The next morning, Ben was released. Ciara drove Ben back to the mansion. When they arrived, Ben walked with Ciara to the gatehouse. He opened the door, and they walked in.
" Wow."
" So, uh... this is where you live now, huh?" Ciara said as she looked around.
" Yeah, it was the, uh, the old groundkeeper's place. He clearly hasn't been here in ages. He has a family now, so he commutes."
" So this is like your own little house, right, separate from the mansion?"
" Yep. Got a lot of privacy now."
" Oh."
" Had the security team check it out, did a clean sweep of the whole grounds, the home. 100% completely safe."
They sat on the couch, and Ciara looked at Ben and said, " How's your hand?"
" It's okay."
Ben looked at Ciara.
" What?"
" No one has ever ever cared about me, Ciara. Not like you do."
" Well, I do. I do care about you. So, so, so, so much."
They shared a kiss. They kept kissing as Ben slowly laid Ciara on the couch.
Ben moved from her lips to her neck, and Ciara started to giggle. Ben pulled away and sat up." Okay, what are you doing?"
" Uhh..I think you need to go home."
Ciara chuckled, and Ben continued talking.
" Your mom's worried about you being here."
" Well, yeah, because she's overprotective of me, Ben."
" Yeah, she's right for that. Because it's not safe for you to be here right now, and I need to get back to work."
Ciara sat up and said, " Alight, fine."
" I meant what I said. Thank you for taking care of me and believing in me. Thank you."
Ben kissed her cheek and hugged her.
Ciara kissed Ben and told him to be careful and to call if he needed anything.
" Make sure you change that bandage and take your antibiotics."
Ben just laughed and said, " I will."
They looked at each other one more time before she walked out the door.
The next day. Ben was on the phone, and Ciara was sitting on the couch.
He hung up and sat next to her.
" What was that about?"
" According to Stefan, El Fideo's killers are on the move, and I'm going after them."
" What? No, the police can take care of that by themselves."
" No, they can't. They left the jurisdiction. The police can't pursue it. But I can."
" No, you can't."
" Yes, I can."
" Ben, you're not some X-Men. Like, what about your hand?"
" What about it?"
" You literally just got out of the hospital."
" Ciara, it's my job."
" You still have stitches. You can't even drive. No. What if you actually run into those guys and find them? No, you can't go. You're not doing it, and that's the end of that."
" You are so cute when you're all concerned and bossy. But there is no way I'm letting Stefan down."
Ciara was about to respond when her phone went off.
" It's my mom one second."
Ciara answered the phone, and Ben watched Ciara as she paced back and forth.
" Are you sure? Okay, I'll let him know. Bye, mom."
" Is everything okay?"
" My mom said that Jordan told Rafe she has a baby."
" Jordan has a baby; are you sure?"
" She told Rafe she left her baby in California with a friend."
" A baby, no, that can't be right; the last time I saw Jordan, she didn't say anything about a baby."
" Ben, the last time you saw her, she was trying to frame you for kidnapping me and Charlotte."
" I can't believe that Jordan could have a baby."
" Or not; I mean, when we were in the cabin together, she was never really hugely maternal with Charlotte. And I get that she's not well, but what kind of a person just walks away from their own baby?"
" After my mom died, Jordan could've just walked away. She didn't. She was always there. No matter how bad a day could get, she'd be there with a hug or advice, pancakes."
" That's where you learned how to make those."
" Jordan did whatever she possibly could to try and give me some kind of normal. In a house that was anything but."
" I am so sorry, Ben."
Ciara put her arm around him and said, " I can't even imagine the kind of pain you must be going through. That the one person who cared about you your entire life. I mean. She's not that person anymore; obviously, this is not the same sister who was so good to you before."
" No, no, no. It is not."
" Ben, even though she's changed, and even though she is not well, it does not mean that all the good times you had were a lie. If you felt protected and loved by her, Ben, then you were. Okay?"
" And I know it's hard, but you can try and cherish those positive memories you have with her."
" I don't know how to do that. Ciara, how do I reconcile that the sister who loved and protected me now hates me? She thinks I'm this evil, dangerous person."
" She's made it her life purpose to make sure that everyone in this town continues to stay against me and be afraid of me."
" Could you do that? Could you value all the positive memories?"
"Probably not."
" And now I just learned that she abandoned her own baby? Why? To protect people from her evil brother? To stop him from ruining more lives and ending more lives? I guess that's an honorable reason."
" What? Honorable? Ben, it's not honorable. It's vile and disgusting and just proves to me that she is insane. Ben, you are such an amazing person now. You are such a decent human. Okay? Jordan is the dangerous one."
" She is the dangerous one and she is the one who wants to destroy people's lives."
" Why, why? How does that happen? How does somebody go from being so good and kind? And end up like this?"
" I don't know. But I do know that everything is going to be okay. Hmm? I promise. Everything is going to be okay."
Ben leaned in and kissed Ciara.
Ben pulled away, held her face, and said, " I don't know what I would do without you." He kissed her forehead and then stood up with her holding his arm.
" The real world calls."
" What are you doing now?"
" I'm doing my job. A part of me wants to go out to California right now and see if this is all real if this baby's real, but I know Rafe's on it, so I'm gonna go handle these creeps in the meantime."
" By yourself? Ben, are you kidding me? Can't you at least call the DA or the FBI or somebody?"
" Stefan wants me to handle this personally," Ben said as he loaded his gun.
" Is this really necessary?"
" It's absolutely necessary. I'm Stefan DiMera's head of security. And I have a permit. In situations like this, usually, words aren't enough."
" Oh, so you're going full vigilante on us?"
" I'm doing what I have to do in order to keep Chloe and the kids safe," Ben said as he packed a bag.
Ciara grabbed the clothes from his hand and said, " Yeah, and it could be committing suicide, Ben. What if you get killed? You could get killed or kidnapped. What if you don't come home?"
" Ciara, that's not an option because I have a very, very good reason to get back to Salem as soon as possible."
" Me."
Ben kissed her and then said, " You." And kissed her again. They kept kissing until Ben's phone went off.
Stefan was telling him to stay put, and they would talk later.
" So, you're not going?"
" He wants to explain later, and for now, he wants me to stay in Salem."
Ciara ran over and hugged Ben.
" Yay, Oh, my gosh. This is the best news ever, Ben. I am so relieved. You have no idea."" Yeah, me too."
" Mmm. But you know what? The truth is, I was gonna come with you anyway."
" Yeah, right. There is not a chance in hell I was going to let you come with me."
" Ben, I cannot stay away from you. I really can't. I need you. I need you close to me just like this. I need you so, so much," Ciara said as she looked into his eyes.
They shared a kiss and then moved to the couch, where they cuddled together.
A few days later, Ben and Ciara were hanging out at the gatehouse when there was a knock at the door.
Ben opened the door and saw Rafe standing there holding a baby.
" It's true Jordan really has a baby?"
" I tracked him down in California."
" What's his name?"
" This is David. David, this is your Uncle Ben."
" Can I hold him?"
Rafe passed David to Ben and watched them together.
" Hey, little man. It's nice to meet you."
Ciara watched Ben as he talked to David.
" I think he kind of looks like you."
" Yeah?"
" Yeah."
David looked at Ciara and smiled.
" Hey, baby," Ciara said as she rubbed her finger on his hand.
Rafe watched them for a minute before saying, " I actually came here for another reason." " What's up?"
" I came to apologize."
" For what?"
" Accusing you of setting the fire. I found the lighter with Jordan's stuff."
" Look, Rafe. I understand why you accused me. I had just been released from Bayview. You had every right not to trust me."
" Ciara said it wasn't you, but I didn't listen. I just jumped to conclusions and blamed you."
" Anyway, I just wanted to come by and apologize and let you meet your nephew."
"Thanks for letting me meet him and hold him."
" Bye, David. It was nice to meet you."
" Bye, Baby."
Rafe left with David, and Ben looked at Ciara and smiled.
" I have a nephew. An awesome nephew."
" Yes, you do. An adorable nephew."
" Did you see how he smiled at you?"
" Yes, and you were amazing with him as well."
" I hope I get to see him again."
" I'm sure you will."
Ben and Ciara got a Boba Tea and took a walk, then later in the night, they returned to the gatehouse.
" It's getting late."
" Yeah, it is getting late. I should probably go home. Except there's this wedding at the loft that I really do not want to attend right now."
" Yeah, it's probably not so much fun watching your ex-boyfriend get married to somebody else."
" Wait. That's why you think I don't want to go? Ben, you are not actually jealous of Tripp, are you? No, come on, we've already both of us have moved on, and not to mention the fact that this wedding is completely, completely fake. I mean, he's with Claire now."
" I know that. Except he is stepping up to help out Haley Chen, and I respect that."
" Mm-hmm."
" It's risky, but I respect that."
" I know. Oh, my gosh, Eve and Jack are doing literally everything they can to prove that Tripp and Haley are just gaming the system so that she can stay in the country, including getting married on the exact same day."
" I mean, can you believe that?"
" That is a little extreme."
" A little? Try very extreme. Mega. What kind of person uses their wedding day as a campaign stunt?"
" You know. I don't have to spend tonight at the loft. I could just stay at my mom's."
" Yeah, you could. Except Rafe might be using your room now for the baby."
" Mm, good point. Okay. Well, I could sleep on Jennifer's pull-out. Assuming Grandma Julie doesn't lecture me about a million things first."
" Or... you could just spend the night here."
Ben placed his hand on hers and said, " You could spend the night here. I mean. I know it's not as nice as your mom's or Jennifer's, but it's cozy."
" And..."
" And we'd be together."
" Yeah."
Ciara stood up and walked towards the bed.
" This place is kind of small. I mean, you only have one bed."
" No, no, I know. I'll sleep on the couch or the floor."
Ciara spun around and looked at Ben, " You are so sweet. But you don't have to do that."
" Ciara, I'm not gonna make you sleep on the floor."
" That's not what I meant. I meant we could share the bed."
" As in...?"
" Yeah."
" Are you sure? This'll be the first time that we..."
" Made love. I know. And you know that this isn't something that I would rush into. I've put a lot of thought into this, and I'm ready. I want this, Ben. Do you?"
" More than anything. But I'm nervous. I care about you so much. We have such a good thing going right now. I don't want to mess that up."
" You won't. If anything, it would make what we have even stronger."
" It's a big step for you and for us. Like you said, this place, it's so tiny."
" So?"
" I just feel like you deserve better. I could take you someplace romantic, get you a nice room, a nice bed, a fireplace."
" No, no, I don't need any of that. I don't need all that, Ben. What I need is you. Right here. Right now."
They started kissing, and Ciara removed Ben's jacket. Ciara undid the buttons on his shirt and then pushed it off him. Ben kissed her neck and then got to work on the buttons on her shirt. Ben pulled away and said, " Are you sure you're ready?"
Ciara nodded her head and said, "Yeah."
Ben kissed her and laid her on the bed. Ben was kissing her neck when his phone went off in his pocket.
" It's Stefan."
" You need to take that."
" I'll call him back," Ben said as he kissed her again.
" No, you need to take it."
" I'll call him back."
" Take it before I change my mind."
" Okay, okay. Hey, boss. No, no, no, you aren't interrupting anything."
While Ben talked on the phone, Ciara leaned up, pressed her nose against his, and smiled.
" Stefan wants an update on the guys that came after Chloe," Ben said as he picked his shirt up off the floor.
Ciara sat on the edge of the bed and did up her shirt.
" You know where they are?"
" No, I don't know where they are; that's why he wants to go over every piece of intel that we possibly have on them."
" Ciara, it's gonna take a while. I'm really sorry."
" Don't be. You need to go do your job."
" I'm gonna come back here as soon as possible, okay?"
" Okay."
" I promise you."
" Okay."
" I promise you. Maybe we can pick up where we left off. "
" I'll be waiting."
Ben kissed her a few times before leaving.
Ciara was looking at a book when Ben walked through the door.
" Well, that was a lot faster than I expected."
" Yeah, I'm not done. Turns out we got a lead on these cartel guys, and Stefan wants me to run it down right now."
" Now, now?"
" Yeah, now. Now, this time it could actually take a while. I feel really bad."
" Don't. You have to do this. You're keeping Chloe and the kids safe."
" Yeah."
" You're gonna be safe too, though, right?"
" It's a promise. Will you stay? Wait for me?"
" Of course I will. But I do not have anything comfortable to sleep in."
Ben pulled a shirt out of the drawer and handed it to her.
" Wear this."
" Isn't this the shirt you let me borrow last summer at the cabin?"
" I guess it is."
" Now I'm the one who feels bad. You do not have to keep giving me the shirt off of your back."
" It looks way, way better on you."
Ben got the bed ready while Ciara changed.
" Wow. You really look better in the shirt."
" Really?"
" Yeah."
" I don't know. I don't really have your muscles."
" Yeah, but you make up for it in so many other ways."
Ben tucked Ciara into bed and said good night.
" Good night."
He kissed her and then walked out the door.
