A/N Brief warnings for character death, mention of possible suicide, etc.
At 6 years old Ethan didn't understand death, nor did his best friend Benny. So he was taken by surprise at all of the adults whispering in the Weir's living room while he played with Benny in his bedroom. He couldn't help but notice that the one person who was missing was Benny's mom, while his own mother clutched her stomach, heavy with pregnancy as she was nearly 7 months along, and used his father as guidance to sit down on the sofa. Even then he knew something was wrong, and was too drastic to bring up in front of the two boys. Ethan also noticed that while Benny smiled and made crashing noises with his truck, every so often he would get a sad expression, look down for a moment, and then go straight back to playing. He continued to watch his parents as his mother wiped a tear from her face and his father wrapped his arm around her and placed a kiss on the crown of her head.
"Ethan, bud, we're going to leave now. Tell Benny goodbye and pick up your toys" Ross called into the other room, his tone more somber than usual.
Ethan grabbed his toy car and airplane and moved to say goodbye to Benny. He didn't fully understand why but as he said goodbye he whispered "I'm sorry"
Ross grabbed Ethan and placed him atop his shoulders as they walked across the street towards their house.
"What happened to Benny's mommy?" Ethan asked as they entered the foyer. Ross pulled him onto the couch as Samantha tried to explain.
"Honey, I'm sorry but—"she paused as she gathered her thoughts "Benny's mom isn't… here anymore." Tears started to well up into her eyes "she had an accident and she's gone"
Ross knelt down onto the same eye level as his son "We're going to need you to be extra nice to Benny from now one, because his mommy is gone now."
Ethan nodded but still didn't quite understand. He understood that Benny's mom wasn't coming back, but he wanted to know what happened. He knew he shouldn't ask anyone right now, because everyone was so upset.
A few days later his mother found his suit from in the dresser and helped him put it on. She wore a simple black dress, stretching to cover her stomach, and his father a suit that matched his.
"Listen, Ethan, you're going to have to be as well behaved as possible, okay?"
Ethan nodded in response. As they left for the church Ethan noticed Benny and his father, wearing suits similar to him and his father heading out the door. As everyone filed into the pews a somber feeling hung in the air. No one spoke aloud, instead whispering among themselves. The only ones who seemed to not say a word were Ross, Samantha, Jim and Benny, all for obvious reasons. To Ethan, however, everything just seemed to drag on way too long. All he wanted to do was to go play with Benny outside in the playground.
"Ethan, please stop fidgeting. You can play with Benny when the service is over." His father scolded him.
It only lasted an hour, but it felt so much longer. After it ended they proceeded to the burial grounds, and Ethan felt uneasy. He knew what all of the gravestones meant, and had looked over some of the names and dates. They meant a definite end, and even to a six year old that was abundantly clear. Ethan saw Benny's dad lean over and throw a clump of dirt on the casket, and kneel down and motioned for Benny to do the same, but Benny just shook his head and looked back down at the ground. As they began to lower his mother's casket into the ground, Benny's eyes welled with tears. At least during the service he saw her, but now it was so finite.
It had been almost a year since Celeste's death, when one day in the summer Ross was at home working while Ethan and Jane played on the floor. Ross received a call from a neighbor, and rushed to pick it up.
"Hello? Evelyn? What's wrong?" Ross was worried by the tone of her voice.
"Jim died, Ross" she choked out between tears. "Can you come pick up Benny, and can he stay with you two for a few days?"
"Of course" Ross couldn't believe what he just heard. His oldest friend was dead, only a year after his wife. Fate was cruel in that way "I'll be over in a minute"
Ross knelt down to his oldest son "Benny's going to come stay with us for a few days, alright Ethan?"
Even though he could sense in his father's voice something was wrong, the idea of Benny staying over was exciting to him "Okay. Can we go to the zoo?" Ethan asked. The zoo was his and Benny's favorite place, he loved the aquarium and Benny loved the lion.
"You know kiddo that might be a great idea. I can go pick him up and get Janie's stuff together and then we can all go to the zoo" It was a perfect distraction for both of the young boys.
Ross rushed across to talk to Evelyn "Does anyone know what happened?" he asked the first thing that came to his mind.
Evelyn sighed "The police just came to my door and said he was gone. No one explained how or where yet but I just want to wait to tell Benny. It can't be a coincidence that they died almost exactly a year apart"
"Are you implying you think Jim killed himself? Evelyn with all due respect I'm not sure—"
"I know my son, Ross. And we both know he hasn't been the same since Celeste died" Evelyn went inside to get Benny.
"Hey Benny, how'd you like to go to the zoo with Ethan and Jane?"
"Can we see the lions?" Benny grinned
"We can see whatever you guys want."
Ross grabbed Benny's overnight bag and put it in Ethan's room.
"Boys, be careful with Jane. I'm going to go get our stuff together"
Ethan gently grabbed Jane's tiny fists "See? She can almost walk" he demonstrated for Benny, guiding his little sister around the living room.
Ross pulled a few of her toys into the bag "Okay, let's go." He lifted Jane into her car seat.
As expected, the boys mapped out their trajectory. The most time was spent at the lion exhibit, then the aquarium building. As they approached the dolphin tank Jane started squeeling and kicking her legs.
"I guess we know what someone's favorite is" Ross cooed.
Ethan pointed out all of the different species of fish to her, as she teethed on her teething ring.
After a few hours the boys, Jane, and Ross were all too tired to look at anything else.
Back at home, after Ross set up Ethan's trundle bed for Benny, he sprawled out on the couch next to his wife.
"I don't know what to tell the kid" Ross shook his head. "I can't imagine how hard it could be to lose your mother and father in such a short time"
"Do you think Evelyn's right? Do you think he did kill himself?" Samantha questioned.
"I can't deny that he's been completely different since Celeste died, but I still don't know. He was never the type of person who would but after all that, I can't even tell"
"Well one way or another someone is going to eventually have to tell Benny what actually happened. Be it us or Evelyn. He's practically as much our son now as he was theirs." Samantha said matter-of-factly.
Benny and Ethan were now basically brothers. Not by blood but by chance.
