Thanks for all the reviews they have been very helpful. On with the eleventh chapter, please remember to review, I may have already said this, but the reviews make my day…pathetic, perhaps, but help a pathetic girl out then…review.

Chapter 11: Grief dealings

Elizabeth didn't say a word on the way back to the house but clung on to John like her life depended on it. John had dealt with deaths in his family before, but from what he could tell, Elizabeth obviously hadn't. It wasn't until they walked into the living room to be met with a lost-looking Jim Weir and his crying wife that Elizabeth finally found her voice.

Jim was sitting in the armchair in the corner of the room staring into space, while Barbara was trying to busy herself with cleaning. John sat on the sofa in the middle of the room, while Elizabeth walked up to her stepmother and hugged her. Barbara let out a sob before pulling back from Elizabeth and saying she was okay. Elizabeth wiped her cheeks with her hands and sniffed before walking to the window and staring out of it.

"I guess you came back early from your trip when you heard." Elizabeth said quietly.

Barbara started to polish the coffee table. "We thought he was going to get better and well…we knew that we had to bring his body back."

Elizabeth turned away from the window and looked at her stepmother in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Barbara looked up. "Well, as soon as we heard about the crash we went straight there, only to be told in was in a coma and well…you know the rest."

Elizabeth's jaw dropped as she looked at the pair of them. "You knew and you didn't tell me." She said in disbelief.

"Well, no…your father told you before we left." Barbara looked over at Jim.

"No he didn't!" Elizabeth snapped furiously. She walked up to her father who got up from his chair. "Why didn't you tell me!"

"I didn't want you to worry. And then, just like Babs said… I didn't have a spare moment to phone...we had to bring him back to Hawaii, the service will be in the local catholic church, of course…there was so much to do…."

"But Ben hated Hawaii! As soon as he turned 18 the first thing he did was get on a plane to California!" Barbara sighed and apologetically glanced at John as father and daughter argued.

"Well, better than leave him there with your aunt from hell…I mean he wouldn't be dead if he hadn't gone to visit that damn woman!" He shouted angrily.

"Hey! Aunt Julie is a good woman who has been better family to me than you ever have! God Dad! Why do think he was visiting her and not you? Because you're a fing psycho who hits first, ask questions later and now you're riding this whole 'I'm gonna be a good father' train…well, guess what? Your thirty years too late and, as for Ben, you're too late, period! You denied me the last chance to see him before he died and now you're bringing his body back to the one place he couldn't stand! And to top it all of, you want to have a catholic service! Don't even pretend to be a devout Christian to me because I will not allow you to ruin my brother's funeral by spewing religious crap about how we should all love one another, while Ben depised you, like I do right now!" Elizabeth screamed before Jim slapped her so hard to fell to the ground.

"Get the hell out of my house." He said dangerously low. John instantly was up on his feet and at Elizabeth's side before standing up, ready to punch her father. Elizabeth got up and put a hand on John's arm to stop him.

"No…it's okay, John. We'll go."

"No you won't." Barbara said, as she put the cleaning products down. "I understand you two have your differences and you don't get along, but you're grieving. And, I swear to God Jim, if you raise another hand to Elizabeth ever again, I'll raise a hand to you. Ben is…was a good man and the reason he didn't like Hawaii, granted, was due to family issues, but I remember times where he would climb hills, jog in the nearby forest, sit on beaches because he always said it was the most beautiful place in the world. We are not going to have some Catholic service because that is not the sort of person he was…we should have a memorial in the middle of nowhere…somewhere he loved. And as for you two leaving, you will do no such thing. It's times like these that family has to stick together. Now it's late…you two should get yourself off to bed." Barbara gently ordered. John gave Jim one last death stare before taking Elizabeth's hand and guiding her upstairs.

Jim looked down at the ground ashamedly. "Babs, I didn't mean to-"

She cut him off. "You will never lay a hand on that girl again, James. You lost your son yesterday, don't push your daughter away so you lose her too. Ben's dead…that pain is not going to go away, but it'll get better when time has past, but for the sake of your remaining children, your marriage, this family…you have to learn to deal with your problems without the anger. Mourning Ben is going to be hard for everyone Jimmy, not just you." Jim nodded in agreement before lifting his head and smiling sadly.

"I love you." He said quietly. She smiled softly before walking up to him and kissing him softly on the lips.

"I know, just like I love you…now go on, get yourself to bed, I'll be up in a minute." As Jim walked off, Barbara watched him go, mourning a man who she considered to be her son, while feeling the slightest bit of consolation that his death may well turn his father into the man Ben had always hoped he'd be.

John put the towel on the radiator after washing. Since they had got upstairs, Elizabeth had gone quiet again and John decided he needed to wash since he stank of sea. He couldn't quite believe that that very morning Elizabeth had been so happy and free without the pressures of work or the impending doom of the wraith, Genii or any other psycho galactical race, which sort of was her work, but now, John had never seen her so…broken. All he wanted to do was fix it, fix her, but John knew, better than a lot of people, that you can't bring people back from the dead, unless you ascend, but he highly doubted that had happened to Ben.

John walked out of the bathroom to see Elizabeth curled up on the bed facing away from him. He thought she was asleep until he heard the sniffs and quiet sobs coming from her. So, he did the only thing he could do. He climbed on the bed, pulled a blanket over her, lay behind her, kissed her temple and wrapped his arm around her waist. She finally let go of her sobs and let them out, just crying as John whispered things into her ear, telling her it was okay to cry and that things would get better. She turned to face him and buried her face into his t-shirt. Shaking with the tears until eventually she cried herself to sleep.

The service was beautiful. John held her Elizabeth's hand throughout. People from all over the island had come to pay tribute. His friends got out a guitar and sang songs ranging from traditional Hawaiian music to Johnny Cash as, what seemed like, hundreds of people put leis around and on his coffin. Amy read a poem, which she had written when she was small about her big brother and Noah read a story full of typical funny Ben moments which had everyone laughing through their tears. And Elizabeth finished off the service talking about why he was a great man and why he was the best brother anyone could ever hope of having. Elizabeth's beautiful words even had Jim crying and after she got off the 'non-existent' podium, she hugged her father and told him that they had a lot to make up for, but she was willing if he was.

There was no wake, but a bonfire was held on the beach with drinks and food, which was full of people sharing happy stories of Ben and all the stunts he pulled during his life. Elizabeth didn't need to cry herself to sleep that night and in the morning, when John and Elizabeth were re-called back to Colorado, she didn't leave with feelings of resentment, but amazing memories with her brother brought to the forefront of her mind and a promise to her father that the next time she came to Hawaii, because there would be a next time, they would have some serious catching up to do…and she was quite looking forward to it.

TBC…

Well, I hoped I did that chapter justice, I wanted to deal with their grief realistically and somewhat tastefully. SniperBob you were a real help with this chapter and I know how you feel because one of my bestest friends since I was a kid, well…her sister died at 12 of cancer and so…well I can relate. Next chapter is going to be the last, so tell me how you want it finished, what you want to happen. Is it going to be a day in the future or a year? Suggestions needed. xx