Chapter 9 - Family Dinner (Posted 22 December 2011)

Ethan was nervous. Benny's hand on his back managed to reassure him some, but tonight was a big night. Everyone was gathered around the table at Benny's house. His parents were there, and so was Jane, who had also been told about Ethan's pregnancy. She had just laughed. And Benny's grandmother was finishing setting the table as she sat down. Benny was to his side, trying to keep him calm. But he didn't only have one announcement tonight. He had news for everyone, including Benny.

"Ethan, dear," Benny's grandmother said a few minutes into the meal, "are you feeling alright? You don't look well."

"I'm fine." Ethan nodded. "I just have something on my mind... something I want to tell all of you." Everyone around the table looked at him, waiting. Benny send Ethan an encouraging smile, letting him know that he could take over. Ethan shook his head at him discreetly. He wanted ot be the one to tell them. "Benny and I... we've decided we want to keep the baby." He braced for awkwardness, but all he received was a flood of comforting smiles.

"Are you sure?" his mother asked, seeming hopeful.

He nodded confidently. "Yeah. We're sure. We want to keep him, and take care of him together. We know it's going to be hard, being teenaged parents, but we're ready to take on that kind of responsibility." He felt himself start to tear up. "We, um... we're ready to start our own little family."

"We'll help you out," Ross reminded them. "We're the grandparents, after all."

"And I get to be an aunt!" Jane said happily.

Benny looked over at his grandmother. "Gramma?"

"I'm looking forward to being a great grandmother, Benny. You two have a supporting family, and I'm sure your friends will be there for you too. You're going to be just fine." she assured them.

"So," Ethan's mom inquired, "have you talked about names yet?"

"Not really," Benny started to say.

But Ethan took a deep breath and tried to find the strength to make his next announcement. "Actually, I have already picked his name."

His mother pursed her lips. "Um, sweetheart, isn't that something you two should decide together?"

"Yeah," Ethan admitted, "but I know Benny's gonna like it."

"What name did you choose?" Ross asked.

Ethan took another breath before looking at Benny and taking one of his hands in his. He saw Benny's look of anticipation and confusion. He was nervous, but this was something he had to do. "I want to name him Eli."

Benny's heart stopped and his eyes immediately filled with tears. All he could see was Ethan, but he could feel the teary eyes of everyone around the table looking at him. "Ethan..." he could barely manage a whisper.

But Ethan heard him. "What do you think, Benny?"

"Please excuse us," he said in a shaky voice as he stood and pulled Ethan out of the room. Once they were out of sight and earshot of everyone else, he put his hands on Ethan's shoulders and searched his eyes for any hint that this was a joke. He found only honesty and happiness. "That was my dad's name."

"I know." Ethan said after sniffing. He didn't want to cry, but seeing how this was affecting Benny made him extremely emotional. "That's why I picked it."

"You want to name our son after my dad?"

"Absolutely. Do you like it?"

"It's perfect, Ethan." Benny hugged him, giving him a small but emotion-filled kiss. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Benny." Ethan reached up and tried to wipe Benny's tears away. "You ready to go back in there?"

"Yeah..." Benny nodded and wiped the rest of the wetness off his face, stealing another quick kiss from Ethan's lips. "Yeah, I'm ready."