A/N: Wow I'm kind of shocked this picked up as fast as it could. I'm glad you like it, thanks for the reviews, and don't forget to check out my other story 'Feeling Something New'.

Parentship

By AnotherSideTheOtherStory

Chapter 2: The Obvious Aside

Following Ethan's outburst Matthew began to cry. Benny rubbed the young child's back while gently rocked him to and and fro.

"It's ok buddy," whispered Benny trying to calm his son down. "Daddy's here, and he's not going to leave you alone again."

"Pwomise?"

"Promise. Do you want me to go get Bacon for you?" The boy nodded. "Ok, but I'm going to leave you here with Papa is that ok?"

Matt looked over at Ethan uncertainly and then back at Benny before nodding. The Spellmaster set him on the sofa next to Ethan and disappeared around the corner with a small smile on his face.

"H-hi," said Ethan unsure of how to act or treat kids. "I'm Ethan."

"No, you Papa," mumbled Matt before scooting closer to him. "I Matt."

Benny returned a few moments later with a small stuffed pig in his hands, he handed it Matt before taking a seat next to him.

"This Bacon," said the young boy as he held up his pig for Ethan to see. "But no eat."

"Oh ok." He watched the boy scoot back over to Benny and lay in his lap. After a few minutes of awkward silence he was sound asleep his arms fastened tightly around Bacon.

"You have one minute to explain why we're suddenly parents," whispered Ethan afraid he might wake up the sleeping child.

"Ok, so I was trying to figure out what kind of genes you had and you weren't answering your phone, so I figured the only way to get answers was to clone you."

Ethan said nothing and rubbed his face; there were so many things wrong with Benny's line of thinking.

"While mixing the potion I thought to myself even if I cloned you Clone Ethan might not have all the information that I needed, after all clones are never exact replicas and don't get me started on the memory thing. Anyway I may have dropped some on my own hair in the potion and created Matthew as a short cut to see which of our DNA was recessive and dominant."

"Let me get this straight," said Ethan doing everything in his power to keep his voice calm and collected. "You created a son so you could cheat on our project?"

"Kinda."

"You have no idea how much I hate you right now."

"Come on E," said Benny as he rubbed Matthew's head. "Don't be like that, just look at him."

"How long is this supposed to last?"

"What do you mean? How long does what last?"

"How long does the modified cloning spell last? How long is Matthew going to be around for?"

"As long as the average human," whispered Benny giving Ethan a strange look. "He's going to grow up like a normal kid… why?"

"Why?" Asked Ethan in disbelief as his voice began to rise. "Why? What part of you thinks making a four-year-old kid is ok? Especially without asking me if you could even use my DNA? Not only that but I'm dating Sarah right now!"

"First of all he's two and a half-ish… I think… I'm not sure being magically created it's really hard to place his age. And second I didn't know the spell was going to make him like an actual human ok? I thought it was going to be like an hour long or something. You should've seen my Grandma when she saw him, you would've gotten a kick out of that. Besides look at how adorable he is, how can you not love him?"

"Benny I don't want to be a dad, especially at the age of sixteen," mumbled Ethan as he stood up and headed for the door. "I-I'm sorry…. I-I can't do this right now."

"Ethan wait," said Benny as he tried to get up. Matthew let out a whimper and Benny scooped him into his arms before chasing after his friend. "Please, just give it a chance ok? You haven't even really met him yet, he's smart, and he loves it when I read to-"

"Do you realize how crazy you sound right now? We're going to have to explain to my parents, who still hire a babysitter to watch after Jane, how I have a son that I wasn't even responsible for creating! They don't even know about me being a Seer or you being a Spellmaster! Not only that but Benny we're going to have to raise it and feed it and parent it!"

"Matt is not an 'it'!" yelled Benny getting frustrated with his friend's lack of understanding. Matt let out a whimper and he lowered his voice. "He's our son. I thought you'd be cool with this, I mean we always talked about how awesome we'd be if we ever had a kid together… and you know being friends…. I…. Wow I sound like an idiot…. I'm sorry E I should've thought about it more. I guess it really didn't hit me until just now and with you and Sarah getting so close…. I… just…. I don't know." He was a bright red now.

Ethan suddenly felt ashamed as he watched Benny bounce Matthew in his arms. "I'm sorry."

The two of them stood awkwardly in the doorway unsure of what to say or do, a first for the two life long friends. It was eventually Evelyn that broke the unnatural silence between them.

"Benny I believe it's past Matthew's bedtime," whispered Evelyn as she crossed her arms with a strange knowing smile. "Go lay him down in your bed and Ethan I think it would be a good idea if you stayed over for the night. Why don't you go get a change of clothes while we put Matt down, and once you get back I'll explain everything."

Ethan nodded and acting on impulse placed a quick kiss on the Matt's forehead before heading home. Benny despite himself smiled as he watched the brunette dart across the yard.

Ten minutes later Ethan found himself sitting at the Weir kitchen table and next to his best friend, who for one reason or another looked rather uncomfortable. Across from them both Evelyn took a sip from her teacup.

"I know this much be hard for you," said Evelyn as she gave Ethan a smile. "Especially considering this is the last thing any teenage boy expects."

"Yeah," said Ethan as he crossed his arms. "Especially a virgin."

"And I admit it's still unsettles me how my Grandson can be so careless with his magic. But we have to face the facts before us. Benny made a mistake-"

"Matt is no a mistake," interjected Benny suddenly. When they both gave him strange looks he picked up his cup and took a sip. "He's not."

"I'm not calling Matthew a mistake, I'm saying the events leading to his creation were. Now as I was saying before I was interrupted, you both have a bunch of responsibilities-"

"No one has even asked me if I want to be a part of this," said Ethan suddenly. "Has anyone even thought that maybe I don't want to be a parent?"

"The next one to interrupt me is going to lose their mouth," said Evelyn as she looked at both of them. "Understood?"

They nodded silently.

"Now as I was saying you both are going to have a bunch of responsibilities if you choose to be a part of Matthews life. Ethan I'm talking directly to you, I'm not asking to make up your mind now, but I would prefer to have both you raising him instead of just my Grandson. I know it's a lot to think of, and I'm sure you feel as though I'm putting all this pressure onto and I am. But you need to hear this- Matthew isn't going to be just another child, he's going to have powers, and there's a good chance they might manifest early. Not only that there will be others who want him because of that. Adoption isn't an option, I'm really sorry but it has to be like this."

"What about our school? Or my parents?" asked Ethan as the reality of situation set in. "They don't know anything about this part of my life, and to suddenly show up with a kid?"

"When your ready to talk to your parents I'll go with you," said Evelyn. "And my Grandson will most certainly be there to explain everything as well. As for now I suggest you both head to bed, and think about everything I told you."

Ethan nodded and followed Benny as he headed up the stairs to his room. He noticed Matt snuggled away in the bed and motioned for Benny to meet him in the hallway. Once the door was closed he asked:

"Did you know about any of that? About Matt having powers?"

"That's the first time Grandma said anything," answered Benny. "I figured he might because we have powers but I didn't know they'd appear when he was so young."

"I don't know if I can be a parent," said Ethan honestly. "I can't even take care of Jane, and-"

"It's ok E, I'd understand if you say no. I should've talked to you before doing something like this. As long as your not mad at me, your not right?"

"N-no. You were only trying to do our project and Matt is pretty cute, though he looks more like you then me."

"He has my eyes and curly hair, but your hair color, and brains."

"What has been eating? When's his bedtime? Does he-" Benny smirked. "What?"

"Nothing you just sound like a parent."

"Wow," said Ethan as it suddenly dawned on him. "I guess this makes me a dad now."

"Really?" asked Benny as he pulled him into a tight hug. "You have no idea how worried I was you would say no or something."

Ethan felt his cheeks flush. "Wasn't Bacon the pig we won at the fair when we were six? The one you let me keep because I kept having nightmares?"

"He's a lot like you," said Benny as he finally let go. Ethan smiled sheepishly unsure of the strange warmth in the pit of his stomach. He'd never felt this way before at least not in the presence of Benny. "Ethan?"

"H-huh?"

"You zoned out there for a moment. I was saying that you'd have a chance to see how much Matthew is like you tomorrow. He's more like me when he's fussy."

Ethan laughed and opened his sleeping bag on the floor; Benny lay on the bed next to their son. Together they spent the rest of the night whispering about videogames, the mysterious string of dog kidnappings, and what the future would hold for them, especially now that they had a son.

"Hey E," whispered Benny summoning the entirety of his courage.

"Yeah?"

"When I told you about Matt, you said you couldn't be a parent because you were dating Sarah," Benny looked over the bed at down at him. "Why did you say that?"

Ethan turned bright red. "I-uh I always figured if I had a kid I'd um... date or... marry the... uh girl I had it with."

"Makes sense," said Benny. "We're not dating... right?"

"N-no!" said Ethan as his voice cracked. "W-why would you even ask that?"

"I wasn't asking! I just wanted to make sure!"

"T-Think of this as a parent friendship thing, or a parentship!"

Both boys turned away with a red flush across their cheeks. To Ethan the knot in his stomach he now associated with Benny, was way stranger than the fact he was a dad.