some rest for the night, I just want to put some distance between us and him right now."

He pulled out into the street, putting on the gas and getting out of there as fast as he could.

[mini_dean]

Lisa nodded. Then she was quiet for a long time, just staring out the window.

It wasn't until two hours later that Ben groaned, uncomfortable and suddenly very aware of how much his body was hurting. "God damn it..." he moaned, his hands in fists as he tried to fight his way back to consciousness.

"Stay still, Ben. You're just going to hurt yourself more," she said, her hand running along his cheek.

"Mom?"

"Yeah, it's me. Go back to sleep."

"It hurts like a bitch..."

[jstliketherifle.livejournal.com]

Dean would have said something about how having the crap beat out of you does that sometimes, but he wasn't going to push it. Instead, he just stayed quiet, letting Ben and Lisa talk.

[mini_dean]

She leaned closer and kissed his cheek. "I've got some Tylenol in my purse. Think that will help?" she asked him softly. She wasn't sure giving pain pills to her son who was coming off a drug high was a good idea, but she didn't want him to be in pain either.

"Maybe." One eye had bruised and become puffy so he wasn't able to see out of it. But he could hear the purr of an engine, one he knew the type, but it was confusing him. His memories of the last few hours were not the best. "Where are we?"

"Dean's taking us somewhere safe. Jeff won't hurt either of us again?" She was looking through her purse for the small pillbox she had.

"What? Dean?" Another confused question. Dean? Why should he care about them? He then winced as his mother shifted and his ribs moved a bit.

[jstliketherifle.livejournal.com]

"Yeah," Dean said from the front seat, glancing back over his shoulder. "How're you feelin', Ben?" He wasn't going to bring up the issues unless Ben did. Now wasn't really the time to have a father-son argument.

[mini_dean]

"Like I just got the shit kicked out of me, and I think I'm gonna be sick," Ben stated, his arm coming up to protect his vulnerable spot instinctively. He was in too much pain to be angry at the moment. "Where you taking us?"