After their first date, things were up and down. Ben and Ciara broke up after Ben canceled a bike ride with Ciara to kidnap Gabi for Stefan.
Ciara went to visit Theo in South Africa. Ben moved into a motel after Chad fired him. Ciara came back early to work things out with Ben, only to be kidnapped by his sister Jordan.
They briefly got back together until Ben decided it wasn't safe for Ciara to be with him after he tried to kill his sister.
Ciara tried to tell Ben that he was just protecting her after Jordan tried to attack her. Ben said he couldn't trust himself not to hurt her and walked away.
A few days later, Ciara was helping Julie set up at the restaurant.
" Thank you so much for helping me set up for tonight."
" Yeah, no problem, Grandma."
" I know I would never ask you ordinarily. I know how busy you are. But Chloe took the day off again, and I'm overwhelmed."
" Do you need me to fold the napkins?"
" Yes, please."
" It's so good to see you out of the hospital. Are you okay? Now darling?"
" Yeah, I'm fine. I just want to put the whole incident behind me."
" Of course, so traumatic to think that nut job Jordan Ridgeway nearly killed you twice. You know, people tell me. Oh, she's such a sweet girl. Well. She went off the rails this time."
" Of course, that's no surprise considering her family. Clyde Weston for a father and Ben Weston for a brother."
" Can you just stop, please?"
" I'm sorry. I know Ben is your boyfriend."
" He's not my boyfriend actually."
" What?"
" Not anymore."
" So you've finally seen the light about Ben? Yes? No?"
" Actually, Grandma, um, he broke up with me. And I'll explain why if you promise you won't bash him, okay?"
" My darling, I'll try. Go ahead, tell me."
" Ben was totally freaked out after he saved me from Jordan. And even though she's his sister, he's not sure he would have been able to stop himself from hurting her if Rafe hadn't come in."
" I see."
" And because of that, he's afraid he might be a danger to me."
" He may have a point there."
" No, Grandma, Ben would never hurt me."
" Darling, you say that now, But if he has doubts."
" I think that Ben is falling into a self-fulfilling prophecy. He sees himself as someone who is too damaged to live a normal life. To be a decent person, someone. Who is deserving of love and respect? And without someone telling him that that is not true. Grandma, eventually, he's going to become the monster that he fears he already is."
" My darling, I know you want to save Ben. Help him overcome his demons, but why attach yourself to a man who could snap at any moment?"
" Okay, now that is really hypocritical."
" Excuse me."
" I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be disrespectful. Just think about it, Grandma. When Abigail was going through her mental illness, you were a huge supporter of her and Chad."
" Abigail did not murder three people."
" Well, she tried. She locked Vivian, Kate, and Marlena up in the DeMira tunnels, and they would have suffocated if John Black hadn't found them in time. And Abigail did kill one person, Andre."
" I think she did the world a favor there. God forgive me for saying that, but she was terribly stressed with PTSD. Which was brought on by Ben."
" It was also caused by multiple personality disorder, mental illness. But. She changed. She got help. And now she is living a happy, healthy life again with everyone supporting her and Chad."
" Grandma, if Abigail can be cured. Why can't Ben? All of his doctors, including Marlena think that he is well enough to be out in the world. Why can't anyone just accept that and give him the same chance Abigail got."
" Maybe if the entire population of Salem would stop calling Ben a monster. Maybe he wouldn't see himself as one."
Ciara got up from the table and walked towards the bar.
" Ciara, I am sorry. That you're so upset, but?"
" But what, Grandma?"
" Sometimes you remind me so much of your mother and father."
" Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
" Good. It's wonderful. You know that. Bo and Hope were always fighting for the underdog. Because they had big loving hearts just like you have. They always wanted to give everybody a chance."
" Maybe mom just needs to be reminded of that?"
" Well, she's not likely to be so open-minded where her own daughter is concerned. She's worried about your safety. Because you're precious to her as you are to me."
" What if Ben has a relapse? What if he needs to hurt somebody, and that somebody is you?"
" He would not hurt me. He would never do that to me."
" What if he hurts someone else? Could you live with that?"
" Grandma, he has turned himself around. Okay. Yes, he did something that I didn't approve of, which was working for Stefan. But at least he is way far away from that right now."
" Well, actually."
" Actually, what, Grandma, what?"
" I have to assume he did not tell you. he is working for Stefan again."
" So Ben is working for Stefan again? How do you know that?"
" Well, as I mentioned before, Chloe took the day off because Ben is installing some security cameras at the DiMera mansion."
" Right, well I, uh, I guess I understand why he took the job. He needed the money, and no one else would hire him. And since we're not even together anymore."
" Ciara, would you mull this over? Do you think being around a guy like Stefan could drive Ben into a downward spiral again?"
After talking with Julie, Ciara left and went straight to the DiMera mansion. She knocked on the door and waited for an answer.
They stood there looking at each other.
" Ciara."
" Shut the damn door," Ciara said as she walked past him into the house.
Ben followed Ciara into the living room and shut the door.
" If you're here to try and convince me that you and I are a good thing, you're wasting your time."
" I came here because you convinced me that you were a good person. But if you can work for scum like Stefan DiMera, then you are exactly the same kind of scum that he is."
" I can explain to you."
" Don't. Even bother, Ben, because I know what you're gonna say. You had to take the job because no one else would hire you, but I'm sorry, doing Stefan's dirty work is wrong no matter what."
" I'm not doing his dirty work."
" He paid you to kidnap Gabi. Ben, if that's not dirty work. Then I don't know what is. I keep telling you that you're not a bad guy, and you keep telling me that I'm wrong. So, I guess this is your way of making a point."
" I am so scared to see what Stefan is gonna have you do next."
" Well, you don't have to be scared because you have this all wrong."
" Oh, I'm wrong? I'm. Wrong about Stefan? He's a great guy?"
" You're wrong about me hurting women. Because right now, I'm trying to stop one from being killed."
"You're trying to stop a woman from being killed? That's how Stefan is spinning it now?"
" When Stefan said he'd give me my job back, I told him I would do it under one condition. I would never mistreat any woman."
" And he still hired you?"
" He said that's what would work for him. What he wanted was someone to look out for Chloe Lane and her two kids."
" Chloe. Didn't she get threatened by those drug lords' goons?"
" Yeah. She did. So that's when Stefan decided that she and the kids needed a guard that was just for them. She's a nice lady. The kids are great. And I feel like maybe I'm making a difference for them."
" Wow, I am a total jackass. I jumped to all the wrong conclusions. I'm so sorry."
Ben joined Ciara on the couch.
" You're not a jackass. I know your family's hated the DiMeras since way back. But I promise you that this is a good thing."
" I could see it on your face when you were talking about the kids. Which means that I've been right all along, and you do have a big heart. So, how could you be a bad guy?"
" Okay, maybe I'm not you know, bad to the bone, but I am definitely damaged goods, which is why I know it was right for me to break it off with you."
" Nice try. But you're not getting rid of me that easily."
" It's only been a few days, Ben, but Oh, my God, I miss having you in my life. And I know I can find a way to prove to you that you're not the broken person you think you are."
" I wish you were right. One of my shrinks told me that kids who have been abused tend to become abusers themselves."
" Mm-hmm. The shrink also said tend to, which means it isn't a done deal."
" Ben, I think you are strong enough to fight this."
Ciara tried to take his hand, but he moved away from her.
" Maybe I'm just not as sure as you are."
" Well, I'll tell you one thing: It may be a good thing that you're staying here, but Stefan DiMera is not a good influence."
" No, see, I don't know. Stefan wrestles with the same kind of demons that I do. I mean, he wasn't raised by Stefano, but he still fears that Stefano lives inside of him the same way that I'm afraid Clyde still lives inside of me."
" Not if you fight him."
" Ciara, I try to fight it every hour, every day, not to be the person that he was. I still lost it with Jordan. What if I did that to you? I'm not sure I could live with myself after that."
" I don't want you living in fear, even if it's just in the back of your mind."
" Do you wanna know what really scares me? Thinking of my life without you in it."
Ciara took Ben's hand and said, " You keep saying I'm better off without you. But I just cannot imagine my life without you in it."
" You made me trust again. And I'm pretty sure I made you believe in yourself again."
" You definitely brought out the best in me. That is for damn sure. I'm always gonna want to be the guy that you can trust. I just don't know if I can guarantee that's the way it's going to happen."
Ben sat in the chair, and Ciara kneeled in front of him. She took his hands and said, " Ben, why won't you let me help you?"
" Cause you don't understand. I don't expect you to. You don't have voices in your head telling you to do bad things."
" Oh, yeah? I am just as screwed up as you are, Ben Weston. And you know it."
" I was conceived when my parents were still mourning my big brother. So, I was just a weird little kid from day one. My dad was always off on secret assignments for the ISA."
" The last one was when I was in middle school, and he didn't come back for years. And when he finally came back, he had cancer. He died about a month later. And I drove my mom crazy."
" I'm so sorry."
" I already told you that I got raped by the guy who used to be my best friend and actually was my step-brother. Do you want me to go on?"
" Hey. You wanna tell me about it?
" What I'm trying to say is. I have not had a normal life either. At all. But you and I get each other. And that is why I am not scared of you, but you keep telling me that I should be scared, so I'm just starting to think that maybe it's because you're just not that into me."
Ben stood up and brought her with him. he lifted her chin so she would look at him and said, " That could not be any further from the truth."
Ciara slammed her hands against his chest and said, " Then stop trying to make my decisions for me. Alright? Ben, just be with me."
They looked at each other before they started kissing.
" I guess I was wrong about you not being that into me," Ciara said as she kissed him again.
Ben pulled away and said, " That does not mean that I think we should be together."
" Okay. What if we take things slow? Like we did in the beginning when it was just you and me in the cabin. And you were so good to me."
" I do like being good to you. I'd give you the world if I could."
" All I want is you."
Ciara pulled him into another kiss. Next thing they knew a gunshot went through the glass.
